The prospect of bearing an abnormal or deformed child has long been a chilling fear of all expectant mothers. Of the estimated 130 million children born each year worldwide, ] at least 2 to 3 percent are born with some type of birth defect.z It has only been within the last 150 years that doctors have attempted to interpret birth defects, or congenital malformations, in a scientific manner. The...

Although the last generally accepted concept of principles of teratology was issued more than 30 years ago, the cause of less than 50% of all congenital anomalies is known and no substantial change in their incidence has been observed worldwide. In the meantime, powerful techniques of molecular biology as well as many sophisticated preventive measures have been introduced with marginal effects ...

When a woman suffering from a hematological condition is contemplating pregnancy, she may need to continue the use of medications that do not have sufficient evidence of fetal safety. We discuss the evidence existing for some therapies of major hematological conditions in the context of major principles in clinical teratology. It is critical to always balance the potential fetal risks of the dr...