Functional Birth Defect Research Paper

Millions of children across the world are born without a chance at a full, wonderful life. Many experience tragedy and don’t even have a shot at life. While many people think of birth as being miraculous, birth defects replace the feeling of joy into fear and tragedy. Families are desperate for the help that their children need, and many times the help is inaccessible. Without access to maternal needs and public health care, birth defects continue to affect millions of children across the world, leaving some without a chance to live. Birth defects are deformities or abnormalities that appear before birth. There are two types of birth defects; structural and functional. If a child were born without an arm or a deformity in the nose, it would be considered a structural birth defect. “Structural birth defects are related to a problem with body parts and structure,” (NICHD, 1). Now if a child were to be born blind or with a genetic disorder, it would be considered a functional birth defect. “Functional birth defects are problems in how a body system works. This can lead to developmental disabilities,” (BDRC, 1). The difference between these two are obvious, but structural defects are identifiable before or immediately after …show more content…
“If a mother has certain infections during pregnancy, her baby can have a birth defect,” (Kidshealth, 2). Research has shown that “more than eight million children are born with serious diseases caused by their genes or by environmental factors every year, with 94 percent of all birth defects occurring in low and middle-income countries,” (March of Dimes, 1). This happens because modern medicine and public health care are not accessible in these countries. With this being said, prenatal vitamins are crucial during a mother’s pregnancy. Without prenatal care, the mother and the fetus are getting the insufficient intake of folic