Tag Archives: National Birth Defects Prevention Month

Leading Health Experts Emphasize Five Effective Ways To Prevent Birth Defects

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Every 4 ½ minutes a baby is born with a birth defect in the United States. It doesn’t have to be that common. That’s why DHEC is joining with leading prenatal health experts from the National Birth Defects Prevention Network (NBDPN), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, American Academy of Pediatrics, the March of Dimes, Teratology Society and MotherToBaby this month to increase awareness of five critical tips to reduce the chances of having a baby with a birth defect.

The National Birth Defects Prevention Month campaign theme, “Best for You. Best for Baby,” aims to raise awareness about the infants born with birth defects in South Carolina each year. In 2017, 1,142 infants were identified by the SC Birth Defects Program as having a birth defect. While we can’t prevent all birth defects, the following steps increase a woman’s chance of having a healthy baby.

  1. Be sure to take 400 micrograms (mcg) of folic acid every day.
  • Folic acid is very important because it can help prevent some major birth defects of the baby’s brain and spine.
  1. Book a visit with your healthcare provider before stopping or starting any medicine.
  • There are often benefits to continuing treatment throughout pregnancy. Discussing a treatment plan before a pregnancy allows a woman and her health care provider to weigh the pros and cons of all options to keep mom and baby as healthy as possible.
  1. Become up-to-date with all vaccines, including the flu shot.
  • Having the right vaccinations, like the flu and Tdap vaccines, at the right time during pregnancy can help keep a woman and her baby healthy.
  1. Before you get pregnant, try to reach a healthy weight.
  • Obesity increases the risk for several serious birth defects and other pregnancy complications.
  1. Boost your health by avoiding harmful substances during pregnancy, such as alcohol, tobacco and other drugs.
  • There is no known safe amount of alcohol that can be consumed during pregnancy and exposure to it can cause major birth defects.
  • Smoking during pregnancy can cause dangerous chemicals to damage the placenta and/or reach the baby’s bloodstream.
  • The opioid addiction epidemic has led to a sharp increase in Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS), premature birth and drug withdrawal in developing babies.

According to Jason Salemi, PhD, MPH and president of the NBDPN, “Birth defects are a common cause of death in the first year of a baby’s life, but change happens through awareness.”

 How You Can Help

 DHEC encourages health advocates as well as the public to be an active participant in National Birth Defects Prevention Month. Follow and share #Best4YouBest4Baby messages on social media platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Linkedin. The complete 2019 NBDPN Birth Defects Prevention Month information packet, including this year’s primary tips for birth defects prevention, “Best for You. Best for Baby. 5 Tips for Preventing Birth Defects,” is available online at: www.nbdpn.org/bdpm.php.

Additional Resources to Support Healthy Pregnancies

 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

The CDC’s National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities (NCBDDD) strives to advance the health and well-being of our nation’s most vulnerable populations.

www.cdc.gov/birthdefects

 American Academy of Pediatrics

Dedicated to the health of all children, providing age-specific health information.

www.healthychildren.org

 MotherToBaby, a free service of the non-profit Organization of Teratology Information Specialists (OTIS)

Communicate directly with experts about exposures, like medications, vaccines and more during pregnancy and breastfeeding by calling toll free (866) 626-6847, texting questions to (855) 999-3525, live chatting or emailing at

www.MotherToBaby.org

The Teratology Society

An international and multidisciplinary group of scientists, including researchers, clinicians, epidemiologists and public health professionals from academia, government and industry who study birth defects, reproduction and disorders of developmental origin.

www.Teratology.org

March of Dimes

An organization aiming to make sure babies get the strongest start possible as well as reducing the rate of prematurity.

www.marchofdimes.org

The SC Birth Defects program is committed to improving birth defects prevention, research, and referrals in South Carolina. The program can be reached at scbdp@dhec.sc.gov.

This Week at DHEC

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National Wear Red Day

 

 

A roundup of some of the ways we’re working for Healthy People and Healthy Communities.

Plantation Pipe Line Lewis Drive Release

In partnership with Anderson County, we held a public meeting on January 31 to hear comments and answer questions about the Plantation Pipe Line Lewis Drive Release.

Anderson County residents packed into a school cafeteria Tuesday to complain about Kinder Morgan’s cleanup efforts at its Belton gas spill site.

Representatives of the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control spent more than two hours at Cedar Grove Elementary School near Williamston. The officials gave updates, answered questions and heard complaints from Cheddar and Broadway Lake residents at the first such public meeting since the December 2014 spill.

We post regular updates about this issue here.

National Birth Defects Prevention Month

Maternal and Child Health Planning and Evaluation Program Manager Vinita Oberoi Leedom share ways to improve your chances of a healthy baby.

 

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Monarch Elementary School 5th Grade Students

Good News

 

Bread, New Year’s Resolutions and Healthy Babies

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By Vinita Oberoi Leedom, MPH, CIC
MCH Planning and Evaluation Program Manager

This Birth Defects Prevention Month, I’d like to introduce you to one of my favorite table-top heroes: Bread. Mouthwatering, crumbly, soft, flakey, warm crust. If that doesn’t sound delicious enough, what if you potentially saved yourself some dough (over $20,000 dollars a year for some birth defects) and the heartache of seeing your baby sick all because you ate fortified bread just prior to becoming pregnant?

The fortification of bread products with folic acid was one of the great public health victories of the 1990s that has ultimately reduced the number of birth defects by nearly 1,000 cases per year. Consumption of folic acid is linked to a reduction in neural tube defects, birth defects in which an opening in the spinal cord or brain remains from the baby’s development. Women on low-carb or gluten-free diets may not get enough folate from bread. Some other food sources of folate, or vitamin B9, include dark, leafy green veggies, broccoli, beef liver, avocado, beans and folic acid supplements of course. Yum!

Like many public health efforts, fortification is done behind the scenes so that public health is improved without majorly interrupting anyone’s daily routine. However, fortified bread is not enough. To improve your chances of a healthy baby, don’t let your New Year’s resolutions become stale:

  1. Reach and maintain a healthy weight and get diabetes, high blood pressure and other chronic medical conditions under control. Check out “Healthy Weight” by CDC for some tips and see a health care provider regularly.
  2. Plan ahead for a healthy pregnancy. If you are planning a pregnancy, get 400 micrograms (mcg) of folic acid every day and see your provider.
  3. Drop that cigarette (in an ashtray). Always avoid smoking cigarettes. Smoking makes all health problems worse. Need some help with quitting? Call the SC Tobacco Quitline at 1-800 QUIT NOW. Also, avoid alcohol at any time during pregnancy. It can cause all sorts of medical problems for babies.
  4. Avoid marijuana and other “street drugs”. A woman who uses marijuana or other “street” drugs during pregnancy can have a baby who is born preterm, of low birth weight, or has other health problems, such as birth defects. Women using marijuana for medical reasons should speak with their doctor about an alternative therapy with pregnancy-specific safety data.
  5. Prevent infections. Some easy steps to prevent infections include frequent handwashing, cooking meat until it’s well-done, and staying away from people who have an infection.
  6. Discuss vacation plans with your health care provider. Some places have local transmission of Zika virus, which is associated with serious brain defects in infants.
  7. One more time: Talk with your health care provider. Talk to a health care provider about any medications you are taking and also about getting vaccinated. Some routine vaccines can actually prevent birth defects.

While research is still being done on the causes of many birth defects, these aren’t half-baked recommendations. They have been tested, and have shown to improve the chances of a healthy baby. The SC Birth Defects Program (SCBDP) is working to gather information on all babies born with birth defects in our state. SCBDP conducts active surveillance of more than 50 birth defects from all of South Carolina’s delivering hospitals. Learn more about us here.

Making a PACT for prevention: Raising Awareness about Birth Defects

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By Vinita Oberoi Leedom​, SC Birth Defects Program Manager

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Every year in South Carolina, approximately 1,800 infants are born with a birth defect. That means roughly 1 in 33 babies born in our state each year will have a birth defect. Babies who survive and live with birth defects are at an increased risk for developing many lifelong physical, cognitive, and social challenges.

The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control is joining the National Birth Defects Prevention Network (NBDPN) this January, National Birth Defects Prevention Month, to raise awareness of the prevalence of birth defects and strategies that reduce the risk of birth defects and their complications.

Although not all birth defects can be prevented, all women who could become pregnant or are pregnant can lower their risk of having a baby with a birth defect by following some basic health guidelines throughout their reproductive years. This includes, “making a PACT for prevention”:

Plan ahead.

  • Get as healthy as you can before you get pregnant.
  • Get 400 micrograms (mcg) of folic acid every day.

Avoid harmful substances.

  • Avoid drinking alcohol and smoking.
  • Be careful with harmful exposures at work and home.

Choose a healthy lifestyle.

  • Eat a healthy diet that includes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low fat dairy, lean proteins, and healthy fats and oils.
  • Be physically active.
  • Work to get medical conditions like diabetes under control.

Talk to your doctor.

  • Get a medical checkup.
  • Discuss all medications, both prescription and over-the-counter.
  • Talk about your family history.

Efforts to raise awareness of this prevalent issue help to provide hope for reducing the overall number of birth defects. The South Carolina Birth Defects Program has resource materials available on our website to assist you in raising awareness of birth defects as a public health issue in your community. For more information about birth defects, please click here.