Analysis of Birth Defects Trends in Basra Governorate, Iraq: A Descriptive Study from 2019 to 2023.

This paper involves an analysis of historical research on the presence of birth defects in a particular province for five consecutive years from August 2023 to January 2024. In conducting the study, data have been collected at the Department of Vital Statistics and the Center for Genetic Blood Diseases from the Health Directorate of Basra between November and December 2023.A statistical table is used in presenting the findings of the total numbers of births, live births, birth defects, and the incidence of birth defects per 1,000 live births within the given period. Also, another statistical table was created concerning the rate and number of the top ten etiologies of birth defects, hereditary blood diseases, and others.Analysis of the findings has been made through descriptive statistics including frequency, percentage, and rate per thousand. As a result, it was established that the numbers of births in the governorate from 2019 to 2023 include 63,202, 63,091, 60,601, 59,731, and 60,739 births, respectively. Moreover, the total number of birth defects during those five years reached 195, 262, 231, 331, and 241 cases of birth defects. The study found that there was a significant increase per annum in births affected by birth defects. It is therefore recommended that the public should be educated on the causes of birth defects and prevention strategies, whereby the health authorities should proceed to establish educational strategies.