Most women under 50 have risk factors for birth defects that can be lowered, CDC finds

One in 33 babies in the United States are born with birth defects. But a new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is raising awareness of ways to lower that risk. The study points to five risk factors that public health officials — and, in some cases, women themselves — can do something about: obesity, diabetes, smoking exposure, food insecurity and low levels of folate (an essential vitamin that helps the body produce cells). According to the study, 66% of