Congenital and Developmental Disorders

About 3% to 4% of all babies born in the United States have congenital abnormalities that will affect the way they look, develop, or function—in some cases for the rest of their lives.

Congenital abnormalities are caused by problems during the fetus’s development before birth. It is important for moms and dads to be healthy and have good medical care before and during pregnancy to reduce the risk of preventable congenital anomalies.

Advances in perinatal testing and new diagnostic tests (i.e. amniocentesis, chorionic villus sampling, etc.) have made it possible to detect chromosomal and genetic related causes of congenital abnormalities earlier.

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