Around 3 to 4 percent of all babies that are born in the United States have some type of congenital abnormality that will affect the way they develop, look, or function. Congenital abnormalities are caused by issues that occur while the fetus is developing before birth. Moms and dads should take proper medical care of themselves before and during the pregnancy to help reduce the risk of any preventable congenital abnormalities.
There are 5 categories of congenital abnormalities that babies can suffer from, including:
- Chromosome Abnormalities – babies inherit 23 chromosomes from their father and 23 from their mother. When a child is born without the standard 46 chromosomes or when pieces of the chromosomes are duplicated or missing, they may behave and look different and can develop serious health issues.
- Single Gene Abnormalities – which occur when the chromosomes are normal in number but one or more of the genes within the chromosome are abnormal. These can include X-linked conditions, X-linked dominant conditions, autosomal dominant inheritance, and autosomal recessive inheritance.
- Conditions during pregnancy – there are certain situations that moms can be put in that can affect the baby. These situations can including chronic maternal conditions such as hypertension and diabetes, certain illnesses, alcohol consumption, certain medications, and eating uncooked or raw foods.
- Combination of environmental and genetic problems – certain congenital abnormalities occur due to a genetic tendency for the condition in combination with exposure to specific environmental influences in the womb during the critical stages of pregnancy.
- Unknown causes – most congenital abnormalities do not have a known cause. This can be even more troubling for parents who are planning on having more children since they cannot predict the likelihood that the issue will reoccur.
To schedule your prenatal consultation for congenital abnormalities while expecting your bundle of joy, contact Pediatric Surgical Associates in Orange County, California, your Orange and Mission Viejo Pediatric Surgeons.