Abstract
In Western societies, during the present century, infant and neonatal mortality has declined steadily due to the effective control of infectious diseases, better obstetric care and the improvement in social and environmental conditions. Congenital abnormalities, with a few exceptions, have not shared this amelioration. In 1978, the Medical Research Council, London, in a review of clinical genetics, emphasised that “handicaps due to a genetic disorder or congenital malformation are the major child health problem today” [1]. As a community health problem, genetic disease and congenital abnormalities have become increasingly important [2].
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Nevin, N.C. (1991). Trends in Prevalence of Congenital Abnormalities. In: Drife, J.O., Donnai, D. (eds) Antenatal Diagnosis of Fetal Abnormalities. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-1854-1_1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-1854-1_1
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