National estimates and race/ethnic‐specific variation of selected birth defects in the United States, 1999–2001

In the United States, birth defects affect approximately 3% of all births, are a leading cause of infant mortality, and contribute substantially to childhood morbidity.

Population-based data from the National Birth Defects Prevention Network were combined to estimate the prevalence of 21 selected defects for 1999-2001, stratified by surveillance system type. National prevalence was estimated for each defect by pooling data from 11 states with active case-finding, and adjusting for the racial/ethnic distribution of US live births. We also assessed racial/ethnic variation of the selected birth defects.