Fund birth defect network

The Utah Legislature left some important work on the table when it adjourned its General Session in early March. It failed to fund the Utah Birth Defect Network, which monitors the occurrence of birth defects in the state and develops prevention and education strategies. The network needs $352,000 to continue its work, now in its twelfth year.

Why should Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. put this budgetary matter on a special session call? This government program pays for itself many times over in reducing the numbers of Utah children born with birth defects, many of whom require Medicare and special education services. But more importantly, this is a meaningful investment in Utah children, 1,400 of whom are born with serious birth defects each year.

Already, the network has achieved considerable success. The numbers of Utah children born with neural tube defects — those involving the brain and spine — has dropped 50 percent since 1992. The reduction was achieved through an informational campaign that urges women who might become pregnant to take folic acid. State health officials say the lifetime medical costs of a child with spina bifida, a neural tube defect — is about $650,000. Thus, $352,000 in state funding, which would leverage $900,000 in federal funds, would be a smart investment to ensure the continued work of the network.

Here's another compelling reason. The rates of Utah children born with cleft lips or cleft palates is higher than in the rest of the nation. It occurs in 1 of every 480 births, and researchers are still attempting to unravel why Utah has such a high prevalence of orofacial clefts.

Researchers need more data to better determine causes of birth defects, prevention strategies and to continue educational efforts of known causes of birth defects, such as genetic problems, advanced maternal age, diet, diseases (such as diabetes) and environmental factors. More funding is needed to continue this important public health surveillance work and eventually solve the causes of birth defects that can have lifelong consequences for children, their families and government agencies. An appropriation of $352,000 is a small price to pay for this critical work.