Saturday, December 20, 2008

Introduction to Preventing Birth Defects


The topic of birth defects is one that puts fear into the hearts of many expectant parents. The desire for a healthy baby takes precedence to the desire for a boy or a girl, or mom’s eyes, or dad’s smile. But many potential parents do not know that they can take an active roll in preventing certain defects such as fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, spinal bifida, neural tube defects as well as others.

Currently in the United States approximately 150,000 babies each year are born with at least one serious birth defect. That is around 4% of live births. Birth defects, especially severe ones, usually cannot be fully cured and thus can require lifelong medical treatment.

Various public health organizations are doing what they can to raise awareness of preventable birth defects. These organizations include The March of Dimes, and the CDC. While these efforts have been largely successful, there are still many women who need to be educated and informed about preventing birth defects in their unborn children
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4 comments:

Anastasia Bertola said...

It is such a good topic especially for young wives and mothers. I benefited from information about prevention of birth defects early in high school and I was able to apply that knowledge in my pregnancy.

Katy said...

It's good you're providing more information about birth defects. I think a lot of women remain uneducated about birth defects and should gain knowledge before pregnancy.

Unknown said...

I love your blog because it is very informative. So many of birth effect can be prevented by education only so blogs like yours are sooo needed. Way to go!

Katie said...

Many women that get pregnant do not think about all the different problems that could occur. It will be very beneficial to many women to learn about things they can do during a pregnancy to avoid such problems.