About 2 percent of the North Dakota babies born during a recent five-year period had a serious birth defect, according to data newly compiled by North Dakota's health and human services agencies.

The rate is similar to comparable data reported by health agencies in Utah and Colorado, which were selected for comparison, said Terry Bohn, a Health Department data manager who edited the report.

However, North Dakota babies had a much higher rate of spina bifida than did the two other states, Bohn said. Seven of every 10,000 babies born in North Dakota from 1995 to 1999 had the defect, almost twice the rate recorded in Utah and Colorado.

Spina bifida results from the failure of a baby's spine to close properly during the mother's first month of pregnancy. It can cause spinal cord damage, paralysis and bowel and bladder complications.

Bohn said Monday that health officials do not know the reason for the higher rate of spina bifida. More research is needed, he said.

"I don't think it's any public health concern. I don't think there is any explanation for it at this point," he said. "I think we need more time and more study to determine, is there an elevated risk here, or not? We don't know that yet."

Terry Dwelle, North Dakota's health officer, said women of childbearing age should take a daily multivitamin with at least 400 micrograms of folic acid.

Folic acid is a B vitamin, and reduces the risk that a baby will be born with spina bifida, Dwelle said. Women can also cut birth-defect risk by refraining from smoking, drinking or using drugs during pregnancy, he said.

Until last year, North Dakota health officials did not gather information about birth defects in the state's newborns. About 7,800 babies are born in North Dakota each year, of which 150 have a serious birth defect.

Roughly 30 states collect birth defect information, Bohn said. North Dakota is collecting data from birth certificates, Medicaid reports, private health insurance claims and some medical specialists.

The state's data does not include information about newborns whose families do not have health insurance and are not covered by Medicaid, Bohn said. That excludes about 10 percent of the state's births, and Bohn said state officials hope to improve their data collection.

"Most of the big states … have excellent birth defect surveillance systems," Bohn said. "We're not quite as advanced in North Dakota yet."

(On the Net: North Dakota Health Department, http://www.health.state.nd.us; Spina Bifida Association of America, http://www.sbaa.org.)