World Birth Defects Day: March 3, 2015

Birth defects are common, costly, and critical. All races and ethnicities are affected by birth defects. To increase global awareness of these conditions, March 3, 2015, marks the first ever World Birth Defects Day.

Every year nearly 8 million babies around the world—6 percent of all births—are born with a serious birth defect.1 In many countries, birth defects are one of the leading causes of death in infants and young children.2 Babies who survive and live with these conditions are at an increased risk for long-term disabilities. In the spirit of global partnership, CDC and theInternational Clearinghouse for Birth Defects Surveillance and Research (ICBDSR) are collaborating with 10 other organizations to implement World Birth Defects Day (World BD Day).

March 3 is World Birth Defects Day.

The goals of this worldwide observance are to:

Increase global awareness about the occurrence of birth defects;
Increase awareness of available treatment services;
Expand referral and care services for all persons with birth defects;
Increase implementation of programs to prevent birth defects; and
Encourage the public, governmental agencies, non-governmental organizations, and healthcare providers to improve the care of affected children.

How can you be a part of World BD Day?

In this inaugural year, we encourage you to join us and share your stories on social media to raise awareness about the impact of birth defects on you and your family, using the hashtag, #WorldBDDay. Let's work together towards a world of healthier women, healthier pregnancies, and healthier babies.

For more information on World Birth Defects Day, please contact the International Clearinghouse for Birth Defects Surveillance and Research aticbd@icbd.org.

Every year nearly 8 million babies around the world are born with a serious birth defect.

CDC's Global Birth Defects Initiative

Birth Defects COUNT (Countries and Organizations United for Neural Tube Defects Prevention) is CDC's global initiative to reduce neural tube defects (NTD). NTDs are serious birth defects of the brain and spine. They are a major cause of death and lifelong disability worldwide. Each year, there are more than 300,000 babies born around the world with a NTD.3 Many NTDs can be prevented by adding folic acid, a B vitamin, to foods like bread and rice, a process called folic acid fortification. In the United States, since folic acid fortification started in 1998, the number of babies born with NTDs has decreased by 35%.4 Expanding the reach of global folic acid fortification to low- and middle-resource settings can help prevent 150,000–210,000 NTDs each year.3 On World BD Day, CDC and its partners seek to build momentum for this initiative, and together work to build birth defects monitoring capacity and expand prevention initiatives worldwide.

Watch the video, The Story of Folic Acid Fortification, to learn how folic acid fortification helps prevent birth defects.

References

Christianson A, Howson CP, Modell B. March of Dimes: Global Report on Birth Defects – The Hidden Toll of Dying and Disabled Children March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation. White Plains, NY: (2006). Available from March of Dimes Global Report of Birth Defects[5.75 MB].
Congenital anomalies. WHO . Accessed 15 January 2015.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. CDC grand rounds: additional opportunities to prevent neural tube defects with folic acid fortification. MMWR Morb Mort Wkly Rep. 2010;59(31):980-4.
Williams J, Mai CT, Mulinare J, Isenberg J, Flood TJ, Ethen M, Frohnert B, Kirby RS. Updated estimates of neural tube defects prevented by mandatory folic acid fortification – United States 1995-2011. MMWR Morb Mort Wkly Rep. 2015;64(1):1-5.