Birth defects are the leading cause of infant mortality in the United States and the 3rd highest cause of child mortality in Alabama. Birth defects occur in 3 – 4 % of all live births. This translates to 140,000 infants in the United States, 2,100 infants in Alabama, and 750 infants in the Program’s surveillance area. Birth defects account for 30% of admissions to pediatric hospitals and the lifetime medical costs of birth defects is in the billions. In addition, some birth defects are preventable.

The goals of the Alabama Birth Defects Surveillance and Prevention Program are to establish and maintain a birth defects registry, develop and implement prevention programs, and improve access for children with birth defects to comprehensive, community-based, family centered care.

Plans for the development of the Program began in 1994 with meetings that included key state agencies, community organizations, and community leaders. Surveillance began in 1995 at the University of South Alabama Medical Center. It was expanded to a private hospital setting in 1997. Population based surveillance was initiated in 1998 in Mobile and Baldwin counties. Since that time, we have expanded to 22 counties in south Alabama covering approximately 33% of the state’s live births.

Our Program is unique in that it is academic based and utilizes registered nurses to conduct active case ascertainment of infants with birth defects in birthing facilities and specialty clinics. These same nurses act as a resource to their communities, providing information to health professionals, patients and their families. We link appropriate families to services through their medical home. The ABDSPP is also conducting a statewide neural tube defect (NTD) and a fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) recurrence prevention campaign. These programs are implemented by multiple partners .

The Alabama Birth Defects Surveillance and Prevention Program, working together with its many partners and sponsors, hopes to improve the health of Alabama’s children.