Summary: Fever suffered during the first trimester of pregnancy can lead to facial deformities and heart defects in the fetus, a new study reveals.

Source: UC Berkeley.

Fevers in a mother’s first trimester of pregnancy increase the baby’s risk for some heart defects and facial deformities such as cleft lip or palate, but exactly how this happens is unclear. Scientists have debated whether a virus or other infection causes the defects, or if fever alone is the problem.

UC Berkeley researchers have helped find evidence indicating that the fever itself, not its cause, is what interferes with the development of the heart and jaw during the first three to eight weeks of pregnancy. The findings, demonstrated in animal embryos, were published Oct. 10 in the journal Science Signaling.

The work, a collaboration with scientists at Duke University, provides new leads as…