About 150,000 babies are born each year with birth defects. The parents of one out of every 28 babies receive the frightening news that their baby has a birth defect. There are more than 4,000 known birth defects.
Birth defects are the leading cause of death in the first year of life.
Both genetic and environmental factors can cause birth defects. However, the causes of about 60 percent of birth defects are currently unknown. A single abnormal gene can cause birth defects. Every human being has about 100,000 genes that determine traits like eye and hair color, as well as direct the growth and development of every part of our physical and biochemical systems. Genes are packaged into each of the 46 chromosomes inside our cells.