Tracking Network: Birth Defects and the Environment

Use CDC’s Tracking Network to better understand how birth defects may be affected by the environment.

CDC’s Tracking Network: Understanding the Connections between Birth Defects and the Environment

Every 4 and half minutes, a baby is born with a birth defect in the United States. That equals more than 120,000 babies born each year. Yet the causes of most birth defects are mostly unknown.

Birth defects are thought to be the result of a complex combination of factors, including genes, prenatal behaviors, and the environment. Expectant parents are often unaware of the relationship between these factors and can unknowingly put their unborn child at risk.

CDC’s Tracking Network

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has created a tool that will help us better understand how birth defects may be impacted by the environment. Once we know more about these connections, we can do more to help prevent birth defects. The National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network (Tracking Network) is a tool that stores data about when and where certain health events, such as birth defects, occur. This information can helps us to understand the relationship between birth defects, environmental factors, and our actions. It does this by taking data that would traditionally be kept separate by many government and public health agencies, sharing it, and offering organizations a more complete look at the problem.

Environmental Exposures and Birth Defects

It is not clear how many birth defects are related to environmental exposures, such as chemicals, drugs, and ionizing radiation. Some endocrine-disrupting chemicals, including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dioxins, and pesticides, have been linked to nervous system defects and developmental problems such as reduced muscle tone and response. But, we need more data to make these connections clearer.

Living near a hazardous waste site has been identified as a possible risk factor for birth defects including: spina bifida, cleft lip or palate, gastroschisis, hypospadias, chromosomal congenital anomalies such as Down syndrome, and some heart and blood vessel defects.

Exposure to disinfection by-products in drinking water such as trihalomethanes, or THM, may increase the risk of some types of birth defects which affect the brain and spinal cord, the urinary tract, and the heart.

Prevention

As risk factors are better understood, the scientific and medical communities will not only better understand the cause of many birth defects, helping you be better prepared to avoid them. The Tracking Network website provides tips that can be used by expectant parents to help them have the healthiest pregnancy possible.

Tracking Birth Defects in Florida

One state in particular is using the Tracking Network to proactively address the issue of birth defects. In 2007, more than 9,000 Florida infants were born with major birth defects. Florida officials discovered significantly higher rates of birth defects among citizens with Puerto Rican background. Based on this, community leaders are now better equipped to direct funding, policy changes, and public awareness appropriately, improving health outcomes for thousands of at-risk infants. Read more about the Florida Tracking Program’s birth defects monitoring project.

You can learn more about this important topic and other health conditions affected by the environment at www.cdc.gov/ephtracking.

More Information

• CDC’s National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network
• CDC’s National Environmental Public Health Tracking Program
• Birth Defects: A Communication Toolkit
• CDC’s Pregnancy Information
• CDC’s Birth Defects Branch