Serious birth defects that strike as many as 2,000 babies each year in Quebec could be avoided, the author of a new study said Tuesday.

Why isolated American community is suffering huge number of babies with horrifying birth defects By SADIE WHITELOCKS, US SENIOR HEALTH REPORTER Published: 07:46 EDT, 12 July 2025 | Updated: 10:03 ...

According to WHO, 6 per cent of babies are born with birth defects worldwide. Birth defects are structural or functional defects that occur when babies are developing in the mother's womb.

About 10 per cent of babies born this way had birth defects versus 6 per cent of those conceived naturally, the study found. It could be that the extra jostling of egg and sperm does damage.

How a 'stubborn' Canadian saved thousands of American babies from birth defects Frances Kelsey's first big break as a world-changing scientist may only have occurred because people assumed she was ...

Called trimethoprim, researchers found the risk of birth defects in the woman taking the drug in their first trimester was 26.9 per 1,000 infants.

Such defects included 'severe' heart malformations as well as cleft lip and palates. In contrast, the risk posed by other antibiotics was lower, with only 19.8 to 23.5 malformations per 1000 infants.

This defect allows the intestines to move into the chest cavity, interfering with lung development. The condition carries a high risk of mortality, especially in preterm and low birth weight babies.