Home Remedies and Herbs for Birth Defect

Birth defects is a term used to describe any type of condition present at birth that caused a structural or functional change to the baby. Birth defects can affect any part of the body, including organs, bones and the brain.¹ Birth defects can affect how the body works or looks or sometimes both and they can range from mild to severe. Some birth defects are manageable while others can be life threatening. Birth defects can be discovered during pregnancy, at birth or after birth. Most birth defects are discovered within the first year of life.¹ It’s estimated that there are nearly 120,000 babies born with birth defects annually in the United States. That’s 1 in every 33 births.¹

What Causes Birth Defects?

There are many different birth defects causes but they all relate to how the baby developed while inside the mother’s body. Birth defects form at any stage of pregnancy but most develop within the first 3 months. This is the stage at which the organs first start forming. The baby’s tissues and organs continue to grow during the last 6 months of pregnancy and so defects can occur during this time as well.^{1 2}

Exact birth defects causes depend on the type of birth defect. For example, fetal alcohol syndrome is a birth defect caused by consumption of alcohol during pregnancy. With other birth defects, it is unknown what causes them.^{1 2} Researchers feel that most birth defects causes are due to a combination of factors. These factors may include:¹

• Smoking and substance use during pregnancy
• Certain pre-existing medical conditions in the mother, such as obesity or diabetes
• A family history of birth defects
• Certain medications, including isotretinoin (acne medicine)
• Being a mother over the age of 34

Birth Defects Symptoms

• Cleft lip
• Congenital heart defects that affect how the blood flows
• Hearing loss
• Neural tube defects such as spina bifida, which affects the spinal cord and brain
• Abnormal limbs (i.e. clubfoot)
• Fetal alcohol syndrome
• Nervous system or brain development problems

References

1. https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/birthdefects/facts.html
2. https://medlineplus.gov/birthdefects.html
3. https://www.nichd.nih.gov/health/topics/birthdefects/conditioninfo/pages/types.aspx