What is teratology?
Teratology is the study of birth defects caused by exposures during pregnancy.
When studying birth defects several facts should be kept in mind:
- In every pregnancy there is a 3-5% chance a baby could be born with a birth defect, mental retardation or a genetic condition. This is called the "background risk."
- The dose and timing of an exposure during pregnancy is important.
- Information about single exposures can often be located. There is limited information about how multiple medications, chemicals or other exposures interact with each other.
- The risk of any exposure must be weighed against the benefits.
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