I was only four months pregnant when I found out Sammy was going to be born with a cleft lip and palate.  BDRC put me in touch with doctors and support groups and gave me information about  cleft lip and palate so we were prepared with everything we needed when Sammy was born.  Now I have started a support group for parents of children with cleft lip and palate in my community

Andrew has a rare condition called DiGeorge Syndrome.  I contacted BDRC to be put into their parent matching system so I could meet some other families whose children had the same condition.  I also needed more information in a technical sense so we would be prepared for what was in Andrew's future.

My daughter was diagnosed with cancer and my son has symptoms of attention disorder, muscle and joint pains and chronic headaches.  When we had our well water tested, we found it was contaminated with toxic chemicals.  We contacted BDRC and found that other kids had similar problems after the same kinds of exposures.

"Since May 2000, BDRC has been diligently working on finding the cause of so many birth defects here in Dickson.  There have been 18 Children born with cleft lip and palate over the last three years as well as a rise in the number of children identified with autism and other neurological disorders.  BDRC has helped document this cluster of birth defects through their National Birth Defect Registry.  They have also been persistent in researching toxins released by industries in the county.  This has led to the discovery that TCE leaking from an old part of our landfill has periodically been found in both our public and private water supplies.  Steps are now being taken to stop this contamination."  - Deanna Stephens, Foundation Early Intervention Services.

"My service in the Gulf War may be why my baby was born with birth defects."  Casey is just one of many Gulf War veterans' children who have Goldenhar Syndrome, a rare craniofacial birth defect.  BDRC was the first organization to identify increases in Goldenhar Syndrome and other birth defects in the children of Gulf War veterans.  Now four government funded studies have been published that have also found increases in birth defects in the children of Gulf War veterans.

Stephen has been battling a rare form of lymphatic cancer since age five.  Charlie has chronic diarrhea, leg pains and holes in his ears that just won't heal.  Kimberly has chronic ulcerative colitis. All have fathers who served in an area of Vietnam that was heavily sprayed with Agent Orange.  Since 1990, Birth Defect Research for Children has been at the forefront of exposing the relationship between herbicide exposure in the children of Vietnam veterans and birth defects.
 

Your donation to Birth Defect Research for Children can help us identify environmental exposures that can cause birth defects while continuing to help families who have children with birth defects.