Maternal Hydramnios and Congenital Anomalies of the Central Nervous System

Abstract

THE association of hydramnios with congenital anomalies, long recognized, was confirmed once again by a previous investigation into antecedent (prenatal) factors influencing tracheoesophageal fistula; hydramnios was present in 20 of the 107 cases.1 The meaning of this association was obscure, and clarification is now sought reversing the approach by studying the results of 145 pregnancies complicated by hydramnios. These pregnancies terminated in the delivery of 68 defective infants, including 45 with anencephalus, 8 with spina bifida, 6 with hydrocephalus and 4 with mongolism.The Group StudiedThe patients studied were for the most part residents of Boston; some came from . . .