Congenital (developmental) defects in children are diagnosed in 2-4 percent. newborns. The most common birth defects in young children are heart defects - they affect an average of 1 in 100 children worldwide. Other frequently recognized malformations are defects of the nervous system. Check out the most common birth defects in children.

Congenital defects in childrenare developmental disorders that lead to abnormalities in the structure of various parts of the child's body. Congenital malformations occur in 2-4 percent. newborns, being the leading (first or second) cause of infant death.

The causes offor birth defects vary. Genes or environmental factors such as cigarettes, alcohol, drugs, ionizing radiation, certain drugs, intrauterine infections (e.g. toxoplasmosis, rubella) may be to blame. In some cases, both genetic and environmental factors are responsible for developmental defects. Developmental defects in children can be recognized (thanks to prenatal tests) and some of them can be treated during pregnancy.

The most common congenital heart defects in children

Symptoms of heart defects in a newborn baby include a bluish color of the skin, increased heart rate, shortness of breath, and heart murmurs. The most common birth defects in children are abnormalities in the structure of the heart.

It is estimated that eight in a thousand newborns have a large congenital heart defect. The most common is the ventricular septal defect. In this case, a fragment of the partition separating the chambers is found to be missing. Other frequently diagnosed heart defects in children are:

  • defect in the atrial septum - results from abnormalities in the development of the atrial septum
  • patent Botalla ductus arteriosus - Botalla duct is a blood vessel in the fetus that connects the pulmonary artery to the aorta and drains blood directly from the right ventricle to the aorta, bypassing the pulmonary circulation. At birth, when the baby takes its first breath, the tube closes. However, in some cases, the tube does not close - then it is a patent ductus arteriosus of Botalla
  • aortic stenosis - the aorta (the largest artery) and its branches carry blood throughout the body. In the case of its narrowing in the section not far from the exit from the heart, the organs below the narrowing cannotfunction properly because they are insufficiently supplied with blood. Then we talk about aortic stenosis

Neural tube birth defects

Folic acid plays a significant role in preventing birth defects of the nervous system. A woman should start taking it before becoming pregnant.

Defects of the cerebral tube include :

  • bezbraingowie - the child has no brain or skull bones. The eyes and face are developed. The child is often born alive, but dies in a short time
  • cerebral hernia - this is the displacement of a fragment of the skull contents through the defect in the bones of its cover
  • hydrocephalus - means an excessive build-up of cerebrospinal fluid in the ventricular system of the brain. There are many causes of hydrocephalus, including the recently discovered zika virus
  • cleft lip and palate - this defect is caused by incorrect fixation or lack of connection between the parts forming the lip (cleft lip - the so-called hare's lip) or the palate (cleft palate - the so-called wolf's mouth)
  • spina bifida - results from the non-closure of the spinal canal (in other words: caused by the lack of the back of the vertebral arches). The vertebrae, which make up the spine that is being formed at this time, do not close at the back of the back, and therefore do not fully protect the delicate spinal cord

Congenital defects of the urinary system

Kidney defects:

  • agenesis (lack of) kidneys, doubled kidney (one of the kidneys has a double cup-pelvic system, and sometimes also a ureter)
  • kidney dysplasia - presence of atrophic, residual elements of kidney tissue in the place where the kidney is typically located
  • hypoplasia, or underdevelopment of the kidney
  • ectopic kidney - the kidney is in the wrong place - it can be low in the pelvis or even on the other side of the body

Defects of the ureters, bladder and urethra

  • bladder failure
  • vesicoureteral reflux - the disease consists in the fact that instead of flowing out of the bladder through the urethra, it partially flows back into the ureters, and then even into the kidneys
  • in boys hypospadias (developmental defect of the opening of the urethra, which is incorrectly located on the posterior surface of the penis), epiphysis (incomplete closure of the anterior wall of the urethra)

Congenital eye defects

  • bezocz (no eyeball) - the eyeball did not develop in the womb
  • little eyes - the eyeball is not reaching the correct size, it is smaller than it should be
  • inborn iris - inin utero, the iris did not develop properly. The child is almost completely devoid of the colored part of the eyeball membrane

Congenital skeletal defects

  • clubfoot - this is a defect in which one or both of the child's feet are deformed. At birth, the feet are uncharacteristically inward facing and have a "sickle" shape. Their inner edge is shortened and raised, while the outer edge is more convex.
  • varus knees - the axis of the shin tilts inwards and they set at an open angle to the center (in the letter O). Correctly, the shank axis tilts outwards in relation to the thigh axis (knees line up in the letter X)
  • hemimelia is a congenital defect characterized by the absence of all or part of the distal (from the elbow down and from the knees down) of the lower or upper limb
  • hip dysplasia means not fully developed hip joint
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  • Down's syndrome - causes, course, diagnosis
  • Patau syndrome: causes and symptoms. What is the treatment of children with trisomy of chromosome 13?
  • Edwards syndrome - causes, symptoms, treatment
  • Rare diseases that deform the face and body [PHOTOS]

Hemimelia is a very rare birth defect in children

Source: x-news.pl/Dzień Dobry TVN

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