Preventive effect of prenatal diagnosis to birth defects in 9 339 cases of living birth infants

Abstract

Objective To analyze the decreasing change of birth defects rate in living birth infants since launching programs of prenatal screen, genetic counsel, ultrasound screen and prenatal diagnosis in the hospital. Methods To retrospectively analyze the change of birth defect case register in living birth infants after routinely serving prenatal screen, genetic counsel, ultrasound screen and prenatal diagnosis. The change of birth defect rate was analyzed with χ2 test. Results There were total 9 339 neonates in our hospital, which contained 147 birth defects baby from January 2004 to December 2006 with 4 920 boys, 4 416 girls, and 3 cases of unknown gender. Attribute to prenatal diagnosis and the option of the termination of pregnancy, the birth defects rate decreased from 15.74‰(147/9 339) to 10.50‰(98/9 339) in termed living birth infants. There was an extremely significant difference (χ2=9.93, P<0.001). Among birth defects infants, the incidence of the nerve tube defect decreased sharply. The incidences of the congenital heart disease, Down's syndrome, and facial cleft also decreased in different scale separately. Conclusion Prenatal diagnosis plays a key role in the diagnosis of severe birth defects, and provides the options for termination of the pregnancy. More importantly, prenatal diagnosis may contribute to a better overall outcome of neonates. Key words: birth defects; prenatal diagnosis; termination of the pregnancy