Frequency of congenital anomalies at the Instituto Materno Infantil, Bogota, Colombia.

Abstract

At the Instituto Materno Infantil (IMI) in Bogotá (Colombia), 5,686 births (5,597 live births and 89 stillbirths) were analyzed during two periods: from October, 1997, to April, 1998, and from July to November, 2000 (12 months). Congenital anomalies were detected in 4.4% of live newborn babies and in 7.8% of stillbirths. Major anomalies corresponded to 69% and mild anomalies to 31% (3% and 1.4% of all live births, respectively). The newborn babies with major anomalies, in comparison to the normal controls, had higher mortality at hospital discharge (p = 0.0001), lower average birth weight (p = 0.003), and family history of congenital anomalies (p = 0.0001). The only significant association for mild anomalies was with family history of congenital anomalies (p = 0.0001). The frequency of congenital anomalies was similar to that in other studies, although certain kinds of anomalies showed noticeable frequency differences. This may be a consequence of differences in record keeping or in detection methods.