The causes of congenital club foot

Abstract

Among babies born in Queen Charlotte's Maternity Hospital during the years 1958 to 1961, there were 170 with foot deformities, an incidence of 14 1 per 1,000 total births. A study of birth histories suggested that in many of the babies the deformity had resulted from the interaction of abnormal environmental and heredi- tary factors. However, the predisposing causes in the different clinical types appeared to differ. Associated neurological malformations were often found in babies with talipes equinovarus, and a family history of central nervous system malformations was unduly common. No such associations were found in babies with talipes calcaneovalgus, but there were indications that the condition was related in some way to congenital dislocation of the hips. The apparent susceptibility of males to talipes equinovarus and females to talipes calcaneovalgus is discussed in the light of their reported association with anomalies of chromosome constitution.