Guest post by Jessica Bertolo, Credentialing

While most birth defects cannot be prevented because their causes are not known, women can take a number of steps before and during pregnancy to reduce their risk. These steps include taking a multivitamin containing 400 micrograms of folic acid daily starting before pregnancy and in early pregnancy. This helps to prevent serious birth defects of the brain and spinal cord, including spina bifida, and may also help prevent heart defects. Another step is getting a pre-pregnancy check-up and making sure that the medications you are taking are safe to use during pregnancy.

The March of Dimes is a great resource to pregnant women, especially those at risk for birth defects.

Since the late 1950’s, The March of Dimes has developed and promoted numerous initiatives to advance this field as part of their mission to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality. March of Dimes also awards research grants aimed at understanding the causes of birth defects and advocacy priorities focus on authorization and funding for birth defects surveillance, research and prevention at the federal and state level.

Many families walk and raise dollars to support the work that the March of Dimes conducts targeting birth defects. The Cornell Family of Dayton reached out to the March of Dimes following the birth of their son, Carter, in January, 2011. At twenty, parents Blair and Kat found out that their new baby would be a boy. That same day, they also received news that their baby appeared to have multiple birth defects. After additional testing, it was confirmed that their baby would be born with clubbed feet and that his brain had multiple signs of developmental abnormalities. Eventually, their baby was diagnosed with a birth defect called Dandy-Walker Malformation, a brain malformation that occurs during embryonic development and leads to abnormally high pressure within the skull and swelling of the head that can lead to neurological impairment. Doctors prepared Blair and Kat for a baby with moderate to severe physical and/or mental disabilities in the event he would even survive. With these brain abnormalities it was highly likely that their baby would also be born preterm creating additional health concerns.

Carter Thompson Cornell was born full term, just one week before his due date, miraculously eating and breathing on his own. He had a shunt placed to drain excess fluid off of his brain when he was just six days old. Over the past year, Carter has had many medical appointments as his team of doctors attempt to diagnose and meet his medical needs. He is currently undergoing treatment for his clubbed feet and is receiving occupational and physical therapy on a regular basis. Although, Carter is developmentally delayed he is gaining strength and making continual progress. In his spare time, Carter loves to laugh and play with his big sister Caitlin. He recently reached his one year goal of sitting up on his own. He is one special boy! 

In 2011, employees and clients of UBS Financial Services, Inc., Blair’s employer, raised $10,000 to support the March of Dimes work to fight birth defects. This April, the Cornell Family along with the UBS

Financial Services Team will once again be walking at the Miami Valley March for Babies. For more information on the Dayton March of Dimes chapter, log on to  http://www.marchofdimes.com/ohio.

2 Responses to “Can It Happen to Your Baby?”

1. Can It Happen to Your Baby? | Faces of Spina Bifida says:

   January 20, 2012 at 10:12 am

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   January 29, 2012 at 6:57 pm

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