Birth Defects Surveillance in the United States: Challenges and Implications of International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision, Clinical Modification Implementation

Major birth defects are an important public health issue because they are the leading cause of infant mortality. The most common birth defects are congenital heart defects, neural tube defects, and Down syndrome. Birth defects surveillance guides policy development and provides data for prevalence estimates, epidemiologic research, planning, and prevention. Several factors influence birth defects surveillance in the United States of America (USA). These include case ascertainment methods, pregnancy outcomes, and nomenclature used for coding birth defects. In 2015, the nomenclature used by most birth defects surveillance programs in USA will change from ICD-9-CM to ICD-10-CM. This change will have implications on birth defects surveillance, prevalence estimates, and tracking birth defects trends.