nuclear-news

Chinese news reports increased exposure to radioactivity as one cause of birth defects

Consumption of prohibited medicine, increased exposure to radioactivity and drinking have also contributed to the increase, experts said.

900,000 Chinese born with birth defects every year http://www.beijingnews.net/index.php?sid/209107845/scat/55582c89cb296d4c/ht/900000-Chinese-born-with-birth-defects-every-year Beijing News.Net   12th September, 2012 Around 900,000 babies are born with birth defects in China every year, the health ministry said Wednesday.
This constitutes about 5.6 percent of the total number of newborns, Xinhua reported.

The ministry report for 2012 on prevention and treatment of defects in newborn babies said birth defects — at 19.1 percent — have become the second-biggest cause of infant deaths in China.
Birth defects are a serious problem in China’s rural areas. Neural
tube defects, congenital heart disease, cleft lip and hydrocephalus
are among the most common.
Among babies born with defects, about 30 percent die within five years
after birth, while 40 percent suffer lifelong deformities, the report
said.
About 250,000 newborns have visible defects.
Experts believe the increase in birth defects may be linked to the
withdrawal of compulsory premarital health checks in 2003, as well as
an increase in the number of women who have their first child at an
older age.
Consumption of prohibited medicine, increased exposure to radioactivity and drinking have also contributed to the increase, experts said.
The World Health Organization (WHO) says more than 7.9 million
children, or about six percent of total births worldwide, are born
with birth defects each year, due to genetic or environmental causes.

September 20, 2012 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | China, health