ROLE OF MULTIPARITY IN BIRTH DEFECTS.

Objectives: To study role of parity in the occurrence of congenital malformationsin neonates delivered at various hospitals in Lahore. Study Design: Descriptive cross sectionalstudy design was used. Setting: Muhammad Akram Teaching and Research Hospital, SocialSecurity Hospital Manga Mandi and Maternity Center at Raiwind Road, Lahore. Period: Threemonths, Jan to March 2017. Materials and Methodology: Mothers of 100 malformed neonateswere taken as sample. A questionnaire data collection tool was developed and the mothers wereinterviewed about their age, total number of children, and any history of abortion, miscarriagesand complications in pregnancy. Questionnaire was pretested before the data collection.Statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 20 was used for entry, compilation andanalysis of data. Results: Out of 100 subjects, 76 mothers were multiparous and 24 wereprimiparous. Out of these 76(100%) multiparous mothers, 45(59%) were above 30 years of age,21(28%) were between 18 and 30years while 10(13%) were below 18.The neonates of these76 mothers were assessed for the type of anomaly having 28(37%) GIT anomalies, while thosewith CVS, musculoskeletal, urogenital and facial defects were 15(20%), 9(12%), 18(23%) and6(8%) respectively. Conclusion: This study suggests that multiparty has an important role in thedevelopment of congenital malformations. The number of Urogenital, GIT and CVS anomalieswas significantly higher than Facial and Neural Tube defects.