Birth weight and congenital anomalies following poisonous mushroom intoxication during pregnancy.

A series of 22 women who suffered from mushroom poisoning while pregnant have been identified among adults receiving treatment between 1960 and 1993 in a specialist clinic in Budapest, Hungary. In most cases, the poisonings were attributed to Amanita phalloides, verna, and related species. Of these, 20 went to term, and data were collected on gestational age, birth weight, and both major and minor congenital anomalies. Mean birth weight (but not gestational age) was lower than in the control series, suggesting that maternal poisoning may have led to intrauterine growth retardation. Two children were identified with major abnormalities (one of whom had fetal alcohol syndrome related to alcohol abuse by the mother). The prevalences of both major and minor anomalies were similar to the prevalence in the matched control group and to the rate in a more recent control series examined according to the same protocols. However, the statistical power to detect teratogenic effects is limited, especially as only five of the mothers suffered the poisoning episode during the first trimester.