Introduction to the 2026 National Birth Defects Prevention Network Virtual Issue

Abstract

The year 2025 was turbulent for US public health, medicine, and research. The disruption of long-standing research and programs at universities, health departments, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institutes of Health, and other federal agencies impacted society's most vulnerable, including children with birth defects and their families; the long-term consequences remain unclear. The future of these programs and researchers is uncertain, and data sources once considered accurate and reliable are now overshadowed by doubt. Birth defects surveillance systems and researchers have persevered, and the National Birth Defects Prevention Network (NBDPN) virtual issue remains an independent and trusted source for accurate and reliable population-based birth defects information.

In this current virtual issue, we feature several original articles. Four articles are birth defects surveillance methods papers, focusing on the use of diverse data sources and advances in electronic medical recordkeeping to collect birth defects data. Two of these papers report on the use of electronic case reporting in ascertaining birth defects cases (Allred et al. 2026 and Koops et al. 2026), another reports on the utility of administrative codes for accurately identifying gastroschisis cases (Contreras et al. 2026), and the fourth reports on data sources that can be used to identify children with critical congenital heart defects (Atkinson et al. 2026). Another three articles showcase examples of scholarly work either made possible or inspired by birth defects surveillance data. Boos et al. (2026) report findings from a study focused on chlamydia treatment adequacy during pregnancy and its association with risk of birth defects in New York. Ali et al. (2026) describe racial and ethnic differences in healthcare utilization among adolescents and adults with congenital heart defects in three states, and Vidavalur and Gautham (2026) report trends in US infant mortality among children with congenital diaphragmatic hernia.

The articles in this virtual issue of Birth Defects Research were selected from submissions responding to a call for manuscripts distributed to US state birth defect surveillance programs, members of the NBDPN, and advertised on the NBDPN website (http://www.nbdpn.org). Each submission underwent both editorial and formal blinded peer review, managed via the ScholarOne online system provided by Wiley Publishers for editors of Birth Defects Research. This publication's success is due to the many individuals who ensured its quality. We extend heartfelt thanks to all contributing authors and peer reviewers, as well as the Birth Defects Research editors and staff for their essential support throughout the submission and publication process. We also thank the staff of the NBDPN and of the Division of Birth Defects and Infant Disorders at the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, for their support of the NBDPN and its mission.