Impact of prenatal diagnosis and selective abortions on the frequency of congenital malformations

Objective. To evaluate the impact of prenatal diagnosis of congenital malformations (CMF) and induced abortions on the level of congenital anomalies among newborns. Material and methods. The study material was CMF cases among live-born and stillborn infants and fetuses during the period 2010 to 2014. The analysis included gross malformations (anencephaly, encephalocele, myelocele, hydrocephalus, omphalocele, gastroschisis, renal agenesis, transposition of the great vessels, hypoplastic left heart syndrome, diaphragmatic hernia, and bladder exstrophy, cleft lip/palate, cleft palate, reduction defects of the limbs, esophageal atresia, anorectal atresia, hypospadias, epispadia) and Down syndrome. Results. The frequencies of each defect were determined with and without considering fetuses. The defects with a high level of abortion include anencephaly, encephalocele, and bilateral renal agenesis. The abortion rates in cases of Down syndrome are 34% after prenatal diagnosis according to the monitoring data. As a result of inclusion of data on induced abortions, the frequency of defects varies considerably: anencephaly (by 7.48 times), and encephalocele (by 3.18 times), renal agenesis (by 2.53%), and omphalocele (by 2.39 times). The incidence of Down syndrome among newborns without regard to fetuses reduces by 1.5 times. Conclusion. Taking into account CMF not only in newborns, but also in fetuses with this condition can determine the true frequency of congenital anomalies and evaluate the impact of prenatal diagnosis on the level of CMF among newborns.

congenital malformations, prenatal diagnosis, frequency, induced abortions