The NZ Birth Defects Registry has been renamed the New Zealand Congenital Anomalies Registry: 'Te Tari Manaaki Haua' (NZCAR).

 The NZCAR, which is funded under a contract with the Ministry of Health, has six main purposes:

• To provide reliable and valid data on the prevalence of birth defects in New Zealand;
• To monitor the prevalence of birth defects (e.g. over time, across areas, and between demographic groups);
• To investigate clusters of birth defects;
• To use the data to assess the effectiveness of birth defects prevention programmes (e.g. screening);
• To provide advice to health care professionals about birth defects;
• To provide data and analysis for the planning of health services and the development of health policy related to birth defects.

The NZCAR is an integral component of the national hub for monitoring the environmental health of New Zealand (www.ehinz.ac.nz). 

We will be using these pages to present data from the programme as well as other relevant information about birth defects in NZ and internationally.

Please don’t hesitate to contact me with your questions, comments, suggestions etc.

Professor Barry Borman

Director