What Birth Defects Can Cause a Small Baby

Key POINTS

• Birth defects are structural changes that are present at nascency. They may touch how the body looks, works or both.

• Birth defects tin cause problems in overall health, how the body develops or how the torso works. They may range from mild to serious conditions.

• In that location are things you tin can practise earlier and during pregnancy to help reduce your risk of having a infant with a birth defect.

• Nascency defects may exist diagnosed in a baby during pregnancy or after birth.

• If your baby has a birth defect, she may need a team of wellness care providers who piece of work together to give her special medical intendance.

What are birth defects?

Nascency defects are structural changes present at birth that tin can affect almost any part of the body. They may affect how the body looks, works or both. Nativity defects tin can crusade problems in overall health, how the trunk develops or how the body works. Birth defects may range from mild to serious wellness weather condition.

Nascence defects can happen at whatsoever fourth dimension during pregnancy. But nigh happen during the get-go 3 months of pregnancy (also called beginning trimester), when your infant's organs are forming. Birth defects also can happen later in pregnancy, when your baby'south organs are nonetheless growing and developing.

Nigh 1 in 33 babies (about 3 per centum) is built-in with a birth defect in the United States each year. Some nascence defects don't need treatment or tin can be treated easily. But other birth defects demand quick treatment because they cause serious bug or even death.

What are examples of birth defects?

Examples of birth defects include:

Cleft lip and scissure palate. Crevice lip and crack palate are birth defects in a baby's lip and mouth. Usually, babies tin have surgery to repair scissure lip or cleft palate. They may demand more than surgery, special dental care and spoken language therapy equally they get older. Speech therapy is therapy to teach your child how to speak more clearly or communicate in other ways.

Clubfoot. Clubfoot is a nascency defect of the foot. It's when a baby's foot turns inward so that the lesser of the foot faces sideways or even up. Clubfoot doesn't improve without treatment. Treatment may include pointing, stretching, casting the foot and using braces. With early on handling, virtually children with clubfoot tin can walk, run and play without hurting.

Congenital center defects (besides called CHDs). These are heart weather that a baby is born with. They tin touch on the middle'southward shape or how it works or both. CHDs are the nigh common types of birth defects. They can be mild or serious. Critical congenital eye defects (as well called critical CHDs or disquisitional congenital heart disease) are the most serious CHDs. Babies with critical CHDs need surgery or other treatment within the get-go year of life. Without handling, critical CHDs can crusade serious wellness bug and death.

Gastroschisis. This is a nascency defect of the abdominal (belly) wall. A babe is born with his intestines, and sometimes other organs, outside of the body. Gastroschisis happens when the muscles that make upwards the abdominal wall don't connect properly, forming a hole beside the navel. A baby with gastroschisis needs surgery soon afterward birth to put his organs back in identify and repair the hole.

Hearing loss. This is a mutual birth defect that can touch a baby's ability to develop speech, language and social skills. Hearing loss tin happen when any part of the ear isn't working in the usual manner. Treatment depends on the cause of the hearing loss and whether hearing loss is mild or severe. Some babies with hearing loss may need hearing aids, medicine, surgery or speech therapy.

Microcephaly. Microcephaly is when a baby'southward head is smaller than expected, compared to babies of the same sex activity and age. Babies with mild microcephaly oftentimes don't have issues other than small head size. A baby with severe microcephaly has a head that's much smaller than expected and may have more serious health problems. Severe microcephaly can happen if a baby's brain doesn't develop properly during pregnancy or if the brain starts to develop correctly but is damaged during pregnancy. Babies with astringent microcephaly may need special care and handling, like surgery. Some demand medicines to care for seizures or other health problems.

Neural tube defects (too called NTDs). NTDs are nascence defects of the encephalon, spine (courage) and spinal cord. The spinal cord carries signals back and along between your torso and your brain. The most common NTD is spina bifida. Spina bifida happens when the spinal cord or bones in the spine don't form correctly, leaving a gap or opening. Spina bifida tin can cause serious health problems for babies, like fluid on the brain and beingness paralyzed. Babies with spina bifida may need surgery or other special treatments.

What causes nativity defects?

We don't know exactly what causes well-nigh birth defects, but some things may brand you lot more likely than others to take a baby with a nascence defect. These are called risk factors. Having a run a risk factor doesn't mean for sure that your baby will be affected. But it may increment your chances. These things may play a role in increasing your run a risk of having a baby with a nascence defect:

• Changes in genes or chromosomes. Some babies have birth defects because of changes in their genes (also called mutations) or chromosomes. Genes are part of your torso's cells that store instructions for the way your body grows and works. Genes are passed from parents to children. Chromosomes are the structures that concur genes. Some birth defects too run in families.
• Things in your environment. Your environment is all the things you come up in contact with that affect your everyday life. This includes where you live, where yous work, the kinds of foods you eat and how yous similar to spend your fourth dimension. Some things in your environment tin can be harmful to your baby during pregnancy, like cigarette smoke or harmful chemicals.
• Having sure health conditions. Some health atmospheric condition, similar preexisting diabetes, can increment your baby'southward risk of having a birth defect. Diabetes is a medical condition in which your body has also much carbohydrate (called glucose) in your blood. Preexisting ways you had diabetes before yous got significant. Diabetes can harm organs in your trunk, including blood vessels, nerves, eyes and kidneys.
• Taking certain medicines before or during pregnancy. Taking certain medicines, like isotretinoin, can increase the risk of your babe having a nativity defect. Isotretinoin is a medicine used to treat acne.
• Smoking, drinking alcohol or using street drugs during pregnancy. Doing whatsoever of these things during pregnancy tin crusade bug for your baby, including nascency defects.
• Getting certain infections during pregnancy. Some infections during pregnancy can increase the gamble of your baby having nativity defects and other bug. For example, if you lot take Zika infection during pregnancy your baby may be at increased gamble of having microcephaly.
• Your age. If you are 34 years one-time or older, you may be at increased risk of having a baby with a nascency defect.

Can you forestall birth defects?

Not all nascence defects can be prevented. But there are things you tin do to assist reduce the risk of your baby having a birth defect and increase your chances of having a healthy baby.

Before pregnancy

Here's what you can do:

Get a preconception checkup. This is a medical checkup y'all get with your prenatal care provider before pregnancy to assist make sure you're healthy when you get meaning. Go for this checkup earlier y'all start trying to get significant.

Ask your health care provider if your vaccinations are upwardly to date before you try to become pregnant. Some vaccinations protect you lot from infections that can cause nascence defects. For instance, rubella is an infection that tin cause hearing loss, heart defects and other health issues for your baby. The MMR vaccine protects against measles, mumps and rubella. If you don't have a record of your vaccinations, your provider can check your immunity (protection) for rubella with a claret exam. If y'all need the MMR vaccination, look at to the lowest degree 4 weeks after you get the shot before you lot try to get meaning.

Take folic acid. Take a vitamin supplement that has 400 micrograms (mcg) of folic acrid in information technology every 24-hour interval. Folic acid is a B vitamin that every prison cell in your torso needs for normal growth and development. Taking folic acid before and during early pregnancy can help prevent NTDs in your babe.

Learn about your genes and your family health history. If you, your partner, your children or someone in your families has a birth defect, you may desire to come across a genetic advisor. This is a person who is trained to aid yous sympathise nearly genes, birth defects and other medical conditions that run in families and how they can affect your health and your baby's wellness. Use our March of Dimes Family Health History Form to collect data about health weather in your family. Share the grade with your genetic advisor or health care provider.

Work with your health intendance provider to manage chronic wellness conditions. If you have a chronic health status, like diabetes, work with your wellness care providers to manage your condition and treatment (including medicine) before pregnancy. For instance, if you accept preexisting diabetes, work to get it under control 3 to half-dozen months before pregnancy. Monitor your blood sugar, take your diabetes medicine, eat healthy foods and exist active every day.

Talk to your provider nigh medicines yous have. Certain medicines you take may increase your baby'southward risk of having a birth defect. Tell your provider most whatever prescription medicines, over-the-counter (OTC) medicines, supplements and herbal products you have. If a medicine yous have may be harmful to your babe, you may be able to change to one that'southward safer earlier or during pregnancy. Just some medicines may be critical to your ain health, even if they may affect your baby. Yous and your provider can weigh the benefits and risks of medicine you have to give you the healthiest possible pregnancy. Don't beginning or stop taking any medicine without talking to your health care provider first.

Become to a healthy weight. Being obese (very overweight) can increase your babe's chances of having birth defects similar NTDs, heart defects and scissure palate. If yous're obese, you have an excess amount of body fat and your body mass index (BMI) is xxx or higher. To discover out your BMI, become to world wide web.cdc.gov/bmi. Eating good for you foods and doing something active every day can help you get to a healthy weight.

During pregnancy

Here'due south what you tin practise:

Go early and regular prenatal intendance. This is medical intendance you get during pregnancy. At each prenatal care checkup, your provider checks on you and your growing baby. Telephone call your provider and get for your showtime prenatal care checkup every bit soon as you know y'all're pregnant. And go to all of your prenatal intendance checkups, even if you're feeling fine. If y'all take a chronic wellness condition, work together with your prenatal intendance provider and other providers to manage your status during pregnancy.

Take folic acid. During pregnancy, take a prenatal vitamin that has 600 mcg of folic acrid in it every day.

Make sure any provider who prescribes yous medicine knows you're pregnant. Don't offset or stop taking any medicine (including OTC medicines, supplements and herbal products) during pregnancy without talking to your provider first. Doing this can cause serious problems for you and your infant. For case, talk to your provider earlier taking a vitamin A supplement. Getting likewise much vitamin A tin can increment your baby'southward adventure of having a nascency defect.

Don't fume, drink alcohol or use street drugs. Doing these things during pregnancy can cause many problems for your babe, including birth defects. If you need assist to quit, inquire your provider for assistance or visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA) Treatment Services Locator to find services near you.

Avert harmful substances in your environment. Here'due south what you can practise:

• Talk to your boss if you come in contact with harmful substances at work, similar strong chemicals, pesticides, lead, radiation or chemotherapy medicines. Ask about making changes to your chore or doing dissimilar piece of work while you lot're significant.
• Avoid secondhand smoke during pregnancy. Secondhand smoke is smoke y'all breathe in from someone else's cigarette, cigar, pipe or other tobacco product.
• Don't swallow fish that comprise large amounts of mercury during pregnancy. Mercury is a metallic that tin harm your babe. Fish with high amounts of mercury include swordfish, shark, king mackerel and tilefish.

Prevent infections. Here are some means to preclude infections:

• Don't travel to areas where Zika virus is spreading. If you do travel to a Zika-affected area, acquire how to prevent musquito bites. This is the most common fashion Zika spreads.
• Protect yourself from toxoplasmosis. This is an infection caused by a parasite that lives in soil. You can go infected by eating raw or undercooked meat or unwashed vegetables. Yous besides tin go it by touching true cat poop. It tin cause problems, similar body aches, headache, fatigue (being actually tired) or fever. If you're infected for the first time during pregnancy or just before pregnancy, you can pass the infection to your infant. Toxoplasmosis tin can cause birth defects like hearing loss. To reduce your risk of getting toxoplasmosis, ready nutrient safely, wear gloves when y'all touch soil, avert contact with animal poop and take someone else modify your cat's litter box.
• Protect yourself from cytomegalovirus (also called CMV). CMV is a mutual infection caused by a virus. Information technology spreads through trunk fluids like saliva and urine. If you're infected for the first fourth dimension during pregnancy, y'all can pass information technology to your baby. This increases the chances of your baby having birth defects like microcephaly and hearing loss. To reduce your risk of CMV infection, wash your hands often, habiliment gloves when changing diapers and don't share food and utensils with babies and immature children.

How practise y'all know if your infant has a birth defect?

A birth defect may be establish before birth or whatever time after nascence. Most nativity defects are diagnosed during the starting time year of your baby'southward life, but some may not exist found until subsequently in life. Some birth defects, like clubfoot, are easy to meet. Others, like hearing loss, are establish using special tests.

Checking for birth defects during pregnancy

You may accept prenatal tests (medical tests you go during pregnancy) to check your baby for nascency defects. These may include screening tests and diagnostic tests. A screening test is a medical examination to encounter if yous're at risk or if your infant is at risk for certain health conditions, like birth defects. A diagnostic exam is a medical examination to see if y'all do or don't accept a sure health condition. If a screening test shows your baby is at high risk for a birth defect, your provider may recommend a diagnostic test to ostend the results.

Tests to screen for nativity defects include blood tests and ultrasound. Ultrasound uses sound waves and a calculator screen to show a picture show of your baby inside the womb. Tests used to diagnose nativity defects may include amniocentesis (as well called amnio). This test takes some amniotic fluid from around your baby in the uterus (womb) to check for nascency defects and genetic conditions in your baby. You can get this test at xv to 20 weeks of pregnancy.

Your provider may recommend other tests if in that location are any signs your baby may have a birth defect. For case, a fetal echocardiogram (also called fetal echo) checks your baby's heart and sometimes can notice built heart defects. This test uses ultrasound to make a pic of your baby's heart while still womb.

Larn more than almost prenatal tests that bank check for birth defects in babies.

Checking for nascency defects after birth

Some birth defects, like clubfoot, cleft lip, crevice palate or microcephaly, can be seen when a babe is born and diagnosed with a physical exam.

Your baby'due south provider uses newborn screening tests to bank check for serious but rare and by and large treatable health weather condition at birth. These weather condition include birth defects, like critical CHDs. Newborn screening tests include blood, hearing and middle screening. All babies in the U.s.a. become newborn screening. Your baby gets these tests before she leaves the infirmary after birth, when she's one to ii days old. If your baby isn't built-in in a hospital, talk to her provider about getting newborn screening at 1 to 2 days of age. Some states require that babies have newborn screening again at about ii weeks of age.

There are iii parts to newborn screening:

1. Claret examination. Most newborn screening is washed with a blood test. A wellness intendance provider pricks your baby's heel to get a few drops of blood. He collects the claret on a special paper and sends it to a lab for testing. This test looks for genetic conditions.
2. Hearing screening. This examination checks for hearing loss. For this test, a wellness intendance provider places tiny earphones in your baby'southward ears and uses special computers to cheque how he responds to sound.
3. Heart screening. Babies are checked for critical CHDs using a examination called pulse oximetry. Information technology checks the corporeality of oxygen in your infant's blood by using a pulse oximeter machine and sensors placed on your baby's peel. Depression levels of oxygen can be a sign of a center defect. Pulse oximetry tin find many just non all critical CHDs. Your baby's provider as well may find a heart defect by doing a physical examination.

Most newborn screening results are normal. If your babe's screening results aren't normal, it may only mean he needs more testing. Your baby'south provider then recommends another kind of test, chosen a diagnostic examination, to see if in that location is a health trouble. If the diagnostic test results are normal, no more testing is needed. If the diagnostic examination results are non normal, your provider can guide you most next steps for your baby.

If a health condition is found early on with newborn screening, it often can be treated. Early on treatment is important, because it may assistance preclude more serious health problems for your baby.

How tin nascency defects bear upon your baby's health and development?

Some birth defects are mild and tin be treated without causing lasting problems for your baby. Other birth defects can crusade serious problems or even death, depending on what body part is involved and how much it is afflicted. Nascency defects tin can crusade concrete bug, intellectual and developmental disabilities, or both. Intellectual and developmental disabilities are problems with how the encephalon works that tin can cause a person to have trouble or delays in physical development, learning, communicating, taking care of himself or getting along with others.

Babies with birth defects oftentimes need special medical care and treatments, like medicines or surgery. Sometimes babies need assistive devices, like a hearing aid for hearing loss. Babies with birth defects also may demand special therapies, like speech therapy.

Early treatment for birth defects is important to preclude more serious wellness problems. If your baby has a nascence defect, she may need a squad of providers who work together to give her the best all-effectually care.

What health care providers treat nativity defects?

Your baby's medical care and the squad of health care providers involved depend on your baby's birth defect and her overall health. Your baby's providers work together to make sure she gets the medical checkups and treatment she needs. Depending on your infant's condition, she may demand long-term treatment. Your baby's teams of health care providers may include:

Providers who lead a baby's medical care squad

• Pediatrician. This doctor has training to have care of babies and children.
• Family unit practice medico (too called a family physician). This doctor takes care of every member of the family. A family do physician tin be your health care provider before, during and afterward pregnancy, and your baby's provider, besides.
• Neonatologist. This medico takes care of ill newborns, including premature babies (born before 37 weeks of pregnancy) and babies with nativity defects.
• Pediatric nurse practitioner (also called PNP). This registered nurse has avant-garde grooming to take care of babies and children.
• Family nurse practitioner (besides chosen FNP). This registered nurse has advanced training to have care of every member of your family.

Providers who care for digestion and feeding conditions

• Gastroenterologist. This doctor treats digestion and feeding issues. Digestion is the process of how your baby's body breaks down nutrient after she eats.
• Lactation consultant. This person is trained to help women breastfeed, even women who have breastfeeding problems.
• Nutritionist. This person can assist brand certain your infant gets all the nutrients she needs for salubrious growth and evolution.

Providers who treat center, ear, nose and throat weather condition

• Audiologist. This provider has training to treat hearing problems and hearing loss.
• Ophthalmologist. This physician treats eye and vision issues.
• Otolaryngologist (besides called an ear, nose and pharynx specialist or ENT). This doctor treats problems of the ears, nose and throat, like hearing loss or feeding problems.

Providers who treat heart, blood vessel and lung conditions

• Cardiologist. This doctor treats conditions of the heart and blood vessels, like heart defects.
• Pulmonologist. This physician treats lung conditions, like asthma.

Providers who treat hormone, gland and urinary tract conditions

• An endocrinologist. This doctor treats gland or hormone problems, similar diabetes or thyroid conditions.
• A urologist. This doctor treats problems of the urinary tract (kidneys, bladder, ureters and urethra).

Providers who treat bug with the brain, nerves, spine, bones and joints

• Neurologist. This medico treats brain, spine and nerve bug.
• Orthopedist. This doctor treats bone and articulation problems.
• Physiatrist. This doctor treats health atmospheric condition that bear on the brain, fretfulness, bones and muscles. A physiatrist also has special grooming in treating patients with disabilities.

Providers who care for developmental conditions

• Developmental pediatrician. This medico has training in child evolution and taking care of children with special needs. If your baby has developmental delays, she may demand to run into a developmental pediatrician. Developmental delays are when your child doesn't reach developmental milestones when expected. Milestones are skills or activities that most children can practice at a certain age. Milestones include sitting, walking, talking, having social skills and having thinking skills.
• Occupational therapist. This provider is trained to help people learn to do everyday activities. For children, this may be things similar brushing teeth, getting dressed, putting on shoes or learning to use a pencil. If your babe has feeding problems, she may need treatment from an occupational therapist.
• Physical therapist. This provider creates exercise programs to help build strength and help with motility. For case, if your child has clubfoot, concrete therapy can assistance her learn how to walk.
• Spoken communication therapist. This provider helps people with speech and language problems. A speech therapist also may help your baby if she has feeding problems.

Providers who assistance diagnose and treat birth defects caused by infections

• Infectious disease specialist. This doctor diagnoses and treats infections that may cause birth defects, like Zika, toxoplasmosis, rubella and CMV.
• Clinical geneticist. This doctor tries to find out the causes of birth defects and other genetic conditions. For example, if your babe has microcephaly, a clinical geneticist may cheque to encounter if it's caused by something other than Zika infection.

Providers who help support families

• Mental health professional. This provider helps people with emotional or mental health bug, like depression. A mental wellness professional can assist people cope with the stress of caring for a baby with a nascence defect. Mental health providers include social workers, therapists, counselors, psychologists, psychiatrists and psychiatric nurse practitioners.
• Social worker. A social worker assist people solve bug and make their lives better. Most hospitals have social workers who tin can help connect you with the resources you demand to care for your baby.

More data

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Last reviewed: June, 2019

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Source: https://www.marchofdimes.org/complications/birth-defects-and-your-baby.aspx

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