Neonatal diagnosis, treatment and related factors of congenital dislocation of the hip.

The unstable hip can be diagnosed in newborns with acceptable accuracy. The following factors are associated with the newborn unstable hip: female preponderance, breech presentations, cesarean section deliveries, first borns, left hip involvement, the Caucasian race, and increased birth weight. These findings suggest that the newborn unstable hip is determined prior to delivery, possibly within the last 4 weeks of intrauterine life. Diagnosed at birth, treatment in the average case is relatively short-term, effective, and without complication.