Congenital intrauterine infection-like syndrome is a genetic condition with features that resemble infections before birth. It is usually recognized in infancy and can include small head size, growth delays, vision or hearing issues, and developmental differences. Features can range from mild to severe and may change over time, and not everyone will have the same experience. Many living with congenital intrauterine infection-like syndrome benefit from early therapies, vision and hearing support, and regular developmental care. The outlook varies by severity and care, and many children grow into adulthood with ongoing support.
Overview
Congenital intrauterine infection-like syndromeSymptoms
Congenital intrauterine infection-like syndrome is often recognized before birth or at delivery. Early signs of Congenital intrauterine infection-like syndrome include poor growth, small head size, eye or hearing problems, jaundice, enlarged liver or spleen, feeding difficulty, seizures, and developmental delay.
Outlook and prognosis
Many people with congenital intrauterine infection-like syndrome do well with early, coordinated care, though needs can change over time. Outcomes vary by the organs affected—hearing, vision, growth, and learning are the most common areas. Regular follow-up helps children reach their best potential.
Causes and risk factors
Causes include infections during pregnancy—such as cytomegalovirus, toxoplasmosis, rubella, syphilis, and Zika—crossing the placenta. Risks rise with first‑trimester infection, no immunity or vaccination, untreated STIs, immunosuppression, limited prenatal care, and exposures like undercooked meat, cat litter, or mosquito bites.
Genetic influences
Genetics plays a smaller role in congenital intrauterine infection-like syndrome than the in‑utero exposure itself. However, genetic variations can influence placental defenses and a baby’s immune response, shaping severity and recovery. Family history rarely predicts risk, but it may modify outcomes.
Diagnosis
Doctors suspect congenital intrauterine infection-like syndrome when newborn features and brain imaging resemble infection but tests are negative. Diagnosis relies on clinical features, MRI/CT, eye exam, and genetic tests; genetic diagnosis of congenital intrauterine infection-like syndrome supports confirmation and counseling.
Treatment and drugs
Treatment for congenital intrauterine infection-like syndrome focuses on the child’s specific needs, guided by findings on hearing, vision, brain, liver, and growth. Care may include antivirals or antibiotics when appropriate, hearing devices, vision support, physical and speech therapy, and nutrition plans. Regular developmental follow-up helps adjust therapies early and support families.
Symptoms
Day to day, this can affect feeding, sleep, and early development in a baby, and may later influence hearing, vision, and movement. Parents may notice early features of Congenital intrauterine infection-like syndrome such as feeding difficulties, a smaller head size, or a purplish pinpoint rash. The changes are often subtle at first, blending into daily life until they become more noticeable.
In medical terms, this is microcephaly; in everyday life, it shows up as a smaller head size that grows more slowly than expected. It can be linked with developmental delays or seizures.
Some babies tire easily when sucking or have trouble coordinating suck‑swallow‑breathe. Feeding challenges are common in Congenital intrauterine infection-like syndrome. This can lead to slower weight gain and longer, stressful feeds.
Rolling, sitting, or first words may come later than peers. Therapies can support progress and build skills. Regular follow‑up helps spot strengths and needs.
Brief staring spells, lip smacking, or jerking can occur. Seizures can happen in Congenital intrauterine infection-like syndrome. Medicines and care plans aim to reduce episodes.
How people usually first notice Congenital intrauterine infection-like syndrome?
Many families first notice signs that resemble a congenital infection soon after birth: a baby may be smaller than expected, have a prolonged yellowing of the skin and eyes (jaundice), a widespread rash, or trouble feeding and staying alert. Doctors often pick up the first signs of congenital intrauterine infection-like syndrome during newborn exams or imaging, such as an enlarged liver or spleen, tiny calcium spots in the brain on ultrasound, or hearing concerns on the initial hearing screen. Sometimes clues appear even before birth on prenatal ultrasound—like poor growth, extra fluid, or brain changes—prompting closer follow-up right after delivery.
Types of Congenital intrauterine infection-like syndrome
Congenital intrauterine infection-like syndrome is a genetic condition with a recognizable set of features that resemble the effects of infections before birth. Clinicians often describe them in these categories: the classic form, milder or late-onset presentations, and rarer severe neonatal forms. These clinical variants reflect different genetic changes that can influence how early signs appear, how fast they progress, and which organs are most affected. People may notice different sets of symptoms depending on their situation.
Classic variant
Features start around birth or early infancy with vision changes, hearing differences, and developmental delays. Muscle tone can be low, and head growth may be smaller than expected. Severity ranges from mild to more noticeable disability.
Mild/late-onset variant
Early milestones may be near typical, with issues emerging in childhood such as learning differences or subtle hearing or vision changes. Some may develop coordination or balance problems later. The balance of symptoms can shift over time.
Severe neonatal variant
Symptoms are evident at or shortly after birth, sometimes with feeding difficulties, seizures, or significant movement problems. Hospital care is often needed early to manage breathing or nutrition. Early symptoms of congenital intrauterine infection-like syndrome can include pronounced vision and hearing involvement.
Progressive neurologic focus
Movement, coordination, and muscle tone concerns lead the picture, with increasing stiffness or weakness over time. Learning and speech can be variably affected. Not everyone will experience every type.
Sensory-predominant focus
Hearing loss and vision impairment are the main challenges, while movement and learning may be less affected. Supports like hearing aids or low-vision services often help daily life. Certain patterns tend to surface in school years, while others appear in early infancy.
What genetics can tell you about symptoms
Some babies with congenital intrauterine infection–like syndrome have eye scars, small head size, hearing loss, or liver and spleen swelling when genes guiding immune responses or brain-eye development are altered. Variants in pattern‑recognition or antiviral genes can worsen inflammation, amplifying these features.
Causes and risk factors
The syndrome is most often caused by gene changes that disrupt the baby’s immune signaling before birth. These changes may be inherited from carrier parents or may arise as a new mutation in the egg or sperm. Genes set the stage, but environment and everyday habits often shape how the condition shows up. Risk factors for Congenital intrauterine infection-like syndrome include having two carrier parents, a prior affected pregnancy, or parents who are closely related. Infections or toxic exposures during pregnancy do not cause this genetic syndrome, but they can look similar and complicate evaluation.
Environmental and biological risk factors
People sometimes search for early symptoms of Congenital intrauterine infection-like syndrome, but understanding which biological and environmental factors can raise the chance is just as helpful when planning care. That said, biology and environment work hand in hand. Below are factors linked in studies with a higher likelihood of infection-like patterns seen before or shortly after birth.
Pregnancy at age 35 or older has been linked to higher rates of some congenital patterns. In some cases, these patterns can resemble findings seen in Congenital intrauterine infection-like syndrome.
Older paternal age has been associated with a small increase in certain fetal brain differences. This may raise the likelihood of infection-like findings identified on prenatal or newborn imaging.
Autoimmune conditions can affect the placenta and blood flow to the fetus. Reduced placental support may increase risk of infection-like patterns in brain and organ development.
High blood pressure in pregnancy can limit oxygen and nutrients crossing the placenta. This stress can increase chances of infection-like injury patterns before birth.
Genetic risk factors
Congenital intrauterine infection-like syndrome has several genetic causes that mimic infections before birth. Some risk factors are inherited through our genes. Most involve rare changes in genes that guide brain development or control the body’s antiviral alarm system, which explains why newborn features can look like TORCH infections. Understanding the genetic causes of congenital intrauterine infection-like syndrome can guide testing for parents and future pregnancies.
Autosomal recessive pattern: Many cases of congenital intrauterine infection-like syndrome occur when a child inherits two nonworking copies of the same gene. Parents are usually healthy carriers. Each pregnancy has a 25% chance of being affected.
Dominant interferon sensors: Some cases come from a single change in an antiviral sensor gene such as IFIH1. These changes often arise for the first time in the child. Severity can vary.
Interferon pathway genes: Variants in genes like TREX1, RNASEH2A/B/C, SAMHD1, or ADAR can keep the body’s antiviral alarm switched on. This can look like congenital infections at birth, driving congenital intrauterine infection-like syndrome. Some clinicians group these under the Aicardi-Goutières spectrum.
USP18 deficiency: Loss of USP18 removes a key brake on antiviral signals, leading to severe brain inflammation and calcifications. This autosomal recessive cause is a well-recognized form of congenital intrauterine infection-like syndrome. Early life is often most affected.
OCLN gene changes: Variants in OCLN disrupt tight junctions that help shape the developing brain. This can produce band-like calcifications and simplified brain folds, a pattern historically labeled a pseudo-TORCH form of congenital intrauterine infection-like syndrome. Many families show autosomal recessive inheritance.
Family history: Having a prior child with the same genetic condition raises the chance of recurrence. For autosomal recessive forms, the risk is typically 25% per pregnancy. After a new dominant change, sibling risk is usually low.
Parental relatedness: When parents are related, both are more likely to carry the same rare variant. This increases the chance of an autosomal recessive condition in their children. Such clustering has been reported in multiple families.
Variable expression: The same genetic change can lead to different severities, even among relatives. Carrying a genetic change doesn’t guarantee the condition will appear. This variability is called variable expressivity and reduced penetrance.
De novo variants: Some children are the first in their family with a disease-causing change. In those cases, the risk to future siblings is usually low but not zero due to possible germline mosaicism. A genetics team can provide family-specific estimates.
Lifestyle risk factors
While not caused by lifestyle choices, habits at home can strongly influence symptom control, development, and complications in Congenital intrauterine infection-like syndrome. This overview focuses on how lifestyle affects Congenital intrauterine infection-like syndrome and highlights lifestyle risk factors for Congenital intrauterine infection-like syndrome. The aim is to show practical behaviors that help optimize growth, communication, mobility, and health. Small, consistent routines can make measurable differences over time.
Daily home practice of physical, occupational, and speech therapy reinforces clinic gains and supports motor tone, feeding, and language. Consistent repetition builds neural pathways and may reduce long-term disability.
Calorie-dense, nutrient-rich meals and safe swallowing strategies improve growth where oral-motor dysfunction or fatigue limits intake. Adequate iron, iodine, protein, and essential fats support brain development and therapy tolerance.
Regular use and maintenance of hearing aids or cochlear devices and face-to-face communication improve language acquisition with congenital hearing loss. Early, consistent auditory stimulation can narrow developmental gaps.
Corrective lenses, high-contrast materials, and structured visual breaks help compensate for ocular involvement. These accommodations reduce fatigue and support learning and mobility training.
Risk prevention
Congenital intrauterine infection-like syndrome is a genetic condition, so there isn’t a way to fully prevent it. Prevention focuses on family planning options and steps that lower the chance of complications if a child is affected. Knowing your risks can guide which preventive steps matter most. Learning the early symptoms of congenital intrauterine infection-like syndrome can help families seek care quickly and avoid delays.
Meet with a genetics professional to understand inheritance and the chance of recurrence in future pregnancies. They can outline testing options and connect you with resources.
Parents and close relatives can consider carrier testing to see who carries the familial change in the gene. This can inform reproductive choices and testing plans.
If a familial variant is known, options like chorionic villus sampling or amniocentesis can test the pregnancy. Detailed ultrasound and, when advised, fetal MRI can track brain growth and anatomy.
With IVF, embryos can be tested for the known familial variant before transfer. This can reduce the chance of having another child with congenital intrauterine infection-like syndrome.
Transmission
Congenital intrauterine infection-like syndrome is not contagious. It cannot be caught or spread through contact; it results from changes in certain genes that affect a baby’s development before birth.
In most families, it follows an autosomal recessive pattern: when both parents carry one changed copy of the same gene, each pregnancy has a 25% (1 in 4) chance of a child being affected, a 50% (1 in 2) chance of having a child who is a healthy carrier, and a 25% chance of neither. Less often, it can arise from a new, unexpected gene change. A genetics professional can explain how Congenital intrauterine infection-like syndrome is inherited in your family and discuss the genetic transmission of Congenital intrauterine infection-like syndrome.
When to test your genes
Test your genes if you have a child with congenital intrauterine infection–like features, a family history of similar findings, or unexplained pregnancy losses. Genetic testing can clarify causes, guide targeted care, and refine recurrence risks. Discuss timing preconception or early in pregnancy, especially after abnormal ultrasound or newborn screening.
Diagnosis
Diagnosis of Congenital intrauterine infection-like syndrome focuses on recognizing a pattern that looks like a congenital infection but isn’t caused by a virus or parasite. Many people feel relief just knowing what’s really going on. Doctors usually begin by ruling out common infections and then look for hallmark brain and eye findings, along with specific blood and genetic tests.
Providers look for early signs such as small head size, feeding difficulties, seizures, stiff or floppy muscle tone, and developmental delays. These features often resemble those seen with prenatal infections.
Details from pregnancy, delivery, and the first weeks of life help map the timeline of symptoms. A detailed family and health history can help identify patterns or similar findings in relatives.
Blood tests and swabs check for infections such as toxoplasmosis, rubella, cytomegalovirus, and herpes (often called TORCH). Negative or mismatched results for these infections support a non-infectious cause.
Cranial ultrasound in newborns and MRI or CT can show brain calcifications, white matter changes, and differences in brain development. These imaging findings are key clues that point away from active infection.
Stages of Congenital intrauterine infection-like syndrome
Congenital intrauterine infection-like syndrome does not have defined progression stages. It starts before birth and is usually recognized during pregnancy or soon after, so while abilities and health needs can change over time, there isn’t a standard “early-to-late” staging system. Evaluation centers on early symptoms of congenital intrauterine infection-like syndrome—such as small head size, feeding difficulties, or low muscle tone—along with a newborn exam, brain imaging, hearing and vision checks, and blood tests to rule out infections; Different tests may be suggested to help confirm the cause. Genetic testing is often used to tell this condition apart from TORCH infections and to guide follow-up with developmental, hearing, and vision monitoring.
Outlook and prognosis
For many living with congenital intrauterine infection-like syndrome, the long-term picture depends on which body systems were affected early on and how quickly support is in place. Some children have mild learning or hearing issues and grow into independent adults, while others face more complex needs related to vision, movement, or seizures. Early care can make a real difference, especially when hearing aids, vision services, physical therapy, and developmental supports begin in the first years of life.
The outlook is not the same for everyone, but most people see stability or gradual progress rather than steady decline once infections have cleared and complications are managed. If epilepsy, significant heart problems, or severe feeding difficulties are present, risks rise, and hospital stays can be more common in childhood. Severe cases can carry increased mortality in infancy or early childhood, usually tied to complications like uncontrolled seizures, lung infections from swallowing problems, or heart strain; with modern care, many of these risks can be reduced.
Looking at the long-term picture can be helpful. Over time, most people with congenital intrauterine infection-like syndrome achieve better communication and mobility with consistent therapies, assistive devices, and tailored education plans. Parents often ask about early symptoms of congenital intrauterine infection-like syndrome that predict outcomes; hearing loss, vision impairment, and early motor delays tend to be the strongest clues to the level of support a child may need. Talk with your doctor about what your personal outlook might look like, including plans for hearing and vision monitoring, seizure safety, vaccination, nutrition, and school supports as your child grows.
Long-term effects
Many families focus on what life will look like over time—movement, learning, and independence. In Congenital intrauterine infection-like syndrome, long-term effects often center on brain development, hearing and vision, growth, and seizure control. Long-term effects vary widely, and everyone’s path looks different. Some features stay fairly stable after infancy, while others, like seizures or muscle tightness, can change over the years.
Many children show delays in sitting, speaking, or school skills. This can range from mild learning differences to significant intellectual disability.
Seizures are common and may start in infancy. Patterns can shift over time, so seizure control in Congenital intrauterine infection-like syndrome may vary from well-managed to hard-to-control.
Muscle stiffness or poor coordination can affect walking and hand use. Some develop movement patterns similar to cerebral palsy, with tight muscles and joint contractures.
Vision may be reduced due to retinal changes or brain-based processing differences. Some children need glasses or low-vision supports long term.
How is it to live with Congenital intrauterine infection-like syndrome?
Living with congenital intrauterine infection–like syndrome can mean juggling therapies and checkups while watching developmental milestones unfold on a slower, more individual timeline. Many families plan days around early intervention, vision or hearing support, and medical visits, yet still make room for play, school, and the routines that build confidence. For caregivers, the emotional load can ebb and flow—from worry during procedures to pride with each new skill—while siblings, relatives, and teachers often become part of a wider support circle. With coordinated care, clear communication, and community resources, many find a steady rhythm that balances health needs with the joys of everyday life.
Treatment and drugs
Treatment for congenital intrauterine infection-like syndrome focuses on what your child needs right now and what helps prevent long-term problems. Doctors treat any active infection with targeted antibiotics or antivirals when appropriate, support breathing and feeding, and manage seizures or jaundice if they appear. Some babies benefit from hearing aids or vision supports, early physical and speech therapy, and careful growth and developmental follow-up; treatment plans often combine several approaches. If fluid builds up in the brain or other organs, specialists may recommend procedures to relieve pressure and protect function. Not every treatment works the same way for every person, so your care team will adjust over time based on how your child grows and responds.
Non-drug treatment
Families often focus on what helps a child learn, move, eat, hear, and see more comfortably in everyday life. Non-drug treatments often lay the foundation for progress alongside any medical care. Early symptoms of congenital intrauterine infection-like syndrome may be subtle, so supportive therapies usually begin as soon as needs are spotted. Care plans are adjusted over time as your child grows and goals change.
Coordinated services start in infancy to support development at home and in the community. Teams help set goals and coach caregivers on daily routines that build skills.
Guided play and exercises build strength, balance, and flexibility. This can ease stiffness and help with rolling, sitting, standing, and walking.
Therapy targets hand skills, play, and self-care like dressing or using utensils. Therapists adjust tasks and environments so activities feel achievable.
Sessions support early communication, feeding, and swallowing. Strategies may include language play, picture systems, or devices to help a child be understood.
Your genes may have an impact on how drugs work for you
Medicines for congenital intrauterine infection-like syndrome can work differently based on genes that affect how the body absorbs, breaks down, and clears drugs. Pharmacogenetic testing can sometimes guide safer dosing or alternative choices, especially for antivirals, antibiotics, and anti‑inflammatory treatments.
Pharmacological treatments
For congenital intrauterine infection-like syndrome, medicines focus on easing day-to-day symptoms and protecting growth and comfort rather than “curing” the underlying cause. Not everyone responds to the same medication in the same way. Treatment is tailored to seizures, muscle tightness, feeding or reflux issues, sleep, and bone health, and it often changes as a child grows. Early symptoms of congenital intrauterine infection-like syndrome can guide which medicines are tried first.
Used to prevent or reduce seizures. It’s often a first choice because it usually has a gentle side effect profile.
Helps control newborn and infant seizures. Doctors may start it early, then reassess as other options become suitable.
Eases stiff or tight muscles and spasms. It can improve comfort, positioning, and daily care for children with movement challenges.
Calms sudden muscle spasms and can reduce severe stiffness. It’s typically used short term or as needed due to sleepiness.
Genetic influences
Congenital intrauterine infection-like syndrome often arises from inherited changes in genes that regulate the body’s antiviral and inflammatory responses before birth, which is why babies can look as though they had an infection even when no infection is found. In many families, both parents are healthy carriers of the same gene change, and the condition appears when a child inherits both copies; less often, a single new change occurs for the first time in the child. Family history is one of the strongest clues to a genetic influence. Because genetic forms can vary widely, two children with the same gene change may have different severity, and early symptoms of congenital intrauterine infection-like syndrome can differ from one baby to another. Genetic testing can help tell a genetic cause from a true infection and may confirm the specific gene involved. Understanding the inheritance pattern can guide future pregnancy planning and help relatives know whether they might be carriers.
Is Congenital intrauterine infection-like syndrome genetic?
Genetics plays a smaller role in congenital intrauterine infection-like syndrome than the in‑utero exposure itself. However, genetic variations can influence placental defenses and a baby’s immune response, shaping severity and recovery. Family history rarely predicts risk, but it may modify outcomes.
Pharmacogenetics—how genetics influence drug effects
Treatment for congenital intrauterine infection-like syndrome often includes seizure medicines, medicines for muscle tone, and occasionally anti-inflammatory or antiviral therapies. Genes can influence how quickly you process certain drugs, which can change how well they work and the chance of side effects. For example, rare changes in a mitochondrial gene like POLG can make valproate unsafe in children, while specific HLA markers are linked to severe skin reactions with carbamazepine or phenytoin in some families, especially with Asian ancestry. Differences in drug‑processing genes such as CYP2C9 or CYP2C19 can affect dosing for phenytoin or clobazam, so starting doses may be adjusted and levels monitored more closely. Because every child’s situation is unique, pharmacogenetic testing for congenital intrauterine infection-like syndrome may help guide medication choice alongside clinical factors like age, liver and kidney function, and seizure pattern. Testing doesn’t replace careful follow‑up; it’s one more tool to personalize treatment and lower the risk of preventable side effects.
Interactions with other conditions
Day to day, other health issues can add layers to Congenital intrauterine infection-like syndrome, especially when feeding, breathing, or movement challenges are also present. Doctors call it a “comorbidity” when two conditions occur together. Early symptoms of Congenital intrauterine infection-like syndrome can be hard to tell apart from those caused by congenital infections such as CMV, toxoplasmosis, or rubella, and in some children, an actual infection may coexist and complicate care. Hearing or vision problems, epilepsy, or cerebral palsy can each make development and communication tougher, and one condition may “exacerbate” (make worse) the effects of another during growth spurts or common illnesses. Recurrent respiratory infections or reflux can increase hospital visits and may slow progress in feeding therapy and physical rehabilitation. To understand overall health, it’s useful to see how conditions overlap, so coordinated care across neurology, infectious disease, audiology, ophthalmology, and rehabilitation often makes everyday life more manageable.
How genes can cause diseases
Humans have more than 20,000 genes, each carrying out one or a few specific functions in the body. One gene instructs the body to digest lactose from milk, another tells the body how to build strong bones and another prevents the body's cells from beginning to multiply uncontrollably and developing into cancer. As all of these genes combined are the building instructions for our body, a defect in one of these genes can have severe health consequences.
Through decades of genetic research, we know the genetic code of any healthy/functional human gene. We have also identified that in certain positions on a gene, some individuals may have a different genetic letter from the one you have. We call these hotspots "Genetic Variations" or "Variants" in short. In many cases, studies have been able to show that having the genetic letter "G" in the position makes you healthy, but having the letter "A" in the same position disrupts the gene function and causes a disease. Genopedia allows you to view these variants in genes and summarizes all that we know from scientific research, which genetic letters (Genotype) have good or bad consequences on your health or on your traits.
History
Families and communities once noticed patterns of babies born small, with jaundice, rash, or hearing trouble after mothers experienced feverish illnesses in pregnancy. Midwives wrote about newborns who struggled to feed or seemed unusually quiet, and physicians described infants with enlarged livers or calcifications seen later on skull X‑rays. Long before lab tests, these day‑to‑day observations linked a mother’s infection to a baby’s early health problems.
First described in the medical literature as “TORCH” presentations in the mid‑20th century, clinicians grouped similar newborn findings that looked like the effects of several infections acquired before birth—most often cytomegalovirus (CMV), rubella, toxoplasmosis, syphilis, and later herpes and others. Initially understood only through symptoms, later the pattern was recognized as a shared “infection‑like” syndrome: low birth weight, enlarged spleen and liver, brain and eye changes, and hearing loss that might not be obvious right away.
From early theories to modern research, the story of congenital intrauterine infection-like syndrome follows the rise of public health and diagnostics. After the rubella epidemics of the 1940s–1960s, links between maternal rash illness and babies with heart defects, cataracts, and deafness became clear, spurring the development of rubella vaccination programs that dramatically lowered cases in many countries. Around the same time, improved staining methods and later PCR testing let laboratories detect specific germs in blood, urine, spinal fluid, and tissue—shifting care from broad descriptions to precise diagnoses.
As medical science evolved, ultrasound and then fetal MRI revealed growth restriction, brain changes, and calcifications before birth, helping clinicians anticipate complications and plan delivery and newborn care. Newborn hearing screening and early eye exams caught issues that might have been missed, while antiviral and antibiotic treatments, where effective, began to change outcomes for some infections when started promptly after birth.
Over time, the way the condition has been understood has changed, reflecting new pathogens and better prevention. Universal screening reduced congenital syphilis in many areas, though resurgences have reminded public health programs not to let up. CMV emerged as a leading cause of non‑genetic childhood hearing loss, highlighting the importance of hygiene measures during pregnancy. Zika virus outbreaks in the 2010s showed how a newly recognized infection could produce a familiar infection‑like pattern—small head size, brain and eye abnormalities—reaffirming the value of surveillance and rapid testing.
Today, congenital intrauterine infection-like syndrome remains a clinical umbrella that helps doctors think broadly when a newborn shows the classic pattern, even before tests identify a specific cause. In recent decades, knowledge has built on a long tradition of observation, pairing careful bedside clues with targeted lab tools, vaccines, and treatments to prevent infections during pregnancy and to support babies who are affected.