Bringing Awareness to Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia

With all the things expectant parents have to worry about there are some things that they should be aware of as well. Birth defects should be on that list. Many babies are born with birth defects from the very minimal to major defects that effect life. One type of birth defect is Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia. An average of 1600 babies are born each year with CDH in the United States.

Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia is a birth defect that occurs when a baby's diaphragm fails to fully form, allowing abdominal organs to enter the chest cavity and prevents lung growth Organs that are normally located in the abdomen are the stomach, intestine, liver and spleen. These organs travel to the chest cavity through a hole in the diaphragm. Thus the lungs are not allowed to grow or develop properly. 

Babies born with CDH may suffer from a form of underdeveloped lungs known as pulmonary hypoplasia. This condition affects the distance that oxygen has to travel to reach the blood vessels in the lungs, the amount of blood that can be carried in the blood vessels in the lungs and other issues may occur. 

Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia can be caused a few different ways. One is that the baby's chromosomes has a problem or a genetic disorder is present. Other ways that CDH occur without any genetic causes. Often genetic testing is required. 

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