The objective of this study was to perform an external morphological evaluation of newborn (NB) and lactating children (LC) with diagnosis of neural tube defects (NTD) and cleft lip c/s palate (CL/s PH) to determine the type of defect, location, extent, classification and assess the proportion of infants with intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) and malnourished infants. A descriptive study in 36 children from birth to 12 months of age, 20 with NTD and 16 with LH c/s PH was carried out. The study was conducted in five hospitals in the city of Chihuahua, Mexico. An external morphological assessment and anthropometry of children were performed. The DTN lesions were classified as open and closed, as defects high or low, depending on the model of multiple sites and ICD-10. The LH c/s PH were classified as unilateral or bilateral, complete or incomplete, and as isolated or multiple. IUGR was determined in the RN and malnutrition in infants. A statistic analysis was made with STATA 8.0 for Windows. We studied 20 cases of NTDs, 3 LCs and 17 RN. LH c/s PH were 8 LC and 8 RN. The DTN, 60% were myelomeningocele and corresponded to open lesions. Eighty five percent were located at high level. In the model of multiple closures, the Z1 was 80%. The LH c/s PH were more frequent with complete cleft (50%). The 35% of newborns with NTD had IUGR and 67% of LC had malnutrition. It is important to understand the mechanisms of development of congenital anomalies as this allows to specify the time the fault occurred and to study the underlying diseases to offer genetic counseling for possible prevention.