Neonatal footdrop.

This study included 50 newborns; it was conducted in the Department of Orthopedics in Azady Hospital in Duhok, Kurdistan, Iraq, from June 1998-June 2000. The patients were 26 males (52 percent) and 24 females (48 percent). The loss of movement of the affected foot was detected in the first day after delivery in 15 cases (30 percent), later within the first week in 20 cases (40 percent) and the remaining 15 cases (30 percent) from the second to the fourth week after delivery. The condition was unilateral in 46 cases (92 percent) and bilateral in four cases (eight percent). All the patients were treated conservatively by either immobilization by a back slab of the affected limb or immobilization and physical therapy. Recovery was faster when physiotherapy was implied. All the mothers were educated to avoid two traditional methods of nursing their babies. They were advised not to wrap the newborns tightly and to avoid using the traditional crib (Landek).