Argumentative Essay

A Birth Defect That Is Most Common

Which birth defect is most likely related to prenatal care? Not knowing the effect that the birth defect may have upon your child. The fact that your child may never live a normal life may hurt. Many of mothers are having or has had a child born with a type of birth defect. On May 2, 1996 my mother had a child that was born with a birth defect. The type of birth defect she was born with was a, Diaphragmatic Hernia. The child that was born with that defect was me. After I was born, I was rushed to Charleston for immediately surgery.  A Diaphragmatic Hernia is when there is an abnormal opening in the diaphragm. My heart was more to the left and my stomach and lungs were pushed up into my chest.

             Birth defects are a problem that is happening to the baby during the first three months of a mother’s pregnancy. When a child is born with a type of defect, the way their body looks and works maybe affected.  Birth defects can vary from mild to severe. There are four main birth defects in the U.S; Congenital Heart Defect, Cleft Lip/Palate, Down Syndrome, and Spina Bifida. The most common birth defect is Congenital Heart Defects.

            Heart defects are the leading cause of death in birth defect deaths. One of the most common heart defects among babies is Congenital Heart Defect (CHD). This is a structural problem in the heart. The defect can cause blood to flow in the wrong direction, to the wrong place, or completely stop flowing.       

            According to Cheryl S. Broussard and etc. states that Congential Heart Defects are among the most common birth defects. In the article Maternal Treatment with Opioid Anaglesics and Risk for Birth Defects mentions that nearly 1% of US births is affected by CHDs and is the main contributor to infant mortality attributable to birth defects.  According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine and the National Institute of Health, women who smoke while in their early stages of pregnancy are taking a higher risk of having a child with a CHD.

             The number of congenital heart defects is vast. According to the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute they’re fourteen major CHDs. Women should know what kind of birth defect their child is going to be born with. A parent who knows their information, can be better prepared if their child is abnormal. By a parent knowing information on the main birth defects, they can know how to handle their child and what to do when their child is born.

            Sue Dove states that each day a certain amount of babies are born. According to the Congenital Heart Defects Statistics, there are 10,830 babies born each year. 411 of the babies that are born, is born with some type of birth defect. Congenital Heart Defects was the top number, with 87 babies born out of 411. In this article Sue Dove argues that Congenital Hearts Defects are the number 1 birth defect. The data from Congenital Heart Defects Statistics interprets that CHDs is the most common birth defect.

            Sophies Heart is expressing statistics about congenital heart defects. According to the article, Congenital Heart Defect Statistics, CHDs are the number one birth defect. Over 25,000 babies in the U.S are born with a CHD. In this article the author argues that the top birth defect is a CHD. By the information this article is stating, the most common birth defect is a CHD.

            Some people might say that Down syndrome is the most common birth defect. According to Sophies Hearts Down syndrome only affects 1 in every 800 to 1,000 babies, but  115 to 150 babies are affects with a congenital heart defect.

            The most common birth defect is a CHD. A child everyday is born with this type of defect. Personally experiencing a birth defect, researching information, and gathering statistics made me realize that birth defects are leading cause of infant’s death. Discovering the most common birth defect will help a person know a child and be prepared of the different abnormities a child can be born with. According to all of my sources, CHD is number one in birth defects. One percent of babies in the U.S are affected by a CHD. Birth defects are important because a child is affected mildly or severely every hour of the day and a parent may not know if their child will live to see the next day.