Birth defect that causes intestines to protrude from hole in the baby's abdomen on the rise in the U.S.
- 8 years ago
ATLANTA — Incidents of a birth defect that causes a newborn's intestines to protrude from the abdomen are on the rise in the United States, especially among African Americans, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The condition, called gastroschisis, is a defect in the abdominal wall. When a baby is affected by gastroschisis, the intestines, and sometimes also organs such as the liver and stomach, stick out from the abdomen through a hole next to the belly button.
The Los Angeles Times reports that from 1994 to 2012, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have documented a 263 percent increase in gastroschisis among babies born to black mothers under the age of 20. About 2,000 babies are born with the birth defect every year.
Health officials struggling to understand the cause.
"This isn't new. I saw cases when I was a brand new trainee long ago," James Greenberg, co-director of the Perinatal Institute and director of Neonatology at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, told CBS News, "but they were really unusual then."
Although the condition can be life-threatening, it can often be remedied by surgery in the weeks after the baby is born.
Even after surgery, however, some infants can have problems eating and digesting food, because the organs have been irritated by exposure to amniotic fluid in the uterus, increasing the risk of problems such as stunted growth or malnutrition.
Although researchers do not know what causes gastroschisis, they suspect that a mother's diet, consumption of tobacco, alcohol and medicines, exposure to toxins and sexually transmitted diseases during pregnancy are all factors that could have an effect on the development of an abdominal wall defect, the Los Angeles Times reported.
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The condition, called gastroschisis, is a defect in the abdominal wall. When a baby is affected by gastroschisis, the intestines, and sometimes also organs such as the liver and stomach, stick out from the abdomen through a hole next to the belly button.
The Los Angeles Times reports that from 1994 to 2012, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have documented a 263 percent increase in gastroschisis among babies born to black mothers under the age of 20. About 2,000 babies are born with the birth defect every year.
Health officials struggling to understand the cause.
"This isn't new. I saw cases when I was a brand new trainee long ago," James Greenberg, co-director of the Perinatal Institute and director of Neonatology at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, told CBS News, "but they were really unusual then."
Although the condition can be life-threatening, it can often be remedied by surgery in the weeks after the baby is born.
Even after surgery, however, some infants can have problems eating and digesting food, because the organs have been irritated by exposure to amniotic fluid in the uterus, increasing the risk of problems such as stunted growth or malnutrition.
Although researchers do not know what causes gastroschisis, they suspect that a mother's diet, consumption of tobacco, alcohol and medicines, exposure to toxins and sexually transmitted diseases during pregnancy are all factors that could have an effect on the development of an abdominal wall defect, the Los Angeles Times reported.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Welcome to TomoNews, where we animate the most entertaining news on the internets. Come here for an animated look at viral headlines, US news, celebrity gossip, salacious scandals, dumb criminals and much more! Subscribe now for daily news animations that will knock your socks off.
Visit our official website for all the latest, uncensored videos: http://us.tomonews.net
Check out our Android app: http://bit.ly/1rddhCj
Check out our iOS app: http://bit.ly/1gO3z1f
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