To assess the sensitivity and positive predictive value of birth defects reported on the 1989 revision of the US Standard Birth Certificate, a population of 76,862 Atlanta-area births during 1989 and 1990 was used as the basis for comparing 771 birth certificates that reported birth defects with 2428 live-born infant records in a birth defects registry that uses multiple sources of case ascertainment. Only 14% of birth defects in the registry records were reported on birth certificates. After the analysis was restricted to defects recognizable at birth, the sensitivity and positive predictive value of the birth certificates were 28% and 77%, respectively. Birth certificates underestimate birth defect rates and should be used cautiously for birth defect surveillance and epidemiological studies.

Māori (Indigenous peoples of Aotearoa New Zealand) bear an unequal burden of poor perinatal health outcomes, including preterm birth. An infant arriving preterm disrupts the birth imaginary of whānau (family collectives) and situates them in a foreign health environment that may not be culturally safe and nurturing. A cross-sectional interpretative phenomenological analysis of first interviews with 19 whānau participating in a Kaupapa Māori (by, with, for Māori) qualitative longitudinal study of preterm birth identified themes from their experiences and the meanings they attributed to them. Preterm birth was an emotional roller coaster, with the birth imaginary and anticipated roles disrupted as health practitioners took over the care of their infants. Whānau expressed the desire to be close to their infants, holding them, loving them, nurturing them, and emplacing them within whakapapa (genealogy, continual layering of foundations) networks. When health practitioners or hospital policies inhibited this intimacy by isolating, excluding, or discriminating, whānau were frustrated. Being familiar with hospital routines, staff, peers, infant cares, and being wrapped in wider whānau support were key for whānau coping. Whakawhanaungatanga (processes of establishing relationships) create safe spaces for whānau to be themselves. This quietens the ‘storm’ and returns whānau to a sense of calm, through the reclamation of their environment.

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