Immunization: Top Important Reasons

Rubella, or German measles, is a mild, contagious childhood illness that can cause serious birth defects in an unborn child. According to the March of Dimes, about 25% of babies whose mothers contract rubella during the first trimester of pregnancy are born with one or more birth defects. Congenital rubella syndrome, as it is called, includes eye defects, hearing loss, heart defects, mental retardation and less frequently, movement disorders.