Prevalence of Congenital Anomalies in Neonates and Associated Risk Factors in a Tertiary Care Hospital

Aims and Objectives The aim of this study is to determine the proportion and types of congenital anomalies in live newborns and to study associated maternal and perinatal risk factors. Materials and Methods This cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out in the labour ward and neonatal care unit of a tertiary care center at Civil Hospital, Ahmedabad during the period of April, 2016 to March, 2017. The newborns were examined for the presence of congenital anomalies and mothers were interviewed for socio-demographic variables. Results During the study period, 7434 live babies were born, of which 166 had congenital malformations, making the prevalence 2.23 %. Most of the women (54 %) belonged to the age group between 21 and 30 years. Congenital anomalies were seen more commonly (3.2 %) in the multiparas in comparison with primiparas (1.4 %). The predominant system involved was cardiovascular system (28 %) followed by CNS (18 %), gastro-intestinal (GI) system (17 %), musculoskeletal system (15 %), genitourinary system (13 %), skin (4 %), respiratory system (3 %) respectively. Congenital anomalies were more likely to be associated with low birth weight (3.2 %), prematurity (4.4 %), male gender (2.9 %), multiparity (3.2 %), consanguinity (42 %), high maternal age, antenatal history of teratogenic drug intake, radiation exposure, history of certain maternal infections like rubella, TORCH complex and maternal illnesses like diabetes, epilepsy, thyroid disorders during pregnancy and previous history of malformations. Conclusions Public awareness about preventable risk factors is to be created and early prenatal diagnosis and management of common anomalies is strongly recommended.