Birth Defect and it’s Impact in Neonatal Health : A Review

Birth defects are one of the leading causes of neonatal mortality worldwide. Every year more than 8.14 million children are born with a serious birth defect. The risk factors predictive of birth defects in babies vary from country to country even from region to region. About 60% of the causes of birth defect in humans are still unknown. However, in about 25% cases, the causes seem to be “multifactorial”, indicating a complex interaction between genetic and environmental risk factors. Many studies have been conducted to determine the association of various risk factors with the incidence of birth defects. Most of them found significant association with maternal age, parity, consanguinity, poor nutrition, life style factors, low socioeconomic condition and many more.…