Birth Defects among Newborns in a Tertiary Care Centre: A Descriptive Cross-sectional Study

The incidence of birth defects is 2-3% in the general population but it is increasing. An estimated 303,000 newborns die within 4 weeks of birth every year, worldwide, due to congenital anomalies. The objective of this study was to find out the prevalence of birth defects among newborns in a tertiary care centre.

A descriptive cross-sectional study was done in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology and the Department of Paediatrics from 15 June 2016 and 14 June 2019. Ethical approval was obtained from the Institutional Review Committee (Reference number: 142/077/078-IRC). Data of newborns were collected from the hospital records. Convenience sampling method was used. Point estimate and 99% Confidence Interval were calculated.

Among 32,695 newborns, birth defects were seen in 169 (0.51%) (0.41-0.61, 99% Confidence Interval). The most common birth defect was musculoskeletal defects seen in 60 (35.50%) newborns followed by central nervous system defect seen in 30 (17.75%) newborns.

The prevalence of birth defects among newborns was lower than in other studies done in a similar setting.

birth defect; congenital malformation; prevalence.