Did you know that almost 4 percent of children born in the United States have abnormalities that affect their function, development, or physical characteristics?
Whether you’ve already identified a potential birth defect in your child or are at the early stages of your pregnancy, it is critical to understand what birth defects are and what causes them.
While there are multiple causes of birth defects, they can be broadly categorized into genetic and non-genetic.
How Are Birth Defects Diagnosed?
There are a variety of screening tests that can be done to assess if a fetus may have a birth defect.
Women who are pregnant or about to become pregnant may want to schedule comprehensive carrier screening to determine whether they carry any genetic mutations that may be passed onto their children.
Panels are available to screen for the presence of individual syndromes, a wide range of birth defects, or even focus on known genetic issues for certain ethnic groups.
Ultrasounds can often identify physical birth defects or indicate the need for further testing.
Chorionic villi sampling and amniocentesis (sampling the amniotic fluid) are also ways to identify potential chromosomal defects.
Genetic Birth Defects
Genetics play a considerable role in the physical development of a child.
Each parent contributes genes and chromosomes to a child, and the genetic mutations found in both have the potential to cause birth defects.
Common genetic birth defects like Down syndrome, cystic fibrosis, and sickle cell anemia are caused by the alteration of a baby’s chromosomes.
In some cases, chromosomes could be missing at the point of conception, or cell division could cause extra chromosomes to occur.
In other cases, a parent may pass down a heritable defective gene. These chromosomal differences can cause various birth defects and seriously affect a child’s development.
Non-Genetic Birth Defects
Non-genetic birth defects can be caused by a wide range of circumstances. Here a few common, non-genetic causes of birth defects:
- Illnesses. Certain illnesses, including toxoplasmosis, chicken pox, rubella, and more, can influence a developing fetus. This is especially true if the mother falls ill in the early stages of pregnancy.
- Infections. Certain infections have the potential to cause birth defects in a developing fetus. For example, the Zika virus was known for causing physical defects to the head and brain as well as affecting brain function when a child was born. Other infections like STDs can also affect a pregnancy.
- Exposure to certain medications. Specific medicines, or the substances found within them, have been found to have adverse effects on soon-to-be mothers and a developing fetus. When you start a new medication, it’s particularly important to research whether it is safe for use while pregnant.
- Alcohol and drug use. Consuming alcohol or drugs has been proven to have negative effects on a growing fetus. Fetal Alcohol syndrome is a well-known birth defect that occurs when a mother consumes alcohol while pregnant.
Having a child at an older age.
Women over the age of 40 have a greater chance of having a baby with birth defects than younger women.
This may be due, in part, to increased stress on DNA strands or even a diminished number of normal egg cells.
According to the CDC, women under 33 have a 1/400 chance of having a baby with Down syndrome; women over the age of 40 see these chances increase to 1/70.