Comparative study of major congenital birth defects in children of 0-2 years of age in the Gaza strip, Palestine

In the Gaza strip, congenital malformations are the first leading cause of infant deaths. The present study aims to collect and evaluate the available recorded information about the occurrence of major birth defects (BD) in the Gaza Strip in patients between 0 and 2 years of age and compare this between the two periods under review, the first 6 months 2006 and the corresponding six months in 2010. We collected the records of children between 0 and 2 years admitted with major structural birth defects (BD) in the major pediatric hospitals of the Gaza Strip. The frequency of BD in the age group 0-2 year was higher in 2010 (63/1000 hospital admission) than 2006 (39.5/1000). The estimated prevalence of major BD jumped from 5.83 in 2006 to 6.76 in 2010. Congenital heart diseases (CHD) are the most common reported BD in both times and there is marked increase in both Renal and Neural tube defects in 2010. Improving BD registry and further investigation of environmental factors are recommended.