Fight Birth Defects With Good Nutrition
Most women do not find out that they are pregnant until after the baby's major organs are already developed. This means that damage may already be done. The best time to prevent birth defects through good nutrition is before the woman gets pregnant.
The Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis researchers have discovered that there is a connection between what pregnant women eat and how their genetic makeup is designed. This information is important because a personalized menu during pregnancy that is designed to be compatible with a pregnant woman's genetic makeup may benefit her unborn baby and help prevent birth defects. Genes and diet interact to cause birth defects, according to the university's research.
Most women do not find out that they are pregnant until after the baby's major organs are already developed. This means that damage may already be done. The best time to prevent birth defects through good nutrition is before the woman gets pregnant. Women are may become and especially those who desire to become pregnant need to understand the connection between good nutrition and preventing birth defects.
The goal of this particular study was to find out if there was a connection between diets lacking in fundamental nutrients like copper, had any interaction with the embryo's genetics during early development.
In the human body, copper is found in all body tissues and is a critical component to maintaining stable iron levels use in connective tissue formation, nerve cell functioning in the brain, and hormone production and also pigmentation. Copper can be found in such foods as shellfish, nuts, chocolate and liver.
One inherited disease linked to a deficiency of copper is Menkes disease. This is a metabolism disorder where there is a mutation in the ATP7A gene. Children born with Menkes disease have seizures, abnormal bone development, kinky, and colorless hair. The disorder is untreatable and fatal.
Birth DefectNeural tube defects (NTDs) include Spina bifida and Anencephaly and develop during the first month of pregnancy as a structural birth defect involving the brain and spinal cord. Many babies are stillborn or die soon after birth. MTDs are multifactorial defects and may often be prevented by mothers taking adequate amounts of folic acid before and during pregnancy.
Phenylketonuria (PKU) presents with developmental delays, mental retardation and is a genetic disease because the body does not process protein correctly.
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Understanding the role of copper in Menkes and other birth defects such as scoliosis (abnormal curvature of the spine), can lead to understanding the importance of proper diet guidelines for pregnant women and prepregnant women.
Further research may prove that there are more nutrients that affect the body's ability to develop normally or abnormally based on lack of a nutrient. Nutrition is critical for the developing fetus, understanding which nutrients cause certain birth defects can help physicians to better inform pregnant women regarding their dietary intake during and before pregnancy.
It is possible that with a better understanding of the role nutrition has to play in genetics and this fetal development; we may be able to prevent more birth defects from happening.
Some day women desiring to become pregnant may have a powerful arsenal in their individualized diet plan to help them avoid birth defects and give their unborn babies a better future.
Today's News About Birth Defects
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12/05/2008
Mother’s Act promotes pregnancy as lucrative market for Big Pharma (Online Journal)
Women of childbearing years represent the most lucrative market for the makers of psychiatric drugs. The knowledge that infants were being born with birth defects and suffering a withdrawal syndrome when these drugs were used during pregnancy was hidden for decades.
Mother’s Act promotes pregnancy as lucrative market for Big Pharma (Online Journal)
12/03/2008
Surgery bill too costly for them (The New Straits Times)
GEORGE TOWN: Month-old Cheah Zong Ting had an urgent operation recently to correct a heart-related birth defect.
Surgery bill too costly for them (The New Straits Times)
12/03/2008
Surgery bill too costly for them (The New Straits Times)
GEORGE TOWN: Month-old Cheah Zong Ting had an urgent operation recently to correct a heart-related birth defect. The operation at the Gleneagles Medical Centre here was to litigate a large patent ductus arteriosus -- the presence of an extra blood vessel outside the heart.
Surgery bill too costly for them (The New Straits Times)
12/01/2008
Using cosmetics during pregnancy 'increase birth defect risk' (New Kerala)
Melbourne, Dec 1 : Pregnant woman have been warned against the use of cosmetics, for they could lead to birth defects.
Using cosmetics during pregnancy 'increase birth defect risk' (New Kerala)
12/03/2008
Surgery bill too costly for them (The New Straits Times)
GEORGE TOWN: Month-old Cheah Zong Ting had an urgent operation recently to correct a heart-related birth defect.
Surgery bill too costly for them (The New Straits Times)
12/03/2008
Male Birth Defect May Be Linked To Genetic Mutations (Medical News Today)
Cryptorchidism, the congenital birth defect in which one or both testicles fail to descend into the scrotum, has been associated with certain genetic mutations, including a syndrome which is also a common cause of infertility, according to a study released on November 19, 2008 in JAMA.
Male Birth Defect May Be Linked To Genetic Mutations (Medical News Today)
11/30/2008
Cosmetics 'increase birth defect risk' (Daily Telegraph)
PREGNANT woman have been warned to make-do without make-up because it could lead to birth defects.
Cosmetics 'increase birth defect risk' (Daily Telegraph)
12/01/2008
Using cosmetics during pregnancy 'increase birth defect risk' (New Kerala)
Melbourne, Dec 1 : Pregnant woman have been warned against the use of cosmetics, for they could lead to birth defects.
Using cosmetics during pregnancy 'increase birth defect risk' (New Kerala)
12/03/2008
Surgery bill too costly for them (The New Straits Times)
GEORGE TOWN: Month-old Cheah Zong Ting had an urgent operation recently to correct a heart-related birth defect.
Surgery bill too costly for them (The New Straits Times)
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