What are the genetic and environmental causes of birth defects?
When a baby is born with a birth defect, the first question usually asked by the parents is “how did this happen?” Sometimes, this question cannot be answered. This can be very upsetting for parents because it is normal to search for and desire an answer as to why your baby has a health problem. For about 40 percent of birth defects, however, there is a known cause, which has to do with either genetic or environmental factors, or a combination of the two. Here is some general information and terms related to the different causes of birth defects: • Inheritance Inheritance is a word used to describe a trait given to you or “passed on” to you from one of your parents. Examples of inherited traits would be your eye color or blood type. • Chromosome abnormalities Chromosomes are stick-like structures in the center of each cell (called the nucleus) that contain your genes. Problems involving chromosome material cause about 6 percent of all birth defects. • Single gene defects A defect in a
