Most Common Birth Defects

Though you may not realize it, birth defects are extremely common. About one in every 33 babies born in the United States will have some type of birth defect, which translates to about one baby born every four and a half minutes.

“Birth defects can impact any part of the body on the baby,” Covington Women’s Health gynecologist Dr. Cathy T. Larrimore stated. “And they can range from mild to severe, depending on how they impact the child.”

But what are the most common birth defects, and how can they impact moms and the babies that are born with them? Learn more about this from the expert gynecologists at Covington Women’s Health below.

The Birth Defects that Appear Most Often

In total, there are about 45 types of birth defects. Here are the most common types:

Genetic Defects

This type of birth defects affects the genetic make-up of the baby, and it may be caused by the DNA inherited from the parents. However, it’s not 100% clear what causes all of the birth defects under this branch. Some examples include down syndrome, cystic fibrosis, and sickle cell anemia.

Mouth and Facial Defects

This kind of birth defect is caused when the tissues don’t come together properly when the baby is being formed inside the womb. The good news is, however, that most of the time most of these defects can be repaired with surgery. Examples of this birth defect include cleft lip and cleft palate.

Musculoskeletal Defects

These birth defects are the ones that affect the baby’s bones and muscles when they are born, whether that be through the way the baby was formed or issues during the actual birthing process. A common example of this type includes hip dysplasia, which is when the hip joint becomes dislocated due to the fact of the hip socket not covering the bone correctly.

Stomach and Intestinal Defects

These birth defects happen anywhere in the baby’s digestive tract. This means from the esophagus all the way to the anus. Common examples of this type of birth defect are abdominal wall defects or gastroschisis, which is when a baby is born with its intestines outside of its body.

Eye Defects

Just as the same suggests, eye birth defects happen on the baby’s eyes. Common types of this include anophthalmia, when the baby is born without one or both of the eyes, or microphthalmia, when one or both of the eyes are not fully developed.

If you have any more questions about common birth defects or want to learn more about birth defects in general, please reach out to the expert team of gynecologists at Covington Women’s Health Specialists by clicking here or by giving us a call at 770-385-8954.