Today is the World Birth Defects Day. The day is being celebrated in an effort to raise awareness about birth defects, their causes and their effects around the world. The theme is “Many birth defects, one voice”. Every year, about 3-6% of babies worldwide are born with a serious birth defect. Wherever babies are born with birth defects, it can affect their socio-economic status, religion, race and social status.
Birth defects are usually structural changes present at birth that can affect almost any part of the body (e.g., heart, brain, legs). It affects physical constitution, performance or both. Birth defects can vary from mild to severe, occurring during pregnancy and can be detected during pregnancy, at birth. Sometimes it can be detected late.
Birth defects can be due to one or more genetic, infectious, nutritional or environmental factors. Birth defects are a major cause of neonatal and infant mortality, chronic illness and disability.
Globally, an estimated 8 million newborns are born with a birth defect every year, of which around 300,000 die due to associated complication, with an estimated 90,000 deaths occurring in Southeast Asia.
In addition to mortality, birth defects cause long-term disability, which has a negative impact on individuals, families, healthcare systems and society.
Following the resolution of the World Health Assembly on Birth Defects in 2010, WHO launched a comprehensive initiative on birth defects in collaboration with the Regional Office of Southeast Asia (WHO-SEARO) and CDC-USA. The WHO has assisted nine countries in the region in developing national plans to prevent and control birth defects. The first World Birth Defects Day was celebrated on March 3, 2015 with the help of 12 organizations. Many international and national organizations joined in support of the preparations for #WBDDAY World Birth Defect Day.
CDC has a list of the top 10 most common birth defects according to statistics. The incidence of congenital heart defect (CHD): 1 in 110 people. Also hypospadias, ventricular septal defect, clubfoot, down syndrome, pulmonary valve atresia and stenosis, Cleft lips and palate.
Getting social support during the Corona epidemic was also a challenge for children with birth defects. The family lacked caregivers. Peer support was not available at this time. The parents and the child could not see each other and relatives. Children and families felt isolated.
The goal of the day is to raise awareness about birth defects and their prevention, improve early detection of the condition, and increase first aid and timely intervention.
These babies are not “Covid babies”, “clubfoot babies” or babies born with birth defects, they are first human beings, simple, straight forward and strong, they can feed themselves, they can relate to others. They are able to survive on earth. At the same time, work is being done to raise awareness about the effects of birth defects as well as to increase the chances of preventing birth defects. It is important to promote the importance of birth defect monitoring programs and research to identify the causes of birth defects.
Writer: Dr. Selina SultanaConsultant: Department of Neurodevelopmental Disorders and Child Development and Pediatrics, Better Life Hospital. Former Autism Specialist: Dhaka Community Medical College and Hospital.