Birth Defect Statistics: Counting The Numbers And Knowing What Causes Thee Figures To Be As Such

Nearly 8 million babies are born every year with a birth defect. In this number, around 3.2 million of the infants grow up and live disabled. Furthermore, in the United States alone, birth defect statistics claim that these in-born abnormalities are the leading cause of infant mortality in America. Given this fact, many expectant parents are asking “Where do these defects come from?” What are the common birth defects? How can we make sure that our baby comes out strong and healthy? To date, no parent can keep herself fully safe of the defects but she can reduce the risks of having a baby with a birth defect. Before that, it is very important to understand how birth abnormalities especially the common birth defects occur.

Most birth defects are inherited but in some cases, it is induced by either harmful environmental factors they call teratogens or multifactorial causes which result from a complicated interaction of the environmental and genetic influences. Nevertheless, birth defect statistics say that about half of these cases happen with causes unknown.

The cause of genetic cause defects can be divided into three categories: single-gene defects, chromosomal abnormalities and multicultural influences. We will try to discuss each one by one.

Single-gene defects – More often than not, single gene defects are inherited. Phenylketonuria, for instance, is a condition which can be inherited as caused by the malfunction of the PAH enzyme. It breaks down the body's amino acid phenylalanine. Single gene defects are prevalent in some ethnic groups. Sickle-cell anemia is common among Indians and Africans. Tay-Sachs, on the other hand, which is said to be caused by lack of protein hexosaminidase, is common among Jews. Automosal recessive mutation, in particular, causes different forms of Tay-Sachs while a mutated HEXB gene on chromosome 15 causes Sandhoff. Such disorders affect kids and babies who more often than not, die at a young age.

Chromosomal abnormalities - Every person's genes is determined at the time of conception. This simply means that the determination of birth defects are also determined at the time of fertilization. For instance, chromosomal anomalies can occur during this period. Some zygotes which carry these abnormalities do not end up developing into embryos but among those which manage to be carried down, trisomy 13 which cause Patau Syndrome, trisomy 21 which cause Down Syndrome and trisomy 18 which cause Edwards syndrome are among the most common birth defects. If an embryo happens to have three of these conditions, it can develop into serious disabilities.

Multicultural influences – these factors come from a wide range of agents. They can come as induced by an external factor. They can be induced by genetics. Or, they can also be a combination of both.

To date, birth defect statistics continue to remain in a generous number. Still, no doctors nor science have been able to explain how to make sure that babies on the way will be born with no birth defects. Nevertheless, every parent can lessen the risks. If you are planning to have your baby soon, take time to gather and understand how birth defects happen.

Article Source: http://www.parentingarticlelibrary.com

Get helpful tips about common birth defects and a useful information on birth defect statistics at Aha! Baby.

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