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Congenital Heart Disease Congenital heart defects are heart problems present at birth. They happen when the heart does not develop normally before birth. About 8 out of every 1,000 infants are born with one or more heart or circulatory problems. Doctors usually do not know the cause of congenital heart defects, but they do know of some conditions that increase a child's risk of being born with a heart defect. Some of these conditions include congenital heart disease in the baby's mother or father, diabetes in the mother, or the mother's use of alcohol during pregnancy. Even if one or more of these conditions is present, it does not mean that the baby will be born with a heart defect. Also, babies can be born with heart defects even when none of these conditions are present. Rarely can families predict or prevent congenital heart defects. Doctors can usually detect most heart defe