Category Archives: Birth Defects
Texas Officials Investigate Chemical Release, Possible Link to Birth Defects
According to CHRON, Texas state officials and Texas A&M are investigating a sharp increase in the presence of frequently fatal birth defects in southeast part of the state. The affected area is where thousands of residents were evacuated from due to a chemical company fire two years ago. State officials and Bryan-College Station recorded five cases of the chromosomal disorder trisomy 18 in the seven months after a 2009 blaze at El Dorado Chemical Co fire that burned fertilizer and shut down the Texas A&M campus. Before the fire, only eight cases of the birth defect were recorded in the decade before the fire. The disorder is associated with severe intellectual disability and abnormal organ development. The disorder is also known as the Edwards syndrome, which leads to life-threatening health problems and kills about 90 percent of children born with the defect before they reach their first birthday. The Texas…
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Tagged Birth Defects, chemical, chromosomal disorder trisomy 18, Edwards syndrome, fatality, fertilizer, fire, release
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Study Finds Increased Use of Medications During Pregnancy
According to Max Health, an increasing number of pregnant women are using medications. According to a study published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, the rise of medications during pregnancy may raise the risk of fetal damage. The study reiterated that drugs such as isotretinoin, thalidomide, Phenobarbital and valporate have been known to cause birth defects. However, little is known about the effects of the majority of prescription and over-the-counter drugs that are commonly taken during pregnancy. The study suggests it is impossible for pregnant women to know if medications they are taking pose a potential threat to the fetus. At the same time, information about birth defects and medications use may prompt some women to stop taking medications they need to treat a serious health condition. The study was a collaboration between Boston University’s Slone Epidemiology Center, Harvard School of Publish Health and the Centers for Disease…
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Tagged Birth Defects, drug usage, medication, Pregnancy, pregnancy drug, prescription
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Anticonvulsant Medication Depakote Associated With Serious Birth Defects
According to the San Francisco Gate, anticonvulsant medication such as Depakote are being increasingly linked to birth defects. Recent studies have found that victims of birth defects may have been exposed to anticonvulsants in the uterus. Mothers may have been prescribed Depakote which has the risk of potentially causing life-long conditions such as spina bifida, heart malformations or oral cleft birth defects. Depakote is a widely used anticonvulsant drug on the market, prescribed to women suffering from epilepsy and migraine headaches. A report entitled The Teratogenicity of Anticonvulsant Drugs done by the New England Journal of Medicine suggests a connection between Depakote use and the development of birth defects among infants exposed to the drug during pregnancy. The Food and Drug Administration supports these findings and published its own report Birth Defects Related to Depakote and Similar Drugs. The report is a compilation of studies conducted on adverse effects of…
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Posted in Birth Defects
Tagged anticonvulsant, birth defect, cleft birth defect, depakote, headache, migraine, Pregnancy
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