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birth defects

·July 17, 2026·11 min read

Prenatal Acetaminophen Use Not Linked to Adverse Birth Outcomes

A new study evaluates 8,900 mother-infant pairs from the NIH ECHO program to prove that prenatal acetaminophen use carries no statistically significant association with adverse birth outcomes.

Featured Neuroscience

·May 14, 2026·8 min read

NSAID Use in Pregnancy Not Linked to Major Birth Defects

Researchers found that NSAIDs (like ibuprofen, naproxen, and diclofenac) taken during the first trimester are NOT associated with an increased risk of major birth defects.

This is a drawing of a woman having an ultrasound

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles

·July 17, 2022·4 min read

Using AI to Diagnose Birth Defect in Fetal Ultrasound Images

Using datasets of fetal ultrasounds, a new AI algorithm is able to detect cystic hygroma, a rare embryonic developmental disorder, within the first trimester of pregnancy.

Featured Genetics Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles

·June 9, 2020·4 min read

Study reveals birth defects caused by flame retardant

Exposure to PBB153, a chemical component of the now-banned flame retardant FireMaser, causes alterations in the genetic code of sperm, leading to major health and reproductive deficits in the children of parents exposed to the substance.

Image shows a pregnant woman surrounded by smoke.

Featured Neuroscience

·November 16, 2017·5 min read

Vaping While Pregnant May Cause Craniofacial Birth Defects

According to researchers, the use of e-cigarettes during pregnancy may result in facial and oral cavity defects in offspring.

Featured Neuroscience

·October 11, 2017·5 min read

Fever in Early Pregnancy Linked to Birth Defects

Fever suffered during the first trimester of pregnancy can lead to facial deformities and heart defects in the fetus, a new study reveals.

Featured Neurology Open Neuroscience Articles

·August 3, 2017·3 min read

Tracking ZIKA Transmission in Mice

A new study investigates how the ZIKA virus can be sexually transmitted between male and female mice, and how the virus can pass vertically from mother to fetus.

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles

·June 16, 2017·5 min read

Common Household Chemicals Lead to Birth Defects: Mouse Study

A new study links quat-based cleaners to neural tube defects in mice. They also discovered mice do not need to be dosed with the chemicals for the effects to show in their offspring, being in the environment where the cleaners were administered was enough to illicit an effect.

Featured Open Neuroscience Articles Psychology

·January 18, 2017·5 min read

Heightened Risk of Birth Defects With Antidepressants Prescribed During Pregnancy

A new study links antidepressant use during pregnancy with birth defects.

Featured Neurology Pain Psychology

·May 18, 2016·4 min read

Drug Used For Pain and Anxiety May Be Linked to Birth Defects

A new study reports that pregnant women who take pregabalin, a drug commonly used to treat pain and anxiety, were three times more likely to have a child with a major birth defect.

Featured Neurology

·February 11, 2016·2 min read

Threat of Cytomegalovirus Far Outweighs Zika Risk

In the wake of all the media attention of the Zika virus, researchers are calling for greater public awareness of CMV, the most common viral cause of birth defects in the US.