The Three Most Common Preventable Birth Defects and Their Causes

Experts at New York's Pregnancy Risk Network Teratogen Information Service (PRN), a non-profit that aims to educate women about all types of exposures that pose risk to pregnancy and breastfeeding, report that 160,000 babies are affected by birth defects each year in the U.S. Approximately 3 percent of the babies born each year in New York are born with birth defects, some of which can be prevented.

In honor of National Birth Defects Prevention Month, which is recognized during January of each year, the PRN is stepping up efforts to help educate the public about preventable causes of some common birth defects. Specialists at the PRN have compiled a list of a few of the preventable causes of some of the most common birth defects:

1. Neural Tube Defects and Folic Acid Supplementation

Neural tube defects are malformations of the spinal cord that are serious and can be life-threatening. Two of the most common neural tube defects are spina bifida and anencephaly, and these occur in about 1 in every 1,000 live births. Getting enough folic acid, and following recommendations to take a multivitamin with folic acid or a folic acid supplement containing at least 400 mcg daily during all of the years that a woman is capable of becoming pregnant can prevent up to 70 percent of these defects. Because the neural tube closes in the first month after conception, a time when many women do not yet realize they are pregnant, it is important for women, in addition to a healthy diet, to be taking supplements before pregnancy. That is why the recommendation is to take supplements throughout the childbearing years.