More infants are being born with gastroschisis, a birth defect in which their intestines come out of their body through a hole next to the navel, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is trying to figure out why.
After studying data from 1995 to 2012, researchers found that there's been a 263 percent increase in black mothers under the age of 20 giving birth to babies with gastroschisis, the Los Angeles Times reports. Coleen Boyle, director of the CDC's National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, said it's critical that researchers figure out what is causing the uptick and which women are at greater risk for having babies with gastroschisis.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
JW Marriott Khao Lak Resort & Spa: beachfront paradise in ThailandThe Week Recommends This luxury resort in Phang Nga is the perfect place to relax and unwind
-
Selfies ban in art galleries: a sign of the times?Talking Point Priceless art has been damaged by visitors desperate to take a snap with star attractions, leading some galleries and museums to start fighting back
-
Quiz of The Week: 21 – 27 JuneHave you been paying attention to The Week's news?
-
Kennedy's vaccine panel signals skepticism, changeSpeed Read RFK Jr.'s new vaccine advisory board intends to make changes to the decades-old US immunization system
-
Kennedy ousts entire CDC vaccine advisory panelspeed read Health Secretary RFK Jr. is a longtime anti-vaccine activist who has criticized the panel of experts
-
RFK Jr. scraps Covid shots for pregnant women, kidsSpeed Read The Health Secretary announced a policy change without informing CDC officials
-
New FDA chiefs limit Covid-19 shots to elderly, sickspeed read The FDA set stricter approval standards for booster shots
-
US overdose deaths plunged 27% last yearspeed read Drug overdose still 'remains the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18-44,' said the CDC
-
Trump seeks to cut drug prices via executive orderspeed read The president's order tells pharmaceutical companies to lower prescription drug prices, but it will likely be thrown out by the courts
-
RFK Jr. visits Texas as 2nd child dies from measlesSpeed Read An outbreak of the vaccine-preventable disease continues to grow following a decade of no recorded US measles deaths
-
Shingles vaccine cuts dementia risk, study findsSpeed Read Getting vaccinated appears to significantly reduce the chances of developing Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia
