But now, we're back with a new masthead and a Prevention Services byline to reflect that this publication will now more often feature broad public health issues in addition to communicable diseases. The Cost of Birth Defects One in 33 babies is born with structural birth defects - the leading cause of infant mortality infant death and childhood disability, and the fifth leading cause of years of potential life lost in the United States. Estimating the cost of each new case of a birth defect is useful since this cost represents the savings from preventing a case. The study looked at California births in 1988, adjusted to reflect the total number of births nationwide. Estimates, adjusted for differences in cost of services between California and the nation, are in 1992 dollars.
Medical expenses are high the first year of life but subsequent costs are low.
Affected individuals need repeated surgeries or continued medical care. Many have physical handicaps or require special education or other developmental services. Estimates include the extra costs for treating associated problems in affected persons, not just the specific birth defects. These costs underestimate the total economic burden of birth defects. For example, calculations do not include lose of wages of family members caring for those with birth defects and psychosocial costs.