Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities

General Information and Programs

Fast Stats A-Z: Disabilities/Limitations
View data and statistics on disabilities/limitations.

Kids Quest on Disability and Health

National Center of Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities

Women with Disabilities

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Research

2011

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (12/29/2011)
Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs) are a group of conditions that can occur in a person whose mother drank alcohol during pregnancy. Learn more about signs, treatments, and what you can do about FASDs.

Women with Disabilities and Breast Cancer (11/3/2011)
Women with disabilities are also at risk of breast cancer. If you are between 40-49, talk with your doctor about getting a mammogram. If you're 50-74, get a mammogram every 2 years.

Mammography Use and Women with Disabilities (6/15/2011)
This fact sheet provides state, district and territory based health indicator data to demonstrate health disparities among people with disabilities. In most states, there is a difference in mammography rates by disability status, suggesting a disparity in access to preventive services.

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2010

Prevent Birth Defects
Women can help prevent some serious birth defects of their baby’s brain and spine even before they are pregnant by taking 400 micrograms (mcg) of folic acid every day.

CDC Grand Rounds: Additional Opportunities to Prevent Neural Tube Defects with Folic Acid Fortification
Neural tube defects (NTDs) are serious birth defects that result from the failure of the neural tube to close in the cranial region (anencephaly) or more caudally along the spine (spina bifida) by the 28th day of gestation.

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2009

Prevalence and Most Common Causes of Disability among Adults- United States, 2005 (5/15/09)
Women (24.4%) had a significantly higher prevalence of disability compared with men (19.1%) at all ages. For both sexes, the prevalence of disability doubled in successive age groups (18-44 years, 11.0%; 45-64 years, 23.9%; and 65 years and over, 51.8%). The number of adults reporting a disability likely will increase, along with the need for appropriate medical and public health services, as more persons enter the highest risk age group (65 years and over). To accommodate the expected increase in demand for disability-related medical and public health services, expanding the reach of effective strategies and interventions aimed at preventing progression to disability and improving disability management in the population is necessary.

New CDC Materials Regarding Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (4/30/09)
CDC has developed new materials that can guide in the identification, prevention, and management of FASDs. These products include a curriculum development guide for use with health-care students and practitioners and recommendations from the National Task Force on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and Fetal Alcohol Effect on promoting and improving strategies to 1) reduce alcohol use and alcohol-exposed pregnancies and 2) improve early identification, diagnostic services, and research on

The Effect of Hurricane Katrina: Births in the U.S. Gulf Coast Region, Before and After the Storm
The total number of births in the 14 selected FEMA-designated counties and parishes decreased 19 percent in the 12 months after Hurricane Katrina compared with the 12 months before, with births declining in the selected counties and parishes of Louisiana and Mississippi and rising in the counties of Alabama. The number of births to non-Hispanic black women in the selected parishes of Louisiana fell substantially after Hurricane Katrina; births declined for non-Hispanic white, Hispanic, and Asian or Pacific Islander women in these selected parishes as well.

• County Map
• Press Release 

Non-Dioxin-Like Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs)
Non-dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are no longer produced in the United States, but they can still be found in the environment. PCBs are either solids or oily liquids that are colorless to light yellow. PCBs also can exist as vapor in air. PCBs were used as coolants and lubricants in transformers, capacitors, and other electrical equipment because they do not burn easily and are good insulators. Infants can be exposed to PCBs from the mother’s blood before they are born and from breast milk that contains PCBs.

Racial/Ethnic Differences in the Birth Prevalence of Spina Bifida - United States, 1995-2005 (1/30/09)
This report indicates that from the early postfortification period, 1999-2000, to the most recent period of analysis, 2003-2005, the prevalence of spina bifida declined 6.9%, from 2.04 to 1.90 per 10,000 live births (prevalence ratio [PR] = 0.93; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.87-1.00). Among infants with non-Hispanic black mothers, prevalence fell 19.8%, from 2.17 to 1.74 per 10,000 live births (PR = 0.80; CI = 0.67-0.96), while prevalence among infants with non-Hispanic white and Hispanic mothers remained nearly constant. Additional public health efforts targeting women with known risk factors (e.g., obesity and certain genetic factors) likely are needed to further reduce the prevalence of spina bifida in the United States.
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