Causes of birth defects .... 1

Causes of birth defects .. 1

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Causes of birth defects... 1
Posted in 2014

Birth defects can be caused by genetic factors and by a variety of environmental injuries such as infection, radiation, and drug exposure during pregnancy. The majority of birth defects, however, are without detectable cause.

About 20% of birth defects are caused by genetic or hereditary factors. Every human body cell contains 46 chromosomes, and each chromosome contains thousands of genes. Each gene contains a blueprint that controls development or function of a particular body part. People who have either too many or too few chromosomes will therefore receive a scrambled message regarding body development and function.

Down syndrome is an example of a condition caused by too many chromosomes. Because of an accident during cell division, individuals with Down syndrome have an extra copy of a particular chromosome. This extra chromosome causes a typical group of birth defects to occur repeatedly in affected persons. Individuals with Down syndrome have mental retardation, muscle weakness, downward slant of the eyes, low-set and malformed ears, an abnormal crease in the palm of the hand, and birth defects of the heart and intestines.

With Turner syndrome, a disorder that s only women, a person lacks a particular chromosome. In the affected persons, this causes short stature, learning disabilities, and absence of ovaries.

Since each of the genes on the chromosomes controls the structure and function of a body part, people with defective genes will show defects in the corresponding body part. These abnormal genes often cause hereditary disorders that pass down within a family. Hemophilia (absence of a blood-clotting chemical) is a familial disorder caused by a defective gene. Other examples of familial gene disorders are cystic fibrosis (a disorder that causes progressive damage of the lungs and pancreas) and sickle cell anemia.

Defective genes can also be caused by accidental damage, a condition called spontaneous mutation. Most cases of achondroplasia (a condition that causes extreme short stature and malformed bones) are caused by new damage to the controlling gene.

Other causes

About 10% of birth defects are caused by environmental factors such as infection, radiation, and drugs. These environmental factors can cause death, severe birth defects, or might have no effect at all on the developing baby depending on when during pregnancy the exposure occurs.

The developing baby goes through two major stages of development after conception. The first, or embryo stage, occurs during the first 10 weeks after conception. Most of the major body systems and organs form during this time. The second, or fetal stage, is the remainder of the pregnancy. This fetal period is a time of growth of the organs and of the fetus in general. The developing baby is most vulnerable to injury during the embryo stage when organs are developing. Indeed, infections, radiation, and drugs cause most of their damage when exposure occurs 2 to 10 weeks after conception.

Rubella, or German measles, is an example of an infection that causes birth defects if a woman has the infection during early pregnancy. The type of birth defect that results depends on the stage of development when the infection occurs. Rubella causes cataracts if infection occurs during the 6th week of pregnancy, deafness if the infection occurs during the 9th week, and heart defects if the infection occurs between the fifth and 10th week of pregnancy.

Radiation during the first 3 months of pregnancy can cause birth defects such as microcephaly (small head), spina bifida (a hole in the back that marks the premature end of the spinal nerves), blindness, or cleft palate. Various medicines and recreational drugs can cause birth defects, which are most severe when used during the first 3 months of pregnancy. Thalidomide, an anti-nausea medicine prescribed during the 1960s, caused birth defects called phocomelia (absence of most of the arm with the hands extending flipper-like from the shoulders).

My advise

1...   If you wants to give birth to Healthy child you should leave smoking, alcohol, junk foods.........
2...   Drink sufficient water
3...   Eat healthy food
4..    Develop positive thinking
5..    Today about 90 million per year children are taking birth as defective births.   I suggest every couple to follow healthy habits to avoid defective births.

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