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State health officials are working to make sure the number of birth defects in Missouri doesn’t increase. KSMU’s Michele Skalicky has more…

According to the MO Department of Health and Senior Services, the birth defect rate in Missouri has remained fairly stable at around 6%.
Leslie Seifert, Newborn Health Program Manager for the Department says, that means, of the approximately 81,000 babies born each year in the state, a little more than 4500 have some sort of birth defect.
This is Missouri Birth Defects Prevention and Awareness Month—set aside by Governor Jay Nixon as a time to focus on prevention…

"In Missouri, our more common birth defects are the heart anomalies, the circulatory and respiratory problems and the third one is musculoskelatal anomalies like club foot and things like that."

According to Leslie Seifert, birth defects can be due to genetics or the environment. Things like smoking or drug use, infection or exposure to chemicals can play a role. But she says most birth defects can’t be explained.
Research has found, though, that folic acid can reduce the risk of neural tube birth defects like spina bifoda by 50-70%...

"The folic acid must be taken before pregnancy. There are serious birth defects, and the neural tube defects are among them, where the defect actually occurs during the first month of pregnancy, which, if you think about it, is before many women even know they're pregnant."

Seifert says all women of child-bearing age should take a multi-vitamin containing 400 micrograms of folic acid.
DHSS works with local public health organizations and healthcare providers to get the message across.
The DHSS program, “An Ounce of Prevention,” works with high school students, stressing the importance of developing health habits early.
But many women still aren’t getting the message.
Seifert estimates less than 1/3 of MO women are getting enough folic acid before becoming pregnant, and about 18% of MO women smoke while pregnant.
And DHSS officials say the folic acid message is especially important for Hispanic women who are up to twice as likely to have a baby born with a birth defect due to a lack of folic acid in their diet.
Pam Bryant, administrator of the Maternal, Child and Family Health Program at the Springfield/Greene County Health Department, says good prenatal care can catch birth defects early…

"Medical technology's advancing so that some things can be done--they've done surgeries when the mom is still pregnant on the baby inutero, so the early detection is key to help ensure a better outcome."

MO DHSS director Margaret Donnelly says friends and family members can play an important role by encouraging women in their lives to take control of their health and make health choices to prepare for pregnancy.
 

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