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You searched for birth-defects
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Pregnancy
The month of January has been named National Birth Defects Prevention Month, and here at Bundoo, we wanted to review some statistics about common birth defects and share ways that you can decrease your chances of having a baby affected with one. A...
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Baby
Congenital heart defects are the most common types of birth defect, affecting nearly 40,000 infants in the US each year. These conditions—which form in the baby’s heart while it’s still developing in utero—range from mild to severe life-threatening...
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Blog
Zika virus has been in the news quite a bit recently, and with good reason: since an increase in microcephaly (a birth defect where a baby develops an abnormally small head and brain) was noted in Brazil last year, there have been concerns that an...
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Baby
Doctors often diagnose congenital heart defects in the womb or during infancy, when symptoms, the mother’s medical history, or routine tests or physical exams reveal the abnormalities. But not all congenital heart defects are diagnosed so early....
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Baby
A normal heart has a muscular wall known as the atrial septum that separates the organ’s upper chambers, or the left and right atria. If there is a defect in this wall, it’s known as an atrial septal defect. In a normal newborn’s heart, the heart’s...
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Baby
Heart defects in newborns are among the most common birth defects in the United States. Heart defects occur during fetal development when the structures of the heart don’t develop normally. Alternatively, heart defects can occur after birth when...
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Baby
Parents are often devastated when they find out their newborn has a congenital birth defect. An uncommon cause of birth defects includes amniotic bands. Amniotic band sequence (ABS) involves a group of disorders that result in birth defects of the...
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Pregnancy
For women with cystic acne—painful, deep, and reddened acne blemishes—the oral medication isotretinoin can provide a solution for clear skin. However, this medicine is known to cause birth defects in babies born to women who use it during...
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Baby
Hypoplastic left heart syndrome is a serious congenital heart defect that affects development of the left side of the heart. This rare condition affects the heart’s mitral valve, left ventricle, aortic valve, and aorta. The baby’s left ventricle,...
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Baby
Some parents are concerned when they meet their newborn and see a defect in the front of their child’s ear. These are called ear tags or ear pits (preauricular pits). They are common birth defects. Both conditions are formed in utero, when the ears...
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Baby
While major congenital heart defects are sometimes diagnosed before birth through imaging studies like a fetal ultrasound, in most cases, doctors only diagnose a congenital defect after the newborn or infant begins to develop symptoms. In many...
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Baby
A ventricular septal defect (VSD) is a congenital heart defect that occurs during fetal development. Babies born with a VSD have a hole in the septum (wall) that separates the heart’s lower chambers, or the right and left ventricles. An intact...
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Pregnancy
Did you know that about one in every 33 babies is born with a birth defect? Although not all birth defects are preventable, a woman can take steps to increase her chances of having a healthy baby. One of these steps for all women of childbearing...
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Baby
It can be very scary for a new parent to find out their infant has a heart defect. Most parents have no idea what this means or what to expect next. But believe it or not, more than 40,000 babies each year are born with heart defects. Hopefully...
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Baby
Many parents will be surprised to learn that a heart murmur isn’t a disease. Rather, it is a symptom of an underlying condition. If your child has a heart murmur, your pediatrician will hear it while listening to your child’s heartbeat with a...
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Baby
Cleft lip and palate is one of the most common birth defects in the United States. Parents of infants who have a cleft defect at birth may face uncertainty and confusion. What is cleft lip and palate? What caused them? Can they be fixed? The...
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Pregnancy
A seizure is when brain activity becomes abnormal and can cause abnormal movements, awareness, or emotional states. Epilepsy, which is only one type of seizure disorder, tends to be the most well-known. This occurs when there is no known cause for...
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Health
Achondroplasia is a rare genetic disorder affecting one out of every 26,000-40,000 babies. There are more than 250,000 people worldwide afflicted with this disease. If a baby has achondroplasia, it will usually be evident at birth. Many patients...
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Pregnancy
Ideally, all women who are planning for pregnancy should have a preconception check-up to make sure they are in good health and have all the information they need to get their pregnancy off to a good start. However, if that is not possible, it is...
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Pregnancy
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) is an umbrella term used to describe the devastating effects that alcohol consumption can have on a baby in utero. This term includes several related conditions, resulting in physical, behavioral, and learning...
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Pregnancy
Up until now, only one weight has really mattered: yours. Your Body Still waiting for your “baby bump”? You might have to wait a little longer. Your uterus now is about the size of a grapefruit and still below your pubic bone, so most of the...
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Baby
The foramen ovale has an important role in the health of the fetal circulatory system. During fetal development, this hole in the wall between the heart’s upper chambers allows blood to bypass the lungs, which aren’t yet needed. After birth,...
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Baby
Tetralogy of Fallot is a complex congenital heart defect (e.g., present at birth) characterized by the presence of four heart problems. Babies born with this heart defect have: A large hole in the muscular wall that separates the heart’s lower...
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Pregnancy
Amniocentesis is a diagnostic procedure that is used before birth to look for genetic problems and birth defects in the developing fetus. During the procedure, your doctor removes a small amount of amniotic fluid from the uterus using a long...
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Health
Parents face many ethical dilemmas, but one of the most difficult (and controversial) can be when parents have an intersex child: a child who has a disorder of sexual development (DSD). Collectively, there are more than 60 conditions that can cause...
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Health
What is Cerebral palsy? Cerebral palsy (CP) is a disorder affecting a person’s ability to move and maintain balance and posture. Cerebral refers to the brain, and palsy refers to a weakness or problem using the muscles. CP is caused by damage to...
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Pregnancy
During amniocentesis, your healthcare provider takes a sample of your amniotic fluid to gather information about the health of your baby. The sample is removed using a fine needle and with the assistance of ultrasound. An amniocentesis can help...
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Baby
Your new baby will have many firsts: bath, feeding, and of course, dirty diaper. But what happens if a day or two goes by and your newborn doesn’t have that first bowel movement? If this happens, physicians might consider your baby for...
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Baby
Have you noticed that your baby tilts her head while at rest? Does your little one have a hard time turning his head fully from one side to the other? If so, perhaps your baby has torticollis. Torticollis occurs when pressure is put on the large...
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Health
Scoliosis is a medical condition most commonly diagnosed in adolescence that causes a young person’s spine to become curved. While many people may have a slight curve to their spines, curves greater than 25-50 degrees often require medical...
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Health
The kidneys are a pair of small abdominal organs that are responsible for filtering waste from the blood and eliminating it through the urine. Most children are born with two kidneys, but sometimes a child is either born with a single kidney,...
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Pregnancy
Welcome to Week 3! It might not feel like much of anything has changed so far—perhaps the only sign you’re pregnant at all is a positive pregnancy test. But rest assured: amazing things are happening. Your baby is already developing and is...