Article 1

This article is explaining the effects on maternal use of opioids. The objective of the study was to see if maternal therapeutic use of opioid analgesics in early pregnancy is associated with different birth defects. In the experiment mothers were asked about any medication that they have been taking while pregnant. One statistic that I found interesting in this article was, “Major birth defects affect 3% of the 4 million U.S live births each year”.  In this article their conclusion was that the maternal use of opioids does have some association with certain birth defects.

."Maternal treatment with opioid analgesics." www.hcop.com. Elsevier B.V, 2009. Web. 30 Mar 2012. <http://www.hcop.com/PDF/Maternal treatment with opioid analgesics and risk for birth defects.pdf>.

Article 2

            This article is about the rates of Down Syndrome. Down Syndrome is the one of the most common birth defect evaluated by the surveillance programs. In this article it explains the differences between the observed rate and the expected rate of DS. “In some areas a large proportion of DS pregnancies are diagnosed prenatally and many pregnancies are terminated”. That was an interesting quote I found throughout the article.

. "How Valid Are the Rates of Down Syndrome." troca.tbzmed.ac.ir. N.p., 2010. Web. 30 Mar 2012. <http://troca.tbzmed.ac.ir/uploads/82/CMS/user/file/145/Sources/How Valid Are the Rates of Down Syndrome.pdf>.

Article 3

                        In this article they are studying the used population based to ascertain birth defects. Birth defects was present in 30.2% of children with ID. This article also mentions that there has been an increase risk of intellectual disability in children with birth defects. The author of this article mentions exactly what a birth defect is. “… defines a birth defect as a structural or functional abnormality that is present at conception or occurs before the end of pregnancy…”

Petterson, BeverlyBourke, JenniferLeonard, HelenJacoby, PeterBower, Carol. "Co-Occurrence Of Birth Defects And Intellectual Disability." Paediatric & Perinatal Epidemiology 21.1 (2007): 65-75. Advanced Placement Source. Web. 23 Mar. 2012