LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Birth Defect: Babies
built 613 days ago
American veterans of the 1991 war in Iraq, who reported suffering a wide array of debilitating illnesses now known as Gulf War Syndrome (GWS), have had an alarming number of children born with severe birth defects, according to several independent researchers. The Pentagon and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)... have refused to acknowledge a direct relationship between those who served in or around Iraq during the war and the increase in birth defects among their offspring. ..."Sixty-seven percent of babies born to the 400,000 vets who suffer from Gulf War Syndrome have birth defects," said Joyce Riley, a former nurse who flew in Iraq and the founder and spokesperson of the American Gulf War Veterans Association. "But the Department of Defense and Veterans Affairs do not want America to know the number of sick, dead and deformed kids that vets are having. It's another cover-up."
Source:
In the United States, birth defects have been the leading cause of infant death for the past 20 years. This means one in five infant deaths is a result of a birth defect. About 150,000 (4%) of all babies born each year have a birth defect. In West Virginia between 1990 and 1999, 8,096 babies were diagnosed with a congenital abnormality. Many birth defects happen before a woman even knows she is pregnant. Since about half of all pregnancies are unplanned, it is important that prevention begins before pregnancy.
Source:
A birth defect is a problem that happens while a baby is developing in the mother's body. Most birth defects happen during the first 3 months of pregnancy. One out of every 33 babies in the United States is born with a birth defect.
Source:
Cleft lip/palate and Down syndrome are among the most common birth defects in the United States (7). About 6,800 babies are born with cleft lip/palate each year (7). Cleft lip/palate can cause problems with eating, speech and language. Some affected babies have a small cleft that can be corrected with one surgical procedure, while others have severe clefts and need multiple surgeries. About 5,500 babies are born each year with Down syndrome (7).
Source:
Close to 3% of babies born each year in the United States suffer from birth defects. Women over the age of 35 years have a greater chance of having a child with Down syndrome than women who are younger. Certain prescription drugs taking during pregnancy can increase the chance of birth defects. The following are some drugs that can cause birth defects: Accutane, Crestor, Cytotec, Lamictal, Lexapro, Paxil, Soriatane, and Terbutaline. Lastly some women have a higher chance of delivering a baby with a birth defect because someone in their family had a similar birth defect.
Source:
Certain infections can result in birth defects when a woman contracts them during pregnancy. About 40,000 babies a year (about 1 percent of all newborns in this country) are born with a viral infection called cytomegalovirus (CMV) (5). About 1 in 10 infected babies develop serious disabilities, including mental retardation and loss of vision and hearing (5). Pregnant women often get CMV from young children who have few or no symptoms.
Source:
MORE ABOUT
Babies