Approximately eight percent of all children are born with some form of birth defect or physical irregularity. While many of these birth defects are relatively minor, some can cause lifelong disabilities and premature death. In fact, birth defects are the number one cause of death during the first year of life.
There are over 4,000 known birth defects including those of the heart, digestive system, face, spine, limbs, brain, eyes, kidneys, bladder, and chromosomal irregularities. While the causes of most birth defects are unknown, many may be due to heredity or environmental factors such as drug use (legal or illegal) and pollution.
View sub-topics at right to learn more about some specific birth defects, including birth defects caused by drug use, as well as information on how to contact a birth defects lawyer.
See Also
- Anencephaly: Overview
- Cerebral Palsy
- Children's Health Matters: Overview
- Cleft Lip: Overview
- Congenital Heart Defects
- Spina Bifida: Overview
- Turner's Syndrome: Overview
- 1,3-Butadiene
- 2-Butanone
- 2-Butoxyethanol
- Accupril / Quinapril Hydrochloride: Overview
- Accutane / Isotretinoin
- Acetone
- Acrolein Exposure: Overview
- Acrylonitrile
- Product Liability - Food & Restaurant - Alcoholic Beverages Overview
- Anthrax Vaccine
- Atrazine
- Ballou High School - Washington, D.C.
- Bellvue, Colorado
- Benlate / Benomyl
- Benzene
- Boron
- Bromodichloromethane
- Cabot-Koppers, Gainesville
- Cadmium
- Cafergot / Ergotamine Tartrate and Caffeine: Overview
- Carbon Disulfide
- Cesium
- Chlorinated Dibenzofurans (CDFs)
- Chloroform
- Cigarettes & Tobacco
- Clair-Mel City Central Service Yard: Overview
- Clarinex / Desloratadine: Overview
- Claritin / Loratadine
- Coal Ash Exposure: Overview
- Coronet Industries - Plant City, Florida
- Depacon / Valproate Sodium
- Diesel Exhaust
- Dilantin / Phenytoin Sodium
- Escambia & Santa Rosa Counties - Florida: Overview
- Fritz Mine - Fairfield, North Dakota
- Fruit Avenue Plume Site - Albuquerque, New Mexico
- GE Capacitators - Queensbury, New York: Overview
- GEL Landfill: Overview
- Geneva Steel - Vineyard, Utah
- Georgetown, Texas
- Ginseng
- Glycol Ethers: Exposure
- Hall Street Plant - Beaverton, Oregon
- In Vitro Fertilization: Overview
- Indiana County, Pennsylvania
- Ionizing Radiation
- Isophorone
- Lamictal / Lamotrigine
- Landia Chemical Company: Overview
- Mason Valley - Nevada
- Massena GM Plant: Overview
- Matamoros, Mexico & Brownsville, Texas: Overview
- Mavik / Trandolapril: Overview
- Mercury
- Midnite Mine - Wellpinit, Washington
- Migrant Workers: Overview
- Monopril / Fosinopril Sodium: Overview
- Mustard Gas
- Nitrogen Mustards (HN-1, HN-2, HN-3) (Blister Agent)
- Olin Corporation Plant - McIntosh, Alabama
- Ooplasmic Transfer: Overview
- Organic Solvents: Exposure
- Paxil / Paroxetine Hydrochloride
- PCBs
- Perchlorate
- Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons / PAH
- Prometrium / Progesterone
- Railroad Workers & The Federal Employers' Liability Act (FELA)
- RhoGAM
- Royal Demolition eXplosive - RDX
- School Buses & Commercial Lines
- Semiconductor Industry
- Soriatane / Acitretin
- Stauffer Chemical: Overview
- Strontium
- Teflon
- Tegretol / Carbamazepine
- Teveten / Eprosartan Mesylate: Overview
- Thimerosal
- Tin
- Toluene
- Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons (TPH)
- Trichloroethylene
- Trimethoprim: Overview
- Union City Cemetery - Indiana: Overview
- Univasc / Moexipril Hydrochloride: Overview
- Uranium
- Vanadium Exposure: Overview
- Videx / Didanosine
- Vinyl Chloride
- Vitamin A: Overview
- Wingate Landfill - Fort Lauderdale
- Birth Defects: Frequently Asked Questions