CARIS Annual report 2026 is published

10 Nov 2026 03:18 PM

The rate of babies born with congenital anomalies in Wales has steadily fallen over recent years, while survival to their first birthday has remained stable, according to the latest annual statistics from Public Health Wales’ Congenital Anomalies Registration and Information Service (CARIS).

The report measures the number of babies with an anomaly for every 10,000 births, accounting for the falling number of births in Wales.

Among liveborn babies with congenital anomalies, 96.4 per cent survived to their first birthday in 2016–2025, similar to the 96.8 per cent recorded across the full period since CARIS began in 1998.

Survival rates vary considerably depending on the type of anomaly and whether a baby has one or more anomalies.

CARIS provides reliable data on all congenital anomalies in Wales, such as heart defects, cleft lip and palate and hearing loss. It has expanded to include childhood rare diseases like Kawasaki disease, Behcet’s disease and Perthes disease.

Its annual reporting helps build understanding of these conditions and the support babies and their families need.

The full report can be found here.