---------- OR ----------

Create account

Join clubs to discuss your interests
Connect with people like you
Share information, seek advice, get support


Home Pregnancy Baby Names Lucky Names Parenting Rhymes Stories Beauty Love Contests More Cooking Discussion Getting Pregnant Expecting a Baby Newborn Baby (0-3 months) Baby (3-12 months) Toddler (1-3 years) Preschoolers (3-5 years) Kids (5-9 years) Pre-Teens (9-12 years) Teens (13-18 years) Sex Education Preconception Miscarriages Fertility Issues Adoption Pregnancy Newborn Care Baby Names Baby Naming Tips Baby's Diet Child's Healthcare Child Development Pre-Schools Raising Children Food & Nutrition Manners & Discipline Intelligent Child Confident Child Teen Issues Baby Photo Contest Kids Photo Contest

Write a
Review

Add a
Listing

What are Sensory Birth Defects?

Sensorybirthdefectsresultinalossofvisionorhearingorboth.Thesedefectscannotbediagnosedwhenthebabyisinthewombandaredifficulttotreat.Avoidingtheriskfactorsisthereforethebestsolution.Knowmoreaboutsensorybirthdefects.Thesenseorgans–eyes,ears,nose,tongueandskin–helpustakeininformationwhichthenreachesthebraintobeinterpretedappropriately.Theseorganshelptoprotectourbodyfromharmandthankstothem,weareabletoexperiencetheworldinapleasurablemanner.Unfortunately,therecanbesituationswhenthedevelopmentandfunctioningofthesesenseorgansinthefoetusisnotalongtheexpectedlinesandthiscanleadtosensorybirthdefects.InthisarticleTypesofSensoryBirthDefectsCausesandWhoisatRiskforSensoryBirthDefectsSensoryBirthDefectsSignsandSymptomsHowCanSensoryBirthDefectsbeScreenedandDiagnosed?TreatmentofSensoryBirthDefectsTypesofSensoryBirthDefectsTherecanbedifferenttypesofsensorybirthdefectsdependingonthespecificorganthatisaffected.Someofthemostcommononesinclude:BlindnessandothervisionproblemsHearingdefectsCataractWilliam’ssyndromeFragileXsyndromeAckermansyndromeCausesandWhoisatRiskforSensoryBirthDefectsSensorybirthdefectsarisefromavarietyofcausesandcanaffecttheeyeandtheear.VisualBirthDefectsIfcertaingenesonchromosome7getdeletedatthetimeofconception,thebabydevelopsWilliam’ssyndromethatischaracterizedbycardiovascularproblemsanddelaysindevelopmentalongwithamarkeddifficultyinassessingspacearoundobjectsaswellashighsensitivitytonoiseandhighfrequencysounds.BabieswhoarebornwithFragileXsyndrome–ageneticdisorder–arealsohighlysensitivetoloudnoiseandpanicwhentheyhearsudden,loudnoise.SomebabiesarebornwithararedisordercalledAckermansyndromeinwhichtheydevelopglaucomathatcanleadtoblindness.Colourblindnessisanotherdisorderthatisgenerallyinheritedanditoccursbecausethereisdamageofsomeoftheconecellsintheeye;asaresult,thebabycannotsensered,greenorbluelight.Aniridiaisadisorderoftheeyeinwhichthebabyshowsapartialorcompleteabsenceoftheiris(thecolouredpartoftheeye).Thisabnormalstructureoftheiriscancausethepupilstobemisshapenandoverall,thereisalossofvisualacuityandthebabyishighlysensitivetolight.Babieswiththisconditionmaygrowuptodevelopglaucomainchildhoodoradolescence,cataract,nystagmus(involuntary,suddenmovementsoftheeye)oropticnervedisease.HearingBirthDefectsCongenitallossofhearingiscommonlyseeninbabiesborntowomenwhosufferfromGermanmeasles(Rubella)duringtheirpregnancy.Whentheinfectionpassestothebaby,therecanbedeafness,lossofhearingorcataractoftheeye.BabieswithgeneticdisorderssuchasDown’ssyndrome,Usher’ssyndromeandAlportsyndromearealsocharacterisedbyasignificantlossofhearing.Somehearingdefectsmayalsoariseifawomanconsumesalcoholorcertainnarcoticdrugsduringpregnancy.SensoryBirthDefectsSignsandSymptomsMostbabiesareabletofocustheirvisiononpeopleandobjectsbythetimetheyare5weeksofage.Ababywithvisionproblemswillnotbeabletodothis;also,theeyesdonotreactwhenbrightlightisturnedon.Theremaybenystagmuswhichisasuddensidewisemovementoftheeyes.Somebabiesappeartobelookingattheirnosesratherthanattheobjectinfrontoftheireyes.Insomeinfants,thepupilsmayappearcloudyorwhiteinsteadofthenormalblack.Colourblindnessisnoticedmuchlaterwhenthechildisnotabletodistinguishbetweengreenandredcolours.Hearinglossmaybeidentifiedinthenewbornifitdoesnotgetstartledbyaloudnoise.Bythetimebabiesare4to7monthsold,theycanrespondtosomeonecallingouttheirname.Ifababyofthisagedoesnotshowanyreactionwhencalled,itcouldbeanindicationofhearingloss.Mostchildrenbytheageof15monthswillbeginsayingsinglewords;ifthismilestoneismarkedlydelayed,itcouldbeasignofhearingproblems.HowCanSensoryBirthDefectsbeScreenedandDiagnosed?Sensorybirthdefectscanbediagnosedonlyafterchildbirth;bothvisionlossandhearinglosscanbedetectedininfants.Visioncanbetestedbyexaminingtheinfant’sabilitytofollowaflashlightandaninstrumentcalledthehandheldslitlampcanbeusedtoexaminetheinteriorstructuresoftheeyesuchasthelens,cornea,anteriorchamberandthepupillaryreflex.Hearinglosscanbeassessedbyanotoacousticemissiontestinwhichasmallmicrophonewithinthebaby’searssendsasofttoneinsideandtheresponseoftheinnerearismeasured.Anautomatedauditorybrainstemresponsetestinvolvessendingsoftsoundsintotheearandthenmeasuringtheactivityofthebrainwavesinresponsetothesesounds.TreatmentofSensoryBirthDefectsCongenitalblindnesscannotbecuredbutconditionssuchascataractandglaucomamaybecorrectedwithsurgeryormedication.Hearinglosscannotbecorrectedbutimpairmentinhearingcanbeovercomebytheuseofhearingaidsorasurgicalprocedurethatinvolvesacochlearimplant.However,childrenwithvisionandhearingproblemscanbetaughttocommunicatethroughBrailleandsignlanguagerespectivelyandthiscanhelpthechildleadanindependentlife.Sensorybirthdefectscannotbediagnosedwhenthebabyisinthemother’swomb;therefore,itisvitaltotakesomepreventivesteps.Pregnantwomenshouldthereforetakecaretoavoidcatchingdangerousinfectionsaswellasavoidconsumptionofdrugsandalcoholtoreducetheirriskofgivingbirthtobabieswithsensorybirthdefects.Whatarethecausesofsensorybirthdefectsinchildren?Howaresensorybirthdefectstreated?Whatprecautionsshouldbetakenduringpregnancytopreventsensorybirthdefects?Discusshere.

The sense organs – eyes, ears, nose, tongue and skin – help us take in information which then reaches the brain to be interpreted appropriately. These organs help to protect our body from harm and thanks to them, we are able to experience the world in a pleasurable manner. Unfortunately, there can be situations when the development and functioning of these sense organs in the foetus is not along the expected lines and this can lead to sensory birth defects.

Types of Sensory Birth Defects

There can be different types of sensory birth defects depending on the specific organ that is affected. Some of the most common ones include:

Blindness and other vision problems

Hearing defects

Cataract

William’s syndrome

Fragile X syndrome

Ackerman syndrome

Causes and Who is at Risk for Sensory Birth Defects

Sensory birth defects arise from a variety of causes and can affect the eye and the ear.

Visual Birth Defects
If certain genes on chromosome 7 get deleted at the time of conception, the baby develops William’s syndrome that is characterized by cardiovascular problems and delays in development along with a marked difficulty in assessing space around objects as well as high sensitivity to noise and high frequency sounds.

Babies who are born with Fragile X syndrome – a genetic disorder – are also highly sensitive to loud noise and panic when they hear sudden, loud noise.

Some babies are born with a rare disorder called Ackerman syndrome in which they develop glaucoma that can lead to blindness.

Colour blindness is another disorder that is generally inherited and it occurs because there is damage of some of the cone cells in the eye; as a result, the baby cannot sense red, green or blue light.

Aniridia is a disorder of the eye in which the baby shows a partial or complete absence of the iris (the coloured part of the eye). This abnormal structure of the iris can cause the pupils to be misshapen and overall, there is a loss of visual acuity and the baby is highly sensitive to light. Babies with this condition may grow up to develop glaucoma in childhood or adolescence, cataract, nystagmus (involuntary, sudden movements of the eye) or optic nerve disease.

Hearing Birth Defects
Congenital loss of hearing is commonly seen in babies born to women who suffer from German measles (Rubella) during their pregnancy. When the infection passes to the baby, there can be deafness, loss of hearing or cataract of the eye.

Babies with genetic disorders such as Down’s syndrome, Usher’s syndrome and Alport syndrome are also characterised by a significant loss of hearing.

Some hearing defects may also arise if a woman consumes alcohol or certain narcotic drugs during pregnancy.

Sensory Birth Defects Signs and Symptoms

Most babies are able to focus their vision on people and objects by the time they are 5 weeks of age. A baby with vision problems will not be able to do this; also, the eyes do not react when bright light is turned on. There may be nystagmus which is a sudden sidewise movement of the eyes. Some babies appear to be looking at their noses rather than at the object in front of their eyes. In some infants, the pupils may appear cloudy or white instead of the normal black. Colour blindness is noticed much later when the child is not able to distinguish between green and red colours.

Hearing loss may be identified in the newborn if it does not get startled by a loud noise. By the time babies are 4 to 7 months old, they can respond to someone calling out their name. If a baby of this age does not show any reaction when called, it could be an indication of hearing loss. Most children by the age of 15 months will begin saying single words; if this milestone is markedly delayed, it could be a sign of hearing problems.

How Can Sensory Birth Defects be Screened and Diagnosed?

Sensory birth defects can be diagnosed only after childbirth; both vision loss and hearing loss can be detected in infants. Vision can be tested by examining the infant’s ability to follow a flashlight and an instrument called the handheld slit lamp can be used to examine the interior structures of the eye such as the lens, cornea, anterior chamber and the pupillary reflex.

Hearing loss can be assessed by an otoacoustic emission test in which a small microphone within the baby’s ears sends a soft tone inside and the response of the inner ear is measured. An automated auditory brainstem response test involves sending soft sounds into the ear and then measuring the activity of the brain waves in response to these sounds.

Treatment of Sensory Birth Defects

Congenital blindness cannot be cured but conditions such as cataract and glaucoma may be corrected with surgery or medication. Hearing loss cannot be corrected but impairment in hearing can be overcome by the use of hearing aids or a surgical procedure that involves a cochlear implant. However, children with vision and hearing problems can be taught to communicate through Braille and sign language respectively and this can help the child lead an independent life.

Sensory birth defects cannot be diagnosed when the baby is in the mother’s womb; therefore, it is vital to take some preventive steps. Pregnant women should therefore take care to avoid catching dangerous infections as well as avoid consumption of drugs and alcohol to reduce their risk of giving birth to babies with sensory birth defects.

What are the causes of sensory birth defects in children? How are sensory birth defects treated? What precautions should be taken during pregnancy to prevent sensory birth defects? Discuss here.