Birth Defects Prevention Month

January is Birth Defects Prevention Month. Ontario County Public Health is joining the National Birth Defects Prevention Network in their efforts to alert women who are considering having a baby about the urgent need for good health practices before and during pregnancy.

Good health habits for women that help reduce the number of birth defects include:

• Knowing your family history and genetic risks
• Talking with a doctor about having a baby before you try to get pregnant
• Managing any health problems you already have
• Taking a multivitamin with at least 400mcg of folic acid every day

Just taking a multivitamin every day - especially if you are planning to become pregnant - can make a big difference. In fact, experts believe taking a multivitamin with folic acid can reduce the risk of having a baby with Spina Bifida by as much as 70%!

Spina Bifida is a common kind of birth defect. It occurs when the spinal cord in the fetus does not completely enclose the spinal nerves during the first few weeks of pregnancy. Having Spina Bifida can cause serious complications, including muscle weakness and /or some degree of paralysis.

Spina Bifida is an example of a type of birth defect whose risk of occurrence can be significantly reduced by taking something as simple as a vitamin (folic acid). There are other birth defects whose risk of occurrence can be reduced by not taking common substances such as alcohol, drugs and nicotine. These are toxic to a developing fetus.

Drinking alcohol during pregnancy causes a particularly devastating defect called Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. In Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, the baby is born with a mis-shaped skull and mental retardation. It is 100% preventable by just not drinking alcohol while pregnant. Abstinence from cocaine and other drugs also spare newborns withdrawal symptoms and other possible defects. Not smoking during pregnancy results in a higher birth weight for your baby and a lowered risk of premature birth.

There are literally hundreds of other birth defects. For more information on birth defects in general or the three defects highlighted here, please visit the following web sites:

• http://www.nbdpn.org
• http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/neuraltubedefects.html
• http://www.cdc.gov
• http://www.marchofdimes.com

Most birth defects have no identified cause. But for those that do,