Profile of gross congenital malformations among live newborns and its associated risk factors from a tertiary care rural teaching institute

Objective: To study the profile of gross congenital malformations among live newborns and its associated risk factors. Material and methods: All the babies born in this hospital (live births) during January 2014 to December 2014 formed the baseline population and those with congenital malformations were included in the study. Antenatal records were assessed and mothers were interviewed for socio-demographic variables. Study design: Crosssectional, descriptive. Results: There were 6143 live births out of which 109 had gross congenital malformations giving an incidence of 1.7%. Central nervous system was most commonly affected (48%) followed by musculoskeletal (28%) and gastrointestinal system (13%). Incidence of congenital malformations was more among multipara females, preterm and low birth weight babies. Conclusion: A relative increase in the incidence of congenital malformations once again implies the importance of public health education and regular antenatal screening. We also, strongly recommend mandatory screening of all newborns by pediatrician after birth for timely detection and best possible treatment of these congenital malformations.