Recently Added Links

• Advancing Awareness Brochure for Caregivers
  BCCNS Support Network,
   Crisp description of signs and therapies
  Basal Cell Carcinoma Nevus Syndrome (BCCNS, also ... (named) nevoid basal cell carcinoma syndrome, Gorlin syndrome, and Gorlin-Goltz syndrome) results from a mutation of the PTCH-1 (Patched) tumor-suppression gene, which affects the Hedgehog Signaling Pathway ... present at birth ... often diagnosed later in life ... dominant genetic disorder ... no one symptom hits every affected individual ... The most common kind of skin cancer, and the most common symptom of BCCNS, basal cell carcinomas (BCCs) often form because of overexposure to sunlight ... Radiation therapy is a bad idea for people with BCCNS, because it will generally cause masses of BCCs to form a few months later. •Jaw Cysts ... called odontogenic keratocysts/OKCs) ... on the lower jaw ... people with BCCNS are more likely to develop tumors of all kinds. These can happen anywhere in the body, including the heart, stomach, ovaries, brain, intestines, muscles, and bone. Children with the disorder should be monitored regularly for medulloblastoma, a rare malignant brain tumor ... Palmar/Plantar Pits ... BCCNS tends to affect the formation of the skull ... larger heads than usual (macrocephaly), a prominent forehead or jawline, wide-set eyes, “glaring” eyebrows, and other eye troubles (strabismus, nystagmus, coloboma, etc.) Some children with BCCNS are born with a cleft lip or palate ... Skeletal Troubles ... kyphosis and scoliosis (improper curve of the spine), pectus (a sunken or protruding chest), syndactyly or polydactyly (fused or extra digits), Sprengel deformity (mis-aligned shoulder blades), and short metacarpals (bones in the hands) ... (20100427)
  Category: Basal Cell Carcinoma Nevus Syndrome
• Higher birth-defect rate seen in Chernobyl area (cached)
  Amy Norton, Pediatrics, April 2010
  ... Rates of certain birth defects appear higher than normal in one of the Ukraine regions most affected by the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster,according to a new study ...
  Category: Ionizing Radiation
• Wagner Syndrome
  wagnersyndrome.eu
    [ General use ]  [ Nederlans French English ]
  The website is for people who are dealing with Wagner syndrome: patients, the doctors treating them and researchers around the world. They can share information, see that patients get the best treatment, explore new treatment options. ...
  Category: Birth Defects
• Information about Twins
  Twinstuff Community, 2009
  Welcome to Twinstuff, the largest online community for twins and parents of twins. Whether you are looking for advice on twin pregnancy, raising twins or looking to connect with other twins; you have come to the right place. Check out our forums for friendship and advice ...
  Category: Conjoined Twins
• Pre-Pregnancy Planning At Cu
  Columbia University's Health Education Program
  Category: Preconception Health
• Healthy Pregnancy: Preconception Health
  Office of Women's Health, March 5, 2009
  
  • Why Preconception Health Matters
  • Five Most Important Things to Boost Your Preconception Health
  • Talk to Your Doctor Before You Become Pregnant
  • Genetic Counseling
  some foods, habits, and medicines can harm your baby — even before he or she is conceived ...
  Category: Preconception Health
• Can the anthrax vaccine be taken by military members who are pregnant?
  I.B.I.S. Birth Defects, May 2, 2002
  Category: Birth Defects BEFORE Birth
• Alcohol Consumption Among Pregnant and Childbearing-Aged Women -- United States
  CDC, MMWR 46(16);346-350 04/25/1997
  … This report analyzes and compares data from the 1995 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) and previously reported 1991 BRFSS data for women aged 18-44 years (3), and presents the prevalence of alcohol consumption among pregnant women … A total of 33,585 women aged 18-44 years were interviewed … 4.7% of women aged 18-44 years reported being pregnant at the time of the interview. Of these, 16.3% reported any drinking during the preceding month, compared with 12.4% in 1991 … The rate of frequent drinking among pregnant women was approximately four times higher in 1995 than in 1991 (3.5% in 1995 and 0.8% in 1991, p less than 0.01) … Among all child bearing-aged women in 1995, 50.6% reported any drinking, and 12.6% reported frequent drinking …
  Category: Birth Defects BEFORE Birth
• Smoking in Pregnancy
  March of Dimes, April 2008
  If all pregnant women in the U.S. stopped smoking, there would be an estimated 10% reduction in infant deaths, according to the U.S. Public Health Service ... A recent Danish study reported that women who smoke were about 30% less likely to conceive ... Women who smoke early in pregnancy double their risk of having an ectopic pregnancy ... Smokers are up to 80% more likely to suffer a miscarriage than their non-smoking counterparts ... Smoking nearly doubles a woman's risk of having a low weight baby ... Who weigh less than 5 1/2 pounds at birth ... Smoking during pregnancy may contribute to birth defects ... Increased risk of developing cleft lip and/or cleft palate ...
  Category: Birth Defects BEFORE Birth
• If you Smoke While You Are Pregnant
  March for Dimes, February 2009
  Smoking harms your baby. When you smoke, your baby gets less oxygen. Lack of oxygen can cause your baby to grow more slowly and gain less weight in the womb.
  Category: Birth Defects BEFORE Birth
• Fetal Therapy-Ethical Considerations
  PEDIATRICS Vol. 103 No. 5 May 1999, pp. 1061-1063
  American Academy of Pediatrics ... Committee on Bioethics ... Decisions by pregnant women concerning fetal diagnostic and therapeutic interventions clearly involve considerations as to what is best for the fetus. These decisions also involve the woman's interest in her own health and freedom from unwanted invasion of her body because all diagnostic and therapeutic interventions on behalf of a fetus necessarily affect the pregnant woman and require her direct participation. Thus, fetal therapy poses a potential conflict between the pregnant woman's own best interests, and her (and others') perception of the best interests of her fetus.
  Category: Birth Defects BEFORE Birth
• Guide to Type 1 (Insulin-dependent) Diabetes
  Pregnancy and Contraception ...
  Category: Birth Defects BEFORE Birth
• Understanding Gestational Diabetes
  National Institutes of Health, April 29, 2008
  A Practical Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy ...
  Category: Birth Defects BEFORE Birth
• Diabetes
  CDC's Diabetes Translation Program ... Impact of Diabetes ...
  Category: Birth Defects BEFORE Birth
• Pre-Pregnancy Planning
  UCLA Healthcare, October 22, 2008
  Your journey through pregnancy is perhaps the biggest physical change your body will ever undergo. Ideally, you should see a doctor before you get pregnant for recommendations on how to have a healthy pregnancy. This section covers nutrition, diet, and lifestyle changes you should consider at this time. ...
  Category: Preconception Health
• Planificación del Embarazo
  NOAH, September 28, 2009
    [ Spanish ]
  Planificacion Familiar ... Cuidado Prenatal y Nacimiento ...
  Category: Preconception Health
• Think Ahead
  March of Dimes Foundation, 2010
  Birth Defects Information ... March of Dimes Saving babies, together ...
  Category: Preconception Health
• Preconception Health Care
  Stephanie C. Brundage, M.D., M.P.H., Greenville Hospital System, Greenville, South Carolina, June 15, 2002
  preconception health care improves pregnancy outcomes ... before conception, folic acid supplements can prevent neural tube defects. Targeted genetic screening and counseling should be offered on the basis of age ... Before conception, women should be screened ... Environmental toxins such as cigarette smoke, alcohol, and street drugs, and chemicals such as solvents and pesticides should be avoided ...
  Category: Preconception Health
• Preconception Health Care
  March of Dimes, July 2008
  Preconception health care is care a woman of childbearing age receives before pregnancy or between pregnancies. ... All women of childbearing age can take steps before they get pregnant to improve their chances of having a healthy, full-term baby. More and more babies are born prematurely (before 37 completed weeks of pregnancy), which increases the risk for serious health problems ... A preconception checkup can help assure that a woman is as healthy as possible before she conceives ...
  Category: Preconception Health
• Recommendations to Improve Preconception Health and Health Care --- United States
  CDC, April 21, 2006 / 55(RR06);1-23
  ... provides recommendations to improve both preconception health and care ... to improve the health of women and couples, before conception of a first or subsequent pregnancy ... CDC has developed these recommendations based on a review of published research ... The 10 recommendations ... are aimed at achieving four goals to 1) improve the knowledge and attitudes and behaviors of men and women related to preconception health; 2) assure that all women of childbearing age in the United States receive preconception care services (i.e., evidence-based risk screening, health promotion, and interventions) that will enable them to enter pregnancy in optimal health; 3) reduce risks indicated by a previous adverse pregnancy outcome through interventions during the interconception period, which can prevent or minimize health problems for a mother and her future children; and 4) reduce the disparities in adverse pregnancy outcomes. ...
  Category: Preconception Health