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.

Age And Birth Defects The risk increases with every child born to the couple with spina bifida for every subsequent pregnancy. Folic acid deficiency in the mother increases the risk for the fetus.

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

07/04/2008
Birth defect is linked to STDs and infection (Deseret Morning News)
Young women who have both a sexually transmitted disease and a urinary tract infection just before or early in their pregnancy are four times more likely to have a baby born with intestines and other organs outside the abdomen, according to a study by University of Utah researchers.

Birth defect is linked to STDs and infection (Deseret Morning News)

07/02/2008
Who's saying what about gay and lesbian issues (Metro Weekly)
"She had a birth defect, and we call it that. I can't think of a worse birth defect, as a woman, than to have a penis ."

Who's saying what about gay and lesbian issues (Metro Weekly)

07/04/2008
Utah Group to Monitor Stillbirth's Disorders (FOX 13 Utah)
Researchers in Utah will begin looking for clues about what causes stillbirths and genetic metabolic disorders.

Utah Group to Monitor Stillbirth's Disorders (FOX 13 Utah)

07/02/2008
Boy born with heart outside chest (The Arizona Republic)
A toddler from Trinidad with a rare birth defect has come to Miami in the hope of finding help.

Boy born with heart outside chest (The Arizona Republic)

07/02/2008
Boy born with heart outside chest (12 News Phoenix)
A toddler from Trinidad with a rare birth defect has come to Miami in the hope of finding help. The International Kids Fund launched a campaign Tuesday to pay for surgery for 20-month-old Adrian Raheal.

Boy born with heart outside chest (12 News Phoenix)

07/02/2008
Young boy hopes Miami doctors can put heart back in chest (KARE 11 Minneapolis-St. Paul)
A toddler from Trinidad with a rare birth defect has come to Miami in the hope of finding help. The International Kids Fund

Young boy hopes Miami doctors can put heart back in chest (KARE 11 Minneapolis-St. Paul)

07/04/2008
Utah Group to Monitor Stillbirth's Disorders (FOX 13 Utah)
Researchers in Utah will begin looking for clues about what causes stillbirths and genetic metabolic disorders.

Utah Group to Monitor Stillbirth's Disorders (FOX 13 Utah)