Researchers at Boston University found evidence that mothers who were overweight before they became pregnant are at greater risk of having a child with neural tube defects, including spina bifida -- which can paralyze legs -- and anencephaly, which results in an underdeveloped brain.

CNN: Study links obesity in pregnancy to birth defects

Born on 26 July 1969 in Cardiff with spina bifida, Grey-Thompson had to use a wheelchair from the age of seven.

BBC: Tanni Grey-Thompson has won 11 Paralympic gold medals

Jill Rako is all too familiar with the discomforts of children's hospitals: Her 15-year-old son Daniel, born with spina bifida, the incomplete development of the spinal cord, has logged dozens of surgeries and stays at Nationwide Children's.

WSJ: Children's Hospitals Make Room for Mom, Dad and Diversions

Furthermore, lower levels of mycotoxins in pest-resistant GE corn mean fewer birth defects, such as spina bifida, and less toxicity to livestock.

FORBES: The New York Times' Mark Bittman Offers Poisoned Food For Thought