By The Survivors Club Staff
March 12, 2010

As an athlete, actress and model Aimee Mullins appears to be an embodiment of health, despite the fact that she was born without fibula bones that necessitated leg amputations from the knee down when she was just a year old.

Overcoming the adversity, Mullins has become an inspiration to people around the world by going on to become a major athlete, competing in the NCAA Division I, using pioneering carbon-fiber prosthetic devices designed to imitate the hind legs of a cheetah, according to CNN.

She also set world records in several track events at the Paralympics in 1996, drawing attention that helped land her on magazine covers and even start an acting career.

She told the news provider she is also spending much of her time trying to dispel the negative connotations of the word "disabled."

"It's society that disables an individual by not investing in enough creativity to allow for someone to show us the quality that makes them rare and valuable and capable," she told CNN in a recent interview.

According to the March of Dimes, more than 25,000 babies are born each year with a congenital heart defect, making it the number one birth defect in the U.S.

As January is celebrated as Birth Defects Prevention Month, medical experts say pregnant women should avoid drinking, smoking, using illicit drugs or taking any medication without consultation with their doctors.

Regular supplementation with folic acid can also reduce the risk of birth defects, especially of the neurological type.

Survivors, their families and those who would like to donate may consult the website of the Birth Defect Research for Children.