{"id":8496,"date":"2021-03-03T20:36:13","date_gmt":"2021-03-03T20:36:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/?p=8496"},"modified":"2025-11-14T16:18:26","modified_gmt":"2025-11-14T16:18:26","slug":"birth-defects","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/birth-defects\/","title":{"rendered":"Birth Defects"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/breastfeeding-484679202.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/breastfeeding-484679202-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"breastfeeding -484679202\" class=\"wp-image-2750\" srcset=\"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/breastfeeding-484679202-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/breastfeeding-484679202-450x300.jpg 450w, https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/breastfeeding-484679202.jpg 509w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Birth defects are defined as conditions that are present when a baby is born and can affect nearly every part of the body.&nbsp; Conditions such as cleft lip can be easily diagnosed.&nbsp; Other conditions such as deafness or heart defects may only be discovered after diagnostic testing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>The largest number of birth defects occurs during the first three months of gestation. In the U.S. approximately 120,000 babies are born with birth defects each year.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>The 10 most common birth defects in the US, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Down syndrome<\/li><li>Cleft lip (with or without cleft palate)<\/li><li>Atrioventricular septal defect (hole in the heart)<\/li><li>Absence or malformation of the rectum and\/or large intestine<\/li><li>Gastroschisis (hole in the abdominal wall)<\/li><li>Tetralogy of Fallot (a combination of heart defects)<\/li><li>Spina bifida without anencephaly<\/li><li>Reduction deformity, upper limbs<\/li><li>Reversal of the heart\u2019s two main arteries<\/li><\/ul>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Although birth defects can\u2019t always be prevented, there are plenty of steps pregnant women can take to help reduce the risk.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>The womenshealth.gov website offers these suggestions:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Make regular visits to your doctor throughout pregnancy<\/li><li>Get 400mcg of folic acid each day through diet or supplements<\/li><li>Don\u2019t smoke, use illegal drugs or drink alcohol while you are pregnant<\/li><li>Always check with your doctor before taking any medication<\/li><li>Get all vaccinations recommended by your doctor<\/li><li>If you have diabetes, keep it under control<\/li><li>Stick to a healthy weight<\/li><\/ul>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>You may also request a pre-pregnancy or early pregnancy screening test in order to spot potential or real birth defects.&nbsp; The types of tests include a carrier test to see if you or your partner carries potentially harmful genes, as well as screening and diagnostic tests that can determine risks for and detect genetic disorders.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>If you are pregnant, or planning to be, and want to discuss your options with one of our doctors, the <a href=\"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/clinical-services\/ob-gyn\/women-health\/\" target=\"_blank\">Women\u2019s Health Center<\/a> at Jamaica Hospital Medical Center is centrally located and has convenient hours; to make an appointment call 718-291-3276.<\/p>\r\n<p class=\"disclaimer\">All content of this newsletter is intended for general information purposes only and is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.  Please consult a medical professional before adopting any of the suggestions on this page.   You must never disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking medical treatment based upon any content of this newsletter.<strong>  PROMPTLY CONSULT YOUR PHYSICIAN OR CALL 911 IF YOU BELIEVE YOU HAVE A MEDICAL EMERGENCY.<\/strong> <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Birth defects are defined as conditions that are present when a baby is born and can affect nearly every part of the body.&nbsp; Conditions such as cleft lip can be easily diagnosed.&nbsp; Other conditions such as deafness or heart defects &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/birth-defects\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[324,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8496","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-observance","category-womens-health"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8496","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8496"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8496\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12555,"href":"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8496\/revisions\/12555"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8496"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8496"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jamaicahospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8496"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}