The most recent CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report reveals cases of gastroschisis, a serious birth defect of the abdominal wall, have more than doubled over the past 18 years in the U.S. Babies ...

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) – A long-awaited study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows a link between tainted tap water at a U.S. Marine Corps base in North Carolina and increased risk ...

Several drugs often prescribed to pregnant women are being linked to serious birth defects. The concern is with two medications. They were created to control epileptic seizures. But the drugs, ...

Analysis of U.S. survey data showed that two-thirds of reproductive age women had one or more modifiable risk factors for birth defects. Common risk factors included obesity, folate concentrations ...

As former directors of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities (NCBDDD), we have spent our careers protecting ...

Need more of a reason to eat a healthy diet? Pregnant women who load up on fruits, veggies and whole grains have a reduced risk of having babies with neural tube defects, such as spina bifida or cleft ...

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) recently caused a 2-month-old girl in Pennsylvania to suffer severe hearing loss after it was passed to her in the womb. While the virus can exist in a person for life without ...

NEW YORK, N.Y. (WPVI) -- Researchers are also learning more about HOW the Zika virus can cause the serious birth defect microcephaly. Several mouse studies show when a mother is infected in the first ...

Valproate is a prescription medication used to treat epilepsy and bipolar disorder and, in some cases, migraines. If taken during pregnancy, it can cause serious birth defects (in around 1 in 9 babies ...