Since 1967, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has conducted surveillance of birth defects in metropolitan Atlanta through review of hospital delivery and newborn medical records and records from various other medical sources in the five central counties of the metropolitan area (Clayton, Cobb, DeKalk, Fulton and Gwinnett, and has been expanded to include prenatal records. The project was begun n the aftermath of thalidomide and rubella epidemics as a kind of early-warning system for new or resurgent teratogens. The voluntary participation of Atlanta hospitals was sought and obtained at the inception of the system (the original system was a joint effort of the CDC, the Georgia Institute of Mental Health and Emory University).
A case must be diagnosed by the child's sixth birthday or within six years of the date of elective termination.
Children's Healthcare is one retrospective source of medical records reviewed for discharge summaries and disease indices.
