July 23, 2001 |
For years, many prospective parents--and doctors, as well--have blithely assumed that if birth defects occur when an older couple has a baby, it's most likely because of the woman's advancing age. And there's some truth to this. The risk of mental retardation because of Down syndrome, for instance, clearly rises with advancing maternal age--from one in 1,000 at age 29 to one in 100 births at age 40.
October 14, 1988 |
The acne drug Accutane is as dangerous a cause of birth defects as thalidomide, causing 40% of women to miscarry and 25% to have children with severe birth defects if taken early in pregnancy, a study reported Thursday. Thalidomide, a sedative, caused an epidemic of birth defects in Europe in the late 1950s and early '60s before it was withdrawn from the market.
CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
December 18, 1989 |
Taking aspirin early in pregnancy does not appear to increase the chances that a woman will give birth to a baby with a defective heart, researchers report in a finding contrary to previous studies. In the largest study of its kind, Boston University researchers failed to find any significant association between aspirin use and five types of potentially fatal heart birth defects.
July 28, 1992 |
Women living near toxic waste sites are slightly more likely to have children with birth defects, but more research is needed to determine if the dumps are to blame, a study published Monday said. Researchers from Yale University and the New York Health Department reviewed a total of 27,115 births in 20 New York counties for the study in the American Journal of Epidemiology. In New York state, 30 infants per 1,000 are born with birth defects.
January 24, 1995 |
In the largest analysis of its kind ever undertaken anywhere, state officials have found that birth defects in California have not declined despite increases in prenatal care and screening programs. The report by the California Birth Defects Monitoring Program suggests that prenatal care has little impact on reducing birth defects, because the cause of most anomalies is unknown. Nevertheless, the data does point to subtle but measurable racial, geographical and age differences.
September 18, 1986 |
Armed with photos of deformed babies, Vietnamese doctors said Wednesday that recent studies in Vietnam offer added evidence pointing to the herbicide Agent Orange as a cause of birth defects. The findings were presented at an annual international symposium on the toxic chemical dioxin, the first time Vietnam has taken part. Four Vietnamese physicians are attending. The studies were immediately challenged by other researchers at the conference here.
May 1, 1988 |
A new drug for psoriasis is closely related to the acne drug Accutane and is probably even more likely to produce birth defects when taken by pregnant women, the New York Times reported today. The newspaper said at least seven babies have been born with defects to women who had taken Tegison, although no cases have been recorded in the United States.
April 27, 2002 |
U.S. regulators are investigating whether Schering-Plough Corp.'s allergy drug Claritin may be linked to birth defects reported in Sweden, a health official said. Swedish authorities have noted a higher-than-expected number of cases of hypospadia, a malformation of the penis, among children whose mothers took Claritin while pregnant. European authorities announced Thursday they had launched a safety investigation at Sweden's request. The defect can be corrected through surgery. Dr.
CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
April 8, 1994
Latino babies face a significantly higher risk of being born with brain and spinal defects than do babies in other ethnic groups, a study from the California Birth Defects Monitoring Program reported Wednesday. The study, which examined 700,000 live births and fetal deaths in California from 1983 to 1987, found that about nine of every 10,000 Latino babies were born with neural tube defects.
September 5, 1987 |
Pregnant women who have one or two drinks a day do not put their babies at greater risk for most birth defects, but even small amounts of alcohol may be linked to one malformation, government doctors said Friday. National Institute of Child Health and Development scientists analyzed the drinking habits and pregnancy outcomes of 32,870 women and found that women who had two drinks or less a day had the same risk of birth defects overall as women who did not drink.