birth defects

About every 4 1/2 minutes in the U.S. a baby is born with a major birth defect. The leading reason for U.S. infants, deaths is birth defects. It is also the cause of 20% of mortality in the first year of life. Babies born with birth defects are also more likely to have more illness and long term disability than babies without birth defects. National Birth Defects Prevention Month occurs in January. The month helps raise awareness about the frequency of birth defects occurring in the U.S. and the efforts to prevent them. Not all birth defects are preventable but  there are many things that women can do to prepare for a healthy pregnancy. Future moms and ladies looking to get pregnant can do their share by:

• Staying fit using a healthy diet that will help towards a healthy weight before and during pregnancy
• Avoiding alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drugs can help before and during pregnancy as well. The mom to be should digest about 400mg of folic acid a day. If the mother has any health conditions such as diabetes she should work to get it under controll
• Visit a health care professional before and during a pregnancy is a wise decision. Medication taken during pregnancy should be prescribed by personal doctor.  No over the counter or herbal medications should be taken without physicians information. 

Approximately 1 in every 33 babies born in the U.S. has a birth defect The March of Dimes reports 6% of total births worldwide (almost 8 million children) are born with birth defects. Over 4 million infant deaths occurring annually due to birth defects and pretend birth. 

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