Background: The Latin American Collaborative Study of Congenital Malformations is an epidemiological surveillance system for congenital malformations that operates in 11 Latin American Countries.
Aim: To report the incidence of congenital malformations in 8 Chilean maternity hospitals participating in this study, between 1989 and 1994.
Material and methods: During the study period, 133,564 newborns and 1,196 stillbirths from 8 Chilean maternity hospitals were examined. These results were compared with those of a similar survey performed in 1982-1988.
Results: The proportion of stillbirths in the study period was 0.88%. There were 3,268 malformed newborns (2.42%) and 125 malformed stillbirths (10.45%). These proportion of malformations among newborns were lower and among stillbirths were higher than those reported for the rest of Latin American countries. When comparing the results with the previous survey, a reduction in the proportion of malformations among newborns was observed. However, in all Latin American countries, the prevalence of malformations in newborns and stillbirths increased in this period. In the period 1969-1995, in one Chilean hospital, maternal ages and the proportion of congenital malformation showed parallel and rising curves.
Conclusions: This survey shows some differences in the prevalence of congenital malformations, when the figures are compared with other Latin American countries and with previous surveys.