Law C, Robertson M O, Panny S R, Wulff L M
Department of Maternal and Child Health, Johns Hopkins University, School of Hygiene and Public Health.
Am J Public Health. 1988 May;78(5):572-3. doi: 10.2105/ajph.78.5.572.
Maryland law requires that all babies born with "sentinel birth defects" be reported to the State Department of Health, but mothers may deny consent for further contact. Consent was not strongly related to maternal age, race, or self-reported data on exposures, smoking, and drugs but was much less likely if the infant was dead. Selection bias in congenital malformations research may lead to underrepresentation of lethal defects, but self-reported data appear to be unbiased.
马里兰州法律规定,所有患有“典型出生缺陷”的婴儿都要向州卫生部报告,但母亲可能会拒绝同意进一步接触。同意与否与母亲的年龄、种族或关于接触、吸烟和吸毒的自我报告数据没有密切关系,但如果婴儿已经死亡,同意的可能性要小得多。先天性畸形研究中的选择偏差可能导致致命缺陷的代表性不足,但自我报告数据似乎没有偏差。