BACKGROUND Prevalence rates of all anomalies classified as birth defects, including those identified before the 22nd gestational week, are limited in published reports, including those from the International Clearinghouse for Birth Defects Surveillance and Research (ICBDSR). In our birth cohort study, we collected the data for all birth defects after 12 weeks of gestation. METHODS Subjects in...

Advances in treating infertile couples by assisted reproductive technologies (ART) over more than three decades have greatly improved the chances of better outcomes. While twinning and higher order multiple birth rates are still high in most countries, lower rates have sometimes been achieved by single-embryo transfer. Multiple preg- Abstracts of the 12th Royan International Congress on Reprodu...

BACKGROUND Birth defects are defined as structural and functional defects that develop during the organogenesis period and present at birth or detected later in life. They are one of the leading causes of infant and child mortality, morbidity, and long term disability. The magnitude of birth defects varies from country to country and from race/ethnicity to race/ethnicity, and about 40-60% of th...

Birth defects are a major cause of mortality among children under five. In accordance with its mission, the March of Dimes Foundation is dedicated to reducing the toll of birth defects on children, families, and society. Founded in 1938 to fight polio, March of Dimes currently focuses on prevention of birth defects and preterm birth and has had a major influence on surveillance, research, advoc...

BACKGROUND Previous studies suggested an excess of matrilineal cases of neural tube defects among distant relatives in NTD families. There is little information on patterns of heredity of other birth defects among distant relatives. METHODS Between 1995 and 2003, 78 nuclear families and 373 uncles and aunts were interviewed about birth defects among uncles and aunts in Irish families with an ...

Assisted reproductive technologies (ART) like in vitro fertilization have enabled many infertile couples to achieve pregnancy. Although ART pregnancies have long been known to be characterized by increased rates for certain maternal complications, these complications are predictable based on the mother’s more advanced age - increased medical complications like hypertension or diabetes mellitus....

BACKGROUND Older mothers are becoming more common in Japan. One reason for this is the widespread use of assisted reproductive technology (ART). This study assesses the relationship between maternal age and the risk of birth defects after ART. METHODS Nationwide data on ART between 2004 and 2010 in Japan were analyzed. Diseases that were classified as code Q00-Q99 (ie, congenital malformation...

BACKGROUND Birth Defects are a series of diseases that seriously affect children's health. Birth defects are generally caused by several interrelated factors. The aims of the article is to estimate the prevalence rate and types of birth defects in Inner Mongolia, China, to compare socio-demographic characteristics among the children with birth defects and to analyze the association between risk...

Increasing cases of birth defects has been a worldwide problem for decades. According to the available reports, most of the birth defects were induced by exogenous factors including environmental, chemical or physical factors. As most of these problems are life-threatening and might cause lifelong disability, the concern on reducing the incidences of birth defects has been proportionally increa...

BACKGROUND The Metropolitan Atlanta Congenital Defects Program (MACDP) is a population-based birth defects surveillance program administered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that has been collecting, analyzing, and interpreting birth defects surveillance data since 1967. This paper presents an overview of MACDP current methods and accomplishments over the past 35 years. ...