[Congenital abnormalities--risk, incidence and etiology. Catamnestic studies on causal teratogenesis].

Questionnaires were sent to the mothers of infants with congenital malformations delivered at the Second Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Vienna University Medical School, between 1972 and 1978 and to a group of controls. The response rate was 48%. On evaluation, the incidence of maternal disease and therapeutic drug intake was found to be significantly higher in the group with congenital malformations. In addition, malformations were significantly more common in planned pregnancies. A teratogenetic role of emotional stresses was not verifiable with statistical significance. As inheritance of numerous malformations tends to be multifactorial, endogenous factors were equally considered, but failed to show significant differences.