Fetal and Neonatal Care
Congenital anomalies: initial recognition and workup in the newborn
Congenital anomalies affect ~3% of all live births and are the leading cause of infant mortality in the United States. Recognition begins in the delivery room and continues through the nursery exam.
— Malformation: intrinsic abnormality of morphogenesis (e.g., VSD, cleft palate)
— Deformation: extrinsic mechanical force on normal tissue (e.g., clubfoot from oligohydramnios)
— Disruption: breakdown of previously normal tissue (e.g., amniotic band sequence)
— Dysplasia: abnormal cellular organization (e.g., skeletal dysplasias)

A careful prenatal and maternal history often provides the first clues to congenital anomalies:
— Alcohol → fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (smooth philtrum, thin vermilion border, short palpebral fissures, microcephaly, cardiac defects)
— Poorly controlled diabetes → caudal regression, cardiac defects (TGA, VSD), macrosomia, sacral agenesis
— Valproate → neural tube defects, facial dysmorphism
— Isotretinoin → craniofacial, cardiac, thymic, CNS malformations
— TORCH infections → IUGR, microcephaly, hepatosplenomegaly, calcifications

The newborn dysmorphology exam should be systematic, head-to-toe, documenting both major and minor anomalies:

When a congenital anomaly is identified, the workup is guided by the specific finding and the suspicion for an underlying pattern:
— Multiple congenital anomalies
— Dysmorphic features suggestive of a syndrome
— Major structural defect (especially cardiac, renal, CNS) without a clear etiology

Beyond CMA and karyotype, targeted testing may be required:
— Head US or MRI → CNS malformations (holoprosencephaly, agenesis of corpus callosum, Dandy-Walker)
— Spinal US (reliable <3 months of age) → tethered cord, spinal dysraphism in infants with sacral anomalies
— Skeletal survey → skeletal dysplasias or suspected non-accidental trauma
— Abdominal/pelvic US → renal anomalies, ambiguous genitalia (Müllerian structures)

Some congenital anomalies require immediate delivery room or nursery interventions:

Once stabilized, the workup and care of a newborn with congenital anomalies requires a team approach:

Newborns with congenital anomalies often require modified feeding and monitoring plans:

The neonatal period (0–28 days) is when most major congenital anomalies first declare themselves:

Some congenital anomalies are not apparent at birth and present later:

Failure to recognize or appropriately manage congenital anomalies can lead to life-threatening complications:

Several congenital anomalies represent true neonatal emergencies:

The critical reasoning step: is the anomaly isolated or part of a broader pattern?
— Trisomy 21: hypotonia, upslanting palpebral fissures, Brushfield spots, AV canal defect, duodenal atresia, single palmar crease
— Trisomy 18: IUGR, clenched fists (overlapping 2nd/5th digits), rocker-bottom feet, cardiac (VSD, PDA), omphalocele
— Trisomy 13: holoprosencephaly, midline cleft, polydactyly, cutis aplasia, cardiac
— Turner (45,X): lymphedema of hands/feet, webbed neck, coarctation, cystic hygroma prenatally
— 22q11.2 deletion: conotruncal cardiac defects (tetralogy of Fallot, truncus arteriosus, interrupted aortic arch), palatal anomalies, hypocalcemia, thymic hypoplasia, characteristic facies

Beyond syndromes, recognizing associations and sequences is high-yield:
— Vertebral anomalies, Anal atresia, Cardiac defects, Tracheo-Esophageal fistula, Renal anomalies, Limb (radial ray) anomalies
— Need ≥3 features; no unifying genetic test; each system requires individual evaluation
— Coloboma, Heart defects, Atresia choanae, Retardation of growth/development, Genital hypoplasia, Ear anomalies (hearing loss)

Primary prevention and prenatal detection reduce the burden of congenital anomalies:

Condition-specific screening after diagnosis ensures early detection of associated complications:
— Echocardiogram (newborn), TSH (newborn, 6 months, then annually), CBC (newborn — TMD), ophthalmology (6 months), audiology (birth + annually), cervical spine X-ray (3–5 years for atlantoaxial instability), celiac screening (2 years)

The diagnosis of a congenital anomaly is a profound moment for families:




