Birth certificates as a source for fetal alcohol syndrome case ascertainment--Georgia, 1989-1992.

Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) is a major cause of preventable mental retardation (1). The development and evaluation of programs for preventing FAS may be enhanced by timely and reliable estimates of the occurrence of this complex birth defect. In 1989, birth certificates were standardized nationally to include check-boxes for reporting FAS and other congenital abnormalities (2). These changes were implemented to improve the potential usefulness of birth certificates for timely and systematic population-based ascertainment of FAS and other abnormal conditions of the newborn (3). To assess the usefulness of birth certificates for surveillance of FAS, the Division of Public Health, Georgia Department of Human Resources (DPH-GDHR), compared information about congenital anomalies from birth certificates to data collected by CDC's Metropolitan Atlanta Congenital Defects Program (MACDP) during 1989-1992. This report summarizes the results of the assessment of FAS.