Epidemiological studies on birth defects and blindness that may be of research or practical value to blindness workers are surveyed. Two of those studies, the Collaborative Perinatal Project and the Birth Defects Monitoring Program, both federally operated, were described to a recent American Foundation for the Blind “Research Seminar on Birth Defects/Blindness and Severe Vision Impairment.”^* Recent advances in genetic counseling and genetic diagnosis–particularly fetal diagnosis through the study of fetal cell samples obtained by amniocentesis–are explored as new tools through which blindness workers can assist clients who may wish to minimize their risk of bearing a blind or otherwise defective baby, through therapeutic abortion of afflicted fetuses.

调查了对失明工作者可能具有研究或实用价值的关于出生缺陷和失明的流行病学研究。其中两项研究，即协作围产期项目和出生缺陷监测计划，均由联邦政府运作，并在最近的美国盲人基金会“出生缺陷/失明和严重视力障碍研究研讨会”上进行了描述。^*遗传咨询和遗传诊断的最新进展——特别是通过研究羊膜穿刺术获得的胎儿细胞样本进行的胎儿诊断——被探索为新工具，失明工作者可以通过这些工具帮助那些可能希望将失明或其他缺陷风险降至最低的客户婴儿，通过对患病胎儿进行治疗性流产。