Incidence of congenital malformations among stillborns

During the period 1982-1986 there were 168 stillbirths out of 20,669 consecutive deliveries (0.81%) at the University of Chile's Clinical Hospital. The incidence of congenital malformation was 6.26% in the liveborn population and 14.29% in the stillborns. There was a significant statistical difference between these two groups of malformed newborns regarding maternal age, parity and birthweight. The incidence rate of ten selected major congenital anomalies in the two groups showed highly significant differences, being higher among stillborns.