Genetic And Environmental Causes: The Cause Of Birth Defects

“Birth defects are common, costly, and critical conditions that affect 1 in every 33 babies born in the United States each year” (Centers for Disease Control). When you think about it, that is a lot of people who are born with a birth defect. Now, what is a birth defect and what can it be caused by? Birth defects can range for non life threatening to death. Some examples of birth defects are autism, cleft lip, blindness, abnormal limbs, etc.. Those are just a few examples of birth defects, but what causes them? Birth defects can be caused by many things. Many forces exerted on the mother during the pregnancy cause birth defects because of genetic mutations and environmental factors. One factor that causes birth defects are genetic mutations.

The environment does not have an affect on whether the infant has a birth defect. Birth defects are caused by genetics. Something happened during to the genetics of the baby during cell division. Abnormal genes and chromosomes (abnormal, not enough, or to many) cause a child to have a birth defect. Genetic mutations are the reasons for birth defects. While all of that is true, the environment can cause birth defects. A mother can contract an illness that affects her and her unborn child. If a mother contract rubella during pregnancy, it can cause the child to have heart, vision, hearing problems, and even death. There are many other ways besides genetic mutations that can cause birth

There are leading causes for birth defects, but every situation is different. In the grand scheme of things, alcohol will cause birth defects. Drinking while pregnant does not always lead to birth defects, but a majority of the time it will lead to birth defects. “Every pregnancy is different. Alcohol may hurt one baby more than another… When you drink alcohol during pregnancy, the alcohol in your blood quickly passes through the placenta and the umbilical cord to your baby. The placenta grows in your uterus (womb) and supplies the baby with food and oxygen through the umbilical cord” (Alcohol During Pregnancy). Whatever the mother eats or drinks goes directly to the infant through the umbilical cord. So when the mother drinks alcohol it is going to the child. It may or may not affect the child but the risk that they will have a birth defect. Every pregnancy is different, but there is definitely a majority of factors that cause birth