<![CDATA[The term congenital abnormalities signifies that there has been disruption in the normal process oforganogenesis occurring before birth. The earlier the insult, the more gross the abnormality.This study aimed to study some predisposing factors that may result in congenital abnormalities amongnewborn infants in neonatal care unit (NCU) of Al-Kadhymia teaching hospital-Baghdad/Iraq. Thisprospective study was carried out during the period from 1st February to 1st August 2011. A total of 2700neonates were admitted to NCU, and (100) newborn infants were proven to have congenital abnormalitiesby physical examination alone in the nursery care unit.The results showed that of the total (100) affected neonates, 63 (63%) were full term as compared to only37 (37%) preterm baby (<37 weeks gestation) with a significant difference (P <0.05). Of the total 2700neonates, 1440 (53%) were females and the remining 1260 (47%) were males.Out of the (100) neonates who were proven to have congenital anomalies, 55 (55%) were males and 45(45%) females. The percentage of newborns with congenital abnormalities was 3.7% with respect to totalnumber of newborns (2700); 2.1% were males and 1.6% were females.Our results showed that (55%) had neurological abnormalities followed by (12%) cleft lip and palate then(11%) chromosomal abnormalities (most of them Down syndrome and only 3 cases had Edward syndromeand 1 case had Patau syndrome). In this study, it was shown that the highest incidence of congenitalabnormalities (55) occurred between (20-30) years.It can be concluded that most the affected newborns were full terms, with a slight male predominance.Incidence of neurological abnormalities was higher than other types of congenital abnormalities, the highestincidence of congenital abnormalities occurred between 20-30 years, and in multigravida mothers, and mostof parents were reported to be consanguineous or relatives.]]>
