Researchers at the CDC are becoming increasingly concerned because of the spike in the number of cases of Gastroschisis in newborns.
Gastroschisis is a condition wherein the intestines poke through the abdomen, near the belly button, and hang outside of the body.
In some cases even the liver and the stomach are affected.
Whatever the severity of the case may be, surgery remains the only option of treatment.
READ: 11-month-old boy with intestine sticking out of stomach needs surgery
Cases doubled in a decade
CDC research shows that the number of cases practically doubled in just a span of 10 years, from 1995-2005.
Around 1,871 babies are born with the defect every single year, according to the CDC.
The statistic spans all races and age groups and the U.S. and was observed to be consistently on the rise.
Though they tracked birth data from 14 states in the U.S., researchers were still unable to isolate the main cause of the birth defect.
Coleen Boyle, the director of the CDC's National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities told CNN, "It concerns us that we don't know why more babies are being born with this serious birth defect. Public health research is urgently needed to figure out the cause and why certain women are at higher risk of having a baby born with gastroschisis."
For now, all they can do is hypothesize. There is a chance that gastroschisis is a genetic-driven condition or it could be environmentally-caused---by something their mother came in contact with during her pregnancy.
To minimize the risk of seeing this defect with your own baby, remember not to smoke or drink while pregnant.
Though surgery is usually the answer, this condition carries life-threatening risks and children who are unfortunately born with it will face difficulty in eating, absorbing nutrients, and digestion.
It will be a lifetime struggle.
READ: 6-year-old girl’s heart beats outside her body…it’s a miracle
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