Congenital Birth Defects

A congenital birth defect is an abnormality of structure, function or metabolism that is present at birth. Birth defects can lead to physical and/or mental problems. Congenital birth defects can range from mild to severe. Some severe congenital birth defects can be fatal. A recent study about congenital birth defects showed that women who smoke during pregnancy have infants who are significantly smaller and of shorter gestational age than mothers who do not smoke.

Based on this data and findings from most of the available literature, however, gestational smoking is unlikely to cause a large increase in congenital birth defects. Some of the most common congenital birth defects that occur during embryonic development include congenital heart defects, oral-facial clefts and neural tube defects. The overall treatment, prognosis and management is dependent upon which part of the body is affected and how severely it is affected. 

About 3-4% of all babies are born with congenital birth defects, which can be caused by many factors. However, most of the time, a cause is not found.

Many congenital birth defects are caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors.

Read stories of congenital birth defects and how they were treated in Matters of the Heart.