Child Health
Managing Birth Defects for a Lifetime
(Family Features) An estimated 1 in 33 babies is born with a birth defect, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). While some require minimal intervention after birth, many birth defects affect the individual, parents and families across a lifetime.
Birth defects are structural changes present at birth that can affect almost any part of the body. They may affect how the body looks, works or both. They can cause problems in overall health, how the body develops or how the body works, and may range from mild to serious health conditions.
Awareness of birth defects across the lifespan helps provide affected individuals, parents and families the information they need to seek proper care. Learn more about birth defects at each stage of life from the experts at March of Dimes:
Before and During Pregnancy
Not all birth defects are preventable but protecting a mother’s health before and during pregnancy can help increase the likelihood of a healthy baby. Having adequate folic acid for at least one month before getting pregnant and throughout the pregnancy can prevent major birth defects.
Other important steps include receiving proper prenatal care from a doctor, preventing infections, avoiding alcohol and drugs, controlling conditions like diabetes and avoiding getting too hot.
Infancy
Babies who are diagnosed with a birth defect during pregnancy or at birth may need special care. Similarly, monitoring for certain birth defects can help pinpoint a potential problem and ensure the baby begins receiving supportive care for better survival rates and quality of life. Examples include newborn screenings for critical congenital heart defects and monitoring bladder and kidney function in infants and children with spina bifida.
Childhood
For children born with heart defects and conditions like spina bifida, muscular dystrophy or Down syndrome, early intervention services and support can make a significant impact on a child’s success in school and life. They can help children with learning problems and disabilities; school attendance; participation in school, sports and clubs; mobility adaptations; and physical, occupational and speech therapy.
Adolescence
Many adolescents and young adults who have birth defects begin working toward a transition to a healthy, independent adult life in their later teen years. This may involve insurance changes and switching from pediatricians to adult doctors.
Other areas of focus might include medications, surgeries and other procedures; mental health; social development and relationships within and outside the family; physical activity; and independence.
Adulthood
Certain conditions, such as heart defects, can cause pregnancy complications or affect sexual function. Talking with a doctor about your specific condition can help you understand your risk.
In addition, every pregnancy carries a 3% risk of birth defects, even without lifestyle factors or health conditions that add risk, according to the CDC. Women who have had a pregnancy affected by a birth defect may be at greater risk during future pregnancies.
Talking with a health care provider can help assess those risks. A clinical geneticist or genetic counselor can assess your personal risk of birth defects caused by changes in genes, as well as your risk due to family history.
Find more information about birth defect prevention and management at marchofdimes.org/birthdefects.
Common Causes of Birth Defects
Research shows certain circumstances, or risk factors, may make a woman more likely to have a baby with a birth defect. Having a risk factor doesn’t mean a baby will be affected for sure, but it does increase the chances. Some of the more common causes of birth defects include:
Environment
The things that affect everyday life, including where you live, where you work, the kinds of foods you eat and how you like to spend your time can be harmful to your baby during pregnancy, especially if you’re exposed to potentially dangerous elements like cigarette smoke or harmful chemicals.
Health Conditions
Some health conditions, like pre-existing diabetes, can increase a baby’s risk of having a birth defect. Diabetes is a medical condition in which the body has too much sugar (called glucose) in the blood.
Medications
Taking certain medicines while pregnant, like isotretinoin (a medicine used to treat acne), can increase the risk of birth defects.
Smoking, Drinking or Using Drugs
Lifestyle choices that affect your own health and well-being are likely to affect an unborn baby. Smoking, drinking or using drugs can cause numerous problems for a baby, including birth defects.
Infections
Some infections during pregnancy can increase the risk of birth defects and other problems. For example, if an expectant mother has a Zika infection during pregnancy, her baby may be at increased risk of having microcephaly.
Age
Women who are 34 years old or older may be at increased risk of having a baby with a birth defect.
Photos courtesy of Getty Images
SOURCE:
March of Dimes
Women's Health
From Pregnancy to Parenthood: How Medicaid Supports Women Across the Maternal Health Journey
When women are planning, expanding or raising families, access to healthcare is a vital source of physical and mental support. For millions of women and families across the U.S., Medicaid provides that support, enabling parents and children to access the reproductive, maternal and pediatric healthcare they need to thrive.
(Feature Impact) When women are planning, expanding or raising families, access to healthcare is a vital source of physical and mental support. For millions of women and families across the U.S., Medicaid provides that support, enabling parents and children to access the reproductive, maternal and pediatric healthcare they need to thrive. It’s there for anyone who needs it, from working adults to families navigating unemployment or disability.
To learn about how Medicaid supports growing families through every stage of the parenthood journey, consider this information from the maternal health experts at Community Catalyst.
Making Family Planning Possible
When people are able to plan and prepare to welcome children into the world, it can remove a lot of stress, uncertainty and complication from their journeys. Medicaid family-planning coverage may include reproductive health counseling, pre-pregnancy screenings, many forms of FDA-approved contraception and other preventive services. Comprehensive access to birth control allows women and couples to make their own decisions about pregnancy timing or spacing between siblings.
Supporting Healthy Pregnancies
Pregnancy is no small endeavor, and a woman with a healthcare team at her side is better prepared to face whatever challenges may arise. Pregnancy often requires frequent appointments for ultrasounds, laboratory testing and monitoring – all of which are made possible and affordable through Medicaid. Since 1 in 4 Medicaid recipients are women ages 15-49, this care can make a difference during their childbearing years.
Covering Labor and Delivery Costs
Labor and birth can be unpredictable, but being able to afford them shouldn’t be. Without Medicaid, which finances approximately 41% of U.S. births, based on data from the National Center for Health Statistics, the cost of hospitalization and delivery could be financially devastating to young families. Coverage for labor, delivery and NICU care, if needed, gives parents the ability to focus on their new babies instead of overwhelming medical bills.
Providing Postpartum Care
The need for maternal healthcare doesn’t end when mother and child are discharged from the hospital. Physical recovery takes time, especially if there were any complications during the pregnancy or delivery. Beyond that, postpartum women may need mental health support, treatment for chronic conditions, contraception renewals and other health services that Medicaid can provide. Currently, 49 states plus Washington, D.C. have extended postpartum Medicaid coverage to 12 months, which helps new mothers get continuous care without worrying about insurance lapses.
Caring for Growing Kids
Nearly half of all Medicaid recipients in the U.S. are children ages 0-18 – and sometimes kids qualify for Medicaid even when their parents don’t. The program can help new parents stay up to date with well-child visits for infants, immunizations and ongoing preventive care throughout childhood.
To learn more about access to essential services at every stage of life, visit communitycatalyst.org/maternalhealth.
Filling Gaps in Pregnancy and Postpartum Care: Kayla and Tru’s Story
When Kayla found out she was pregnant at 24 years old, she had no idea how she was going to afford all the costs that were coming. Despite having part-time employment and primary insurance through her mother, she faced gaps in coverage for pregnancy care.
Qualifying for Medicaid changed everything. Not only did it cover Kayla’s prenatal visits, labs, ultrasounds and delivery, but once her son Tru was born, both mother and baby required an extended hospital stay. Medicaid made it possible for Tru to get the care he needed in the NICU while Kayla recovered from birth complications.
Afterward, the program continued to cover Kayla and Tru for follow-up appointments and well-child visits. She’s grateful it was there during her time of need and has one simple message to share: If you qualify for Medicaid, apply.
“You never know what’s going to happen,” she said. “I didn’t expect to be in the hospital as long. I didn’t expect for him to be where he was. But it was definitely needed and helpful.”
Photo courtesy of Shutterstock (mother leaning over hospital bassinet)
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Lifestyle
P.F. Chang’s Partners With Starlight Children’s Foundation for New “Spirit of the Zodiac” Giving Campaign
P.F. Chang’s launches Spirit of the Zodiac, a giving campaign supporting Starlight Children’s Foundation with Bao plush purchases and in-restaurant donations.
P.F. Chang’s Launches Spirit of the Zodiac Campaign to Support Starlight Children’s Foundation
P.F. Chang’s is launching a new annual charitable initiative designed to bring comfort to children during hospital stays. The Scottsdale-based restaurant brand announced Spirit of the Zodiac, a giving program inspired by the Chinese zodiac, with its inaugural campaign—Year of the Fire Horse: Spirit of Strength—benefiting Starlight Children’s Foundation.
What the campaign supports
Starlight Children’s Foundation serves more than 800 children’s hospitals nationwide, providing programs such as toy deliveries, hospital gowns, gaming stations, and other experiences intended to help kids feel more comfortable, connected, and supported during medical care.
How guests can participate (Sept. 2–Sept. 30)
From September 2 through September 30, 2026, guests can purchase Bao, a limited-edition horse plushie, for $10 through dine-in transactions at participating P.F. Chang’s restaurants (while supplies last). For each Bao purchased, P.F. Chang’s will donate an identical Bao plushie to Starlight for distribution through its hospital network—up to 20,000 donated plushies.
Guests can also support the campaign by rounding up their checks or making a direct donation in restaurant. The overall effort aims to raise $500,000 to support Starlight’s work with children and families.
Bonus offer for donors
P.F. Chang’s says guests who purchase Bao or make an in-restaurant donation of $10 or more to Starlight will receive an offer for a complimentary appetizer with the purchase of an entrée on a future dine-in visit, valid through October 31, 2026 (restrictions apply; participating locations only).
A story component for families
The campaign also includes a storytelling element: Bao’s journey will be featured in a digital story and an original children’s book by author Jenny Liao and illustrator Adriane Tsai, expected to publish later this month.
What to watch for
P.F. Chang’s and Starlight plan to continue the partnership beyond September, including in-hospital catering and plush deliveries in early October.
For more information, visit www.pfchangs.com/offers/spirit-of-the-zodiac. To learn more about the partnership, visit starlight.org/pfchangs.
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Child Health
Pediatric Cancer Goes Beyond a Victory Bell: How Research and Innovation Improve Survivorship Rates
(Feature Impact) For every tear-jerking video found online of a child ringing a bell that signifies a cancer journey victory, there are dozens, if not more, people working behind the scenes. From leading minds in cancer research to doctors, nurses and support staff, a vast network of people and decades of medical advancements make those moments possible.
In fact, in the last 10 years, the FDA approved 10 new immunotherapies and 20 molecularly targeted therapies to treat pediatric cancers, according to the American Association for Cancer Research. Those breakthroughs – and the children they impact – come with a cost, which is why Hyundai Hope on Wheels has served as a pioneer in increasing survival rates by investing $303 million in pediatric cancer research over nearly three decades.
Those funds have supported more than 1,600 grants to 210 institutions, leading to new insights into cancer biology, clinical trials and new drug development while bringing hope at all stages of a child’s cancer journey.
However, there remains work to be accomplished. According to a survey conducted by Atomik Research on behalf of Hyundai Hope on Wheels, 46% of U.S. adults believe that a child ringing a hospital bell after cancer treatment signifies the child is cancer-free and their medical journey is largely over. The reality is more nuanced than that. In fact, more than one-third of respondents said they’re not familiar with the term cancer survivorship or they have heard the term but don’t fully understand what it means.
Many health care organizations define survivorship as beginning at the time of diagnosis and continuing through treatment and beyond. According to the American Association for Cancer Research, children who survive cancer face several long-term physical and psycho-social challenges due to their cancer and treatment, including planned surgeries, additional rounds of radiation or other forms of medical treatment to address common physical challenges stemming from chemotherapy.
Survival rates continue increasing with scientific and technological breakthroughs, up from 75% to 85% in nearly three decades, representing roughly 40,000 more children surviving their diagnoses. More than 3 in 4 U.S. adults are encouraged by that progress.
For survivors, treatment is just the beginning. Research, follow-up care and long-term funding determine what comes next, and every grant funded and every survivorship program backed means more children reaching adulthood.
According to the survey, more than 80% of adults said they’re more likely to support organizations that fund survivorship services, creating opportunities to fund crucial research and support for children facing pediatric cancer. Collaboration among leading minds, made possible by funding from organizations like Hyundai Hope on Wheels, has led to the development of comprehensive approaches to help children thrive during life after cancer, including enhanced medical records, AI integration, socioemotional support and combatting long-term side effects.
Find more information and ways you can join the fight by visiting HyundaiHopeOnWheels.org.
Photo courtesy of Shutterstock
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