User:SunKing1970/sandbox/Birth Defect Research for Children

Birth Defect Research for Children, Inc. (BDRC) is a 501(c)(3) American non-profit organization that provides information to parents and specialists about birth defects, related causes and medical care, plus support group counsel. BDRC offers a parent-matching program that connects families with children living with similar birth defects, as well as up-to-date news regarding the most recent findings in birth defect research. The organization also sponsors the National Birth Defect Registry.

History
In 1975, after her own son was born with birth defects, Betty Mekdeci took an interest in birth defect research. Information about birth defects was scarce during this time and not easily accessible to the public. Consequently in 1982, Betty and her husband Mike established the Association of Birth Defect Children, known today as Birth Defect Research for Children. Betty had left behind her job as an advertising copywriter to focus on the organization, one geared to helping parents in the same predicament as the Mekdecis. The grassroots campaign operated on a modest budget sourced primarily from donations and grants. Though Betty initially spent her time collecting birth defect and environmental exposure data related to the birth of her son, she would eventually devote her attention to helping the children of Vietnam veterans who have developed birth defects as a result of exposure to the Agent Orange toxin.

Bendectin controversy
Following the birth of their son, the Mekdecis contacted the U.S. Food and Drug Administration concerning medications prescribed to Betty while she was pregnant. With help from FDA insiders, they managed to target Bendectin, a medically-approved drug used to treat nausea and vomiting during pregnancy. After an unrelenting, seven-year investigation into Bendectin, the medication was taken off the consumer market in 1982.

National Birth Defect Registry
The National Birth Defect Registry is a research project founded by BDRC which examines the relationship between birth defects and exposure to pharmaceutical drugs, cigarettes, alcohol, plus harmful environmental toxins like mercury, lead, dioxin and pesticides. Devised by a team of seven scientists, the online project works by gathering data on both the birth defects and the exposure of each parent prior to conception. This data is then used to study the causes behind birth defects.

The BDRC registry is the only one of its kind in the country. Used in research studies as well as for social advocacy, the registry data has also been submitted to government agencies at both state and federal levels and in various media forums.

Agent Orange
In 1986, the Agent Orange Class Assistance Programs were first introduced. That same year, Betty Mekdeci had been working on a project that involved counseling the families of Vietnam war veterans and generating a series of factsheets about the disorders the parents were noticing in their children. This process ultimately lead to the creation of BDRC's National Birth Defect Registry.

After analyzing the exposure section of the registry forms, collected from thousands of Vietnam veterans' families, BDRC found that the compiled data showed a consistent pattern of defects in their offspring, particularly conditions which impact the nervous and immune systems. Other notable health problems revealed include learning deficiencies, thyroid issues and childhood cancers.

In 1992, Birth Defect Research for Children submitted a report on Agent Orange to the U.S. House Committee on Veterans' Affairs and the National Academy of Sciences Committee.

Today, Mekdeci's organization is working on a means to allow Vietnam veterans and their families to come to a centralized location to receive a comprehensive health assessment.

Gulf War Exposures
The National Birth Defect Registry has also evaluated birth defects in the children of Gulf War veterans. This investigation found 33 babies born with Goldenhar syndrome.

Dickson County Water Contamination
Between 1997 and 2000, the Tennessee Department of Health led an investigation into a rise in cleft lip and cleft palate malformations in Dickson County newborns. When BDRC carried out its own investigation into the occurring birth defects, it discovered that the toxic chemical substance trichloroethylene (TCE) had seeped into a well that supplied water temporarily to the city in 1997. The organization's linking of TCE exposure with the increased cleft palate cases was later verified by the CDC.

The Healthy Baby Resource
The Healthy Baby Resource is a BDRC program aimed at the prevention of birth defects. The medically-reviewed resource is designed to educate families on how to produce healthier babies.