Birth defects plague couples who don’t seek health checks

About 5.6 percent of newborns in China have birth defects, with about 900,000 affected infants born each year, said a report on the prevention and treatment of newborn defects for 2012 released by the Ministry of Health Wednesday.

Birth defects have become the second-greatest cause of and accounted for 19.1 percent of infant deaths in China.

Of the babies born with defects, about 30 percent die within five years of their birth, while another 40 percent suffer lifelong deformities.

Experts believe an increase in birth defects may be linked to the cancellation of compulsory premarital health checks in 2003, a rise in the number of women who have their first child at an older age, the intake of prohibited medicine, increased exposure to radioactivity and drinking alcohol.

The percentage of couples going for premarital health checks shot up to 41 percent in 2011, from a mere 2.67 percent in 2004, after several provinces began providing the service for free or requiring it in order to obtain a marriage license.

Birth defects, referring to physical, functional or metabolic abnormalities developed at or before birth, are a serious problem in China, particularly in rural areas. Neural tube defects, congenital heart disease, cleft lip and hydrocephalus are among the most common defects.