Objective: An analysis of birth defects occurrence in the Czech Republic in 2003 and a comparison to data from 1996–2002. Type of study: A retrospective analysis of data from a National Register of Congenital Anomalies of the Czech Republic. Methodology: Data on birth defects in the Czech Republic from the Institute of Health Information and Statistics - National Register of Congenital Anomalies from the 1996–2003 period were used and an analysis of incidences of selected types of birth defects was performed. Results: There were 25 593 children born with a birth defect (14 896 boys and 10 690 girls, in 7 cases the sex was undetermined). A mean incidence of birth defects was 405.2/10 000 live births and remains more or less stable compared to the years 2002 and 2001 (404.3/10 000 and 407.9/10 000 live births respectively). Conclusions: Current data on birth defects in 2003 in the Czech Republic are presented with a comparison to a 8-year period. An analysis of temporal and demographic changes in birth defects incidences is given along with data on prenatal diagnostics and its role in birth defects decrease.

        Key words: birth defect, prenatal diagnostics, incidence, Czech Republic