On average, 1 in 33 babies worldwide has a birth defect. Polydactyly has now surpassed neural tube malformation and cleft lip as the most common limb malformation. The three main recognized causes of birth defects are genetic factors (chromosomal, single gene and genomic abnormalities), non-genetic factors (maternal diseases, infections, lifestyle and medications, etc.), and teratogens (harmful physical and chemical factors, etc.). Among them, maternal factors and teratogens can be prevented. Don’t forget to go to maternal and child health care institutions for preconception care and consultation before women prepare for pregnancy, not only to enhance awareness of preconception risk prevention and improve the health status of the couple planning to get pregnant, but also to reduce or eliminate risk factors that lead to birth defects and other adverse pregnancy outcomes. What can the relevant female population do on their own? First, they should consume at least 0.4 mg of folic acid (usually in the form of folic acid tablets or multivitamin supplements containing folic acid) daily before becoming pregnant. In this way, the frequency of neural tube defects (NTDs for short, including spina bifida and related disorders) can be further reduced. Second, for women who are already pregnant, alcohol of any kind should not be consumed throughout pregnancy. Alcohol can cause death or malformations in children, and those who do survive and do not develop malformations often exhibit low intelligence (known as fetal alcohol syndrome, or FASD). Women who are planning to become pregnant should also avoid consuming alcohol. In addition, radiation can cause death, infertility, miscarriage, fetal death, child death, malformations, mental impairment, tumors/cancer, and genetic disorders. Radiation exposure can be minimized by avoiding inhalation of contaminated dust and fumes and by avoiding ingestion of contaminated water and food. Congenital heart disease is the largest proportion of birth defects in children and occurs mostly due to viral infections in the first trimester of pregnancy, radioactive radiation, the effects of certain drugs, lack of nutrition, and certain genetic factors.