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Article: Political Issues: Birth Defects Surveillance Registries in the United States and Europe
- Article from:
- International Journal of Childbirth Education
- Article date:
- March 1, 1999
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright INTERNATIONAL CHILDBIRTH EDUCATION ASSOCIATION Mar 1999. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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POLITICAL ISSUES: Birth Defects Surveillance Registries in the United States and Europe
Each year 150,000 infants in the United States are born with a serious birth defect, and birth defects are the leading cause of infant mortality in the US (Petrini et al. 1997). Thousands of children are born each year with spina bifida and fetal alcohol syndrome, both preventable birth defects. The statistics are staggering in their numbers, costly both socially and financially, and tragic knowing that each "statistic" represents an individual child, family, and community affected.
Birth defects affect babies of all racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups, although some conditions are more common among ...