January 2021 - National Birth Defects Prevention Month

Sponsored by the  Newborn SIG  

Check out the SIG's page for more resources, to learn more, and join!

 

PedsCE courses

1. Elevated Bili! What Could it Be? Common Diseases of the Biliary Tree 

2. The importance of Preterm Birth History after the NICU 

10% off this month's PedsCESM courses with the coupon code: JAN2021

 

Did you know?

  • That there are 3,500 sudden unexpected deaths of children before age 1 annually?
  • Newborns like to face right: Only about 15% of newborns will prefer to turn their head to the left when lying on their back.  It seems to be related to a gene, like having dimples.  This bias lasts for a few months and it may help explain why more people are right-handed.
  • Adults have 206 bones. When babies are born, they have 300. Their bones fuse as they grow, resulting in fewer bones as adults
  • Every year an estimated 8 million children--6 percent of total births worldwide--are born with a serious birth defect of genetic or partially genetic origin. At least 3.3 million children less than 5 years of age die annually because of serious birth defects. Common birth defects include heart defects, cleft lip and cleft palate and spina bifida
  • Birth defects affect one in every 33 babies (about 3% of all babies) born in the United States each year.
  • Birth defects are the leading cause of infant deaths, accounting for 20% of all infant deaths.