title: Maternal characteristics and birth outcomes of pregnant women who had offspring with congenital ear abnormalities - a population-based case-control study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe the maternal characteristics and birth outcomes of newborn infants affected with isolated ear congenital abnormalities (IECA), mainly isolated anotia/microtia and unclassified multiple congenital abnormalities (CAs) including anotia/microtia (UMAM).
  
  
  METHODS
  Cases with IECA and UMAM were compared with their matched controls and all controls without any defect and malformed controls affected with other defects in the population-based large dataset of the Hungarian Case-Control Surveillance of Congenital Abnormalities.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mothers of 354 cases with IECA did not show significant difference in age, but their mean birth order was higher while their socio-economic status based on the maternal employment status was lower compared to the figures of their matched controls. There was a male excess among cases with microtia and mainly with UMAM. The evaluation of birth outcomes of newborns affected with IECA indicated intrauterine fetal growth retardation.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Newborn infants with isolated microtia had intrauterine growth retardation and the association of this developmental defect localized for a small region of head with the general fetal development raises interesting theoretical question.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, State Health Centre, Budapest, Hungary.
authors.forename: László
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Paput
authors.forename: Ferenc
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bánhidy
authors.forename: Andrew E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Czeizel
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001722:Birth Order; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D000013:Congenital Abnormalities / Q000145:classification / Q000453:epidemiology; D004423:Ear / Q000002:abnormalities*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D009035:Mothers; D036801:Parturition / Q000502:physiology; D011153:Population; D011247:Pregnancy; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome / Q000453:epidemiology*; D037841:Pregnant People; D012744:Sex Ratio; D055815:Young Adult