Prevalence of some congenital anomalies
European Registration of Congenital Anomalies
[for Professionals mainly]
Congenital anomalies - Neural tube defects - Anencephaly - Encephalocele - Spina bifida - Hydrocephaly - Microcephaly

Birth Defect Surveillance Data from Selected States, 1989-1996
National Birth Defects Prevention Network (NBDPN)
[for Professionals mainly]

Online Multiple Congenital Anomaly/Mental Retardation (MCA/MR) Syndromes©
Stanley Jablonski, United States National Library of Medicine, June 15, 2004
[for Professionals mainly]
A database of structured descriptions of congenital abnormalities associated with mental retardation.

Influence of Abnormal Parturition, in Relation to Deformities
W. J. Little, MD, Neonatology on the Web, January 12, 1997
[for Professionals mainly]
Nearly twenty years ago, in a course of lectures published in the "Lancet," and more fully in a "Treatise on Deformities," published in 1853, I showed that premature birth, difficult labours, mechanical injuries during parturition…

Evaluation of Newborns with Congenital Anomalies: A Clinical Guideline
American College of Medical Genetics Foundation, New York State Department of Health, June 2000

Birth Defects Prevention Act of 1997
U.S. Senate Republican Policy Committee, June 10, 1997
Findings include the following:
"Birth defects are the leading cause of infant mortality, directly responsible for one out of every five infant deaths."
"Thousands of the 150,000 infants born with a serious birth defect annually face a lifetime of chronic disability and illness."
"Birth defects threaten the lives of infants of all racial and ethnic backgrounds."
"Birth defects can be caused by exposure to environmental hazards, adverse health conditions during pregnancy, or genetic mutations."
"Public awareness strategies, such as programs using folic acid vitamin supplements to prevent spina bifida and alcohol avoidance programs to prevent Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, are essential to prevent the heartache and costs associated with birth defects."

National Birth Defects Prevention Network
National Birth Defects Prevention Network (NBDPN)
MISSION STATEMENT: "The mission of the National Birth Defects Prevention Network is to establish and maintain a national network of state and population-based programs for birth defects surveillance and research to assess the impact of birth defects upon children, families, and health care; to identify factors that can be used to develop primary prevention strategies; and to assist families and their providers in secondary disabilities prevention."

Birth Defects
March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation, April 2006
About 150,000 babies are born each year with birth defects. The parents of one out of every 28 babies receive the frightening news that their baby has a birth defect. A birth defect is an abnormality of structure, function or body metabolism (inborn error of body chemistry) present at birth that results in physical or mental disability, or is fatal. There are more than 4,000 known birth defects ... A single abnormal gene can cause birth defects ... Abnormalities in the number or structure of chromosomes can cause numerous birth defects ... Birth defects also may result from environmental factors such as drug or alcohol abuse, infections, or to exposure to certain medications ...
Can birth defects be prevented?
Can some birth defects be diagnosed before birth?
Can birth defects be treated before birth?

Neonatal Deaths
March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation, March 2006
Sadly, in 1996, about 19,000 babies died in their first month of life. Death in the first 28 days of life is referred to as neonatal death ... As parents attempt to cope with their loss, they may have many questions about why this happened to their baby ...
What are the most common causes of neonatal death?
Neonatal deaths often occur because a baby was born with birth defects or because he or she was born prematurely (before 37 completed weeks of pregnancy). Some premature babies also may have birth defects, which may cause or contribute to their death. The most common cause of neonatal death is birth defects ... Prematurity is another important cause of neonatal deaths. About 11 percent of babies are born prematurely ... and its complications cause about 20 percent of neonatal deaths ...
Which birth defects most commonly cause neonatal deaths?
Heart defects are the most common birth defect-related cause of infant deaths ... About one in every 125 babies is born with a heart defect ... Chromosomal abnormalities are a common cause of neonatal death ... Birth defects involving the brain and central nervous system are another important cause of neonatal death ...

Birth Defects Rising In The US, Environmental Toxicity Suspected
Health & Energy, November 17, 1999
Rates of birth defects, preterm births and low birthweight babies have been rising steadily since the mid-1980s ... "There is reason for concern as states report that birth defects are the biggest cause of infant mortality in the first 12 months of life as we enter the 21st century," Dr. Lynn Goldman of Johns Hopkins, told Reuters Health in an interview after the release of the study findings ...

The mission of the California Birth Defects Monitoring Program is to find the causes of birth defects
California Birth Defects Monitoring Program

Economic Costs of Birth Defects and Cerebral Palsy -- United States, 1992
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) September 22, 1995 / 44(37);694-9 prepared by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Birth defects are the leading cause of infant mortality in the United States and the fifth leading cause of years of potential life lost ... This report uses data from California (adjusted to provide national estimates) and national data to estimate the costs of these 18 conditions occurring in the United States during 1992 ... Estimates were adjusted to reflect national costs in 1992 dollars ... For 1992, the combined estimated cost of the 18 conditions in the United States was $8 billion (Table_2). Costs ranged from $75,000 to $503,000 per new case ... cerebral palsy {$503,000}, Down syndrome {$451,000}, and spina bifida {$294,000} ... these conditions had among the highest total lifetime costs ($2.4 billion, $1.8 billion, and $489 million, respectively ...

Trends in Infant Mortality Attributable to Birth Defects -- United States, 1980-1995
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) prepared by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Infant mortality has declined in the United States ... Birth defects are the leading cause of infant mortality (1), but infant mortality attributable to birth defects (IMBD) has not declined as rapidly as overall infant mortality. From 1968 to 1995, the proportion of IMBD increased from 14.5% to 22.2% ... During 1980-1995 ... overall infant mortality declined 39.8% ... overall infant mortality caused by birth defects increased from 20% to 22% ...

Birth Defects Incidence and Mortality Tables
Division for Vital Records and Health Statistics, Michigan Department of Community Health
This Web page provides a series of tables with birth defect incidence and mortality data through 1997 for the State of Michigan ... During 1997, there were 7,632 cases of birth defects reported for children within the first year of birth. This translates to an incidence rate of 577.7 cases per 10,000 resident live births ... children with a reportable birth defect is 34.6 per 1,000. This compares to an infant death rate of 8.1 per 1,000 for all resident infants born in Michigan during 1997 ... A higher mortality risk can be expected for children with birth defects well beyond the first year of life. The mortality rate for resident children under 5 years of age born during 1993 was 10.6 per 1,000. Children born during 1993 with a birth defect had a cumulative mortality rate of 46.4 per 1,000 by the end of the fifth year of life ...

Testimony on Protecting Our Children from Adverse Environmental Effects
Kenneth Olden, Ph.D., Director, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services May 2, 2000
CHILDREN'S HEALTH - A MIXED REVIEW
Children are the nation's most precious resource ... Of the sixty million children younger than 15 years in the U.S., more than forty-seven thousand died in 1994 from preventable diseases ...
Asthma
remains a major childhood problem, particularly among minorities ... reducing incidence of asthma attacks by reducing levels of airway allergens such as those from cockroach and dust mite ... also are evaluating the relationship of indoor and outdoor particulate matter and other pollutants to asthma severity ...
Developmental Problems and Birth Defects
Environmental agents are suspected of playing an important role ... high concentrations in nature some of these agents, particularly chlorinated pollutants, can cause reproductive and developmental disorders in wildlife ...
FUTURE RESEARCH PRIORITIES
Pesticides in the Diets of Infants and Children in 1993 ... Protection of Children from Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks ... Is there adequate data on in utero, perinatal, and childhood exposure? ...
Susceptibility
Children, as we know, are more susceptible than adults to adverse effects of many common contaminants ...
Genetic Susceptibility
There is a marked geographical variation in rates of childhood asthma ...
Ozone as a Risk Factor
This study will also validate the current use of sputum induction as a marker for air pollution effects and will evaluate if the increased emergency room and hospital utilization for asthma during high smog times is due to a measurable increase in airway inflammation ... exacerbation of allergic asthma by ozone ...

Birth Defects and Pediatric Genetics
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC )
Birth Defects Surveillance
18 states to address major problems that hinder the surveillance of birth defects and the use of data for prevention and intervention programs ... During 1998, we finished analyzing the data from a study conducted jointly with Chinese health officials to determine folic acid’s effectiveness in reducing rates of neural tube defects (NTDs) in two areas of China ... this study showed that in northern China, which has a high incidence of NTDs, women who took 400 micrograms (0.4mg) of folic acid daily at least 80% of the time before and in the early stages of pregnancy reduced their risk of having an NTD-affected pregnancy by 85% ...

Leading Categories of Birth Defects (PDF)
CDC, Metropolitan Atlanta Congenital Defects Program, and California Birth Defects Monitoring Program, 2003
Heart and circulation 1 in 115 births … Muscles and skeleton 1 in 130 births … Club foot 1 in 735 births … Cleft lip/palate 1 in 930 births … Genital and urinary tract 1 in 135 births … Nervous system and eye 1 in 235 births … Anencephaly 1 in 8,000 births … Spina bifida 1 in 2,000 births … Chromosomal syndromes 1 in 600 births … Down syndrome (Trisomy 21) 1 in 900 births … Respiratory tract 1 in 900 births … Metabolic disorders 1 in 3,500 births … PKU 1 in 12,000 births … Congenital Infections … Congenital syphilis 1 in 2,000 births … Congenital HIV infection 1 in 2,700 births … Congenital rubella syndrome 1 in 100,000 births … Rh disease 1 in 1,400 births … Fetal alcohol syndrome 1 in 1,000 births …

Supercourse: Primary Prevention of Birth Defect
Supercourse

INTERNATIONAL CENTRE FOR BIRTH DEFECTS
International Centre for Birth Defects (ICBD)
[Italian]
ICBD is the coordinating centre of the International Clearinghouse for Birth Defects Monitoring Systems (ICBDMS) ... The ICBD also promotes and manages several collaborative studies of congenital malformations ...

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Last Updated: 2008/7/7

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