Heart defects more common in multiple births

Heart defects are the most common congenital conditions occurring in infants. Approximately one child in every hundred is born with a heart defect – according to the German PAN study, the prevalence among newborns is 1.08 per cent. The study also found that infants with heart defects were more often premature, more frequently weighed less than 2,500 grams and were more commonly associated with multiple births.

The PAN Study included all babies born with a heart defect in Germany between 2006 and 2009. This is the first time that a complete set of data has been gathered for the entire country on the prevalence of congenital heart defects. 

Premature babies and multiple births more often have heart defects