What are the chances of having a baby with a major malformation at birth?
For each pregnancy, there is a 1 to 3% risk of having a baby with a major malformation. This is what is called the baseline risk. This risk can be increased due to several reasons such as maternal age, medical or family history, exposures to radiation, unsafe drugs or chemicals, known to cause birth defects. However, the risk of having a child with birth defects can be decreased by at least 15% by taking a multivitamin containing folic acid before and during pregnancy. If you are concerned with the chances of having a child with a malformation you should discuss this matter with your doctor.
For each pregnancy, there is a 1 to 3% risk of having a baby with a major malformation. This is what is called the baseline risk. This risk can be increased due to several reasons such as maternal age, medical or family history, exposures to radiation, unsafe drugs or chemicals, known to cause birth defects. However, the risk of having a child with birth defects can be decreased by at least 15% by taking a multivitamin containing folic acid before and during pregnancy. If you are concerned with the chances of having a child with a malformation, you should discuss this matter with your health professional.
