Kashish Sharma
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Written By: Kashish Sharma | Updated : March 3, 2023 5:17 PM IST
Birth defects have two major causes, genetic and environmental.
Birth defects are a major cause of infant hospitalizations and deaths in the first year of their lives. According to WHO, nine out of ten children born with a serious congenital disorder are from low and middle-income stories. These medical conditions can range from mild to severe. Some can be corrected after birth for instance, webbed toes, while some might cause life-long disability for instance those that causes structural and functional changes. Some are so severe that it becomes difficult for the baby to survive outside of the womb.
Most congenital problems have no obvious cause. It is possible to reduce the risk of some of these conditions, but not all of them. Although congenital disorders may be the result of one or more genetic, infectious, nutritional or environmental factors, it is often difficult to identify the exact causes. There are some congenital disorders that can be prevented by adequate intake of some supplements and vaccination in some cases.
Broadly, birth defects have two major causes, genetic and environmental. Among the environmental factors are certain medications that can harm the child. As per a popular media journal, a drug thalidomide which was used by women for morning sickness had caused many babies to be born with limb deformities and facial malformations back in the 1950s.
As per reports, Zika virus has been associated with microcephaly (babies with smaller than normal heads). Lifestyle factors like smoking and drinking have been notoriously involved in these abnormalities. Poorly managed diabetes and missing necessary supplements are also a common cause. Sometimes the causes could be chromosomal abnormalities as one can see in case of Down Syndrome (where there is an extra copy of a chromosome leading to abnormal expression).
The diversity in birth defects and lack of understanding when it comes to the mechanism of how these abnormalities are caused in the first place, makes it hard to tackle the situation. There are is no single cause, and they affect many parts of the body. Some can be structural, while others can be purely functional and developmental. Hence, it is not possible to always track them down during the pregnancy. Some come to light after birth and others while the child is growing up.
When the mother has a high risk pregnancy due to family history, advanced maternal age and other complications, the doctor might run some in-depth tests like amniocentesis along with blood tests and ultrasound. Some detailed screening tests can give be sometimes insightful in catching hold of some impending complications in the child.
Depending on the type of congenital disorder a child might be suffering from, the treatment options will fall under the category of medication, surgery and home care. Among the most life -threatening and causing disability disorders are those that affect the brain (for instance, encephalocele where a portion of brain bulges out through an opening in the skill) and the heart (for instance, ventricular septal defect where there is a hole in the wall separating heart chambers).
