ABSTRACT
Approximately one in every 16 babies born in the United States has some birth defect. Translated into yearly rates, that means approximately 250, 000 children born annually will be so victimized (Apgar and Beck, 1974:4; Flynt et al., 1987: l).1 In 1985, birth defects accounted for nearly 9,000 infant deaths, or about one-quarter of the total. However, only about onethird of these quarter-million birth defects are attributable to known specific factors2 (OTA, 1985).
