What Are Congenital Anomalies?

Every day there are hundreds of babies being born into this world. A lot of them are healthy but unfortunately, some of them end up with congenital anomalies. There is a great occupational therapy in Suffolk county called East End Occupational Therapy, where they devote their time to getting your child back to a state where they can be themselves. 

What are Congenital Anomalies?

Congenital anomalies are also known as birth defects in which they affect children from the time they are born and can cause long-term disability. No family wants their child to be born with any birth defects because they can take a toll on everyone involved. Some examples of congenital anomalies are:

• Cleft lip and cleft palate
• Cerebral palsy
• Fragile X syndrome
• Down syndrome
• Spina bifida
• Cystic fibrosis
• Heart conditions

About 3% or 4% of all babies born within the United States will be born with some kind of birth defect and in an extreme case, they will have it for the rest of their lives. At East End Occupational Therapy, no matter the anomalies we want to help. We want to do everything that we can to make your child or you not let your congenital anomalies define who you are. 

Causes and Risk Factors

About 50% of all anomalies are unknown and not linked to any kind of cause, there are some known genetic, environmental and other causes or risk factors that relate to congenital anomalies. It is estimated that 94% of babies come from low-and middle income or poverty countries. Some factors that might lead to anomalies are:

• Lack of access to nutritious foods for pregnant women 
• Increased infection and alcohol consumption
• Lower access to healthcare and screening causing the medicine not to be as reliable as other countries. 

It is important to remember that when you are pregnant to not do anything dangerous that could potentially harm the baby before he or she is born. Some things that are considered dangerous would be exposing yourself to harmful pesticides and other chemicals. It is also important to make sure that you are not drinking, using tobacco, and taking medication that is not prescribed by your doctor. Doing any of these things might increase your risk of having a baby affected by congenital anomalies. 

Treatments and Prevention

Occupational therapy in Suffolk county helps provide the best rehabilitation to children born with birth defects. Cerebral palsy and muscular dystrophy are two well-known disorders that affect children at a young age and only gets worse as they get older. Occupational therapy helps with strengthening the muscles to keep them from becoming immobile. Certain structural congenital anomalies can be improved with pediatric surgery and early treatment can be administered to children with functional difficulties such as thalassemia. (Lack or abnormal amount of red blood cells around the body)

There are many steps to help prevent you from having a child that is born with a birth defect. Girls and mothers need to have a healthy diet including having a wide variety of different fruit and vegetables and also maintaining a healthy weight. Other prevention strategies are doing things like: 

• Dietary intake of vitamins and minerals
• Avoid travel to areas of the country where infections are prevalent
• screening for infections, especially rubella, varicella, and syphilis, and consideration of treatment.

How Can Occupational Therapy Help You?

Occupational therapy is a kind of therapy that helps people get back to doing every day things like picking up a pencil, writing, washing dishes and many other forms of tasks. Children born with Congenital anomalies who are having difficulty with these things will find relief at east end occupational therapy when they help assist rehabbing your child to a point where we and you feel comfortable where they can do everyday tasks without any problem. Occupational therapy practitioners have a holistic view, in which the focus is on modifying the environment to fit the person’s needs so they can feel comfortable outside of OT. Some of the things that occupational therapy focus and help with are:

• Fine motor skills (small-muscle movements made with the hands, fingers, and toes, such as grasping)
• Visual-perceptual skills
• Cognitive (thinking) skills
• Sensory-processing problems

These motor skills are essential for children born with congenital anomalies because it will help them become comfortable with simple little daily tasks that they do every day. If you are or someone you know is looking for occupational therapy in Suffolk County, East End Occupational Therapy is a great place to be at. We have a great group of therapists who want to help. Book your appointment by visiting our website and giving us a call. We look forward to helping you.