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A birth defect, also known as a congenital disorder, is an abnormal condition that is present at birth regardless of its cause. Birth defects may result in disabilities that may be physical, intellectual, or developmental. The disabilities can range from mild to severe.
- Overview
- Birth Defects
- Causes & Risk Factors
- Prevention
- Treatment & Care
This article is about birth defects, which cause 240 000 newborn deaths and 170 000 deaths of children between the ages of 1 month and 5 years worldwide. It discusses the causes, risk factors, prevention methods, screening procedures, treatment options and efforts by WHO to combat birth defects.
An estimated 240 000 newborns die worldwide within 28 days of birth every year due to birth defects. Nine of ten children born with a serious birth defect are in low- and middle-income countries. The most common severe birth defects are heart defects, neural tube defects and Down syndrome. It is often difficult to identify the exact causes of birth...
A minority of birth defects are caused by genetic abnormalities such as chromosomal abnormalities or single gene defects; consanguinity also increases the prevalence of rare genetic birth defects nearly doubles the risk for neonatal death, intellectual disability etc.. Low-income may increase frequency among resource-constrained families/countries;...
Preventive public health measures work to decrease frequency through removal of risk factors or reinforcement protective factors e.g healthy diet for adolescent girls/mothers, avoiding harmful substances like alcohol&tobacco , reducing environmental exposure hazardous substances during pregnancy etc . Screening can be conducted preconceptionally i....
Some can be treated medical surgical interventions access varies country different levels health system complex care increasingly available LMIC's surgery good follow up care reduces lethality morbidity associated structural bd's medical treatment metabolic endocrine hematological conditions improves quality life long term support physical therapy ...
Congenital disorders can be defined as structural or functional anomalies that occur during intrauterine life. Also called birth defects, congenital anomalies or congenital malformations, these conditions develop prenatally and may be identified before or at birth, or later in life.
Hirschsprung's disease is a congenital disorder of the colon in which certain nerve cells, known as ganglion cells, are absent, causing chronic constipation. In patients with Hirschsprung disease, both myenteric and submucosal plexuses are absent.
Congenital disorder, abnormality of structure and, consequently, function of the human body arising during development. This large group of disorders affects almost 5 percent of infants and includes several major groups of conditions. Malformations are abnormalities of the human form that arise.
A birth defect (or congenital disorder) is a defect in a baby at birth, or which develops in the first month of life. [2] . It is neutral as to whether the cause is genetic (inherited birth defect) or environmental (causes in the environment, that is, outside the foetus ). If a condition is said to be "congenital", that is neutral language.
