At the beginning of the 20th century, for every 1000 live births, six to nine women in the United States died of pregnancy-related complications, and approximately 100 infants died before age 1 year (1,2). From 1915 through 1997, the infant mortality rate declined greater than 90% to 7.2 per 1000 live births, and from 1900 through 1997, the maternal mortality rate declined almost 99% to less th...

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) affects an estimated 3.5 million persons in the United States (1), making it the most common bloodborne infection in the country. Recent surveillance data showed increased rates of HCV infection among adolescents and adults who are predominantly white, live in nonurban areas, and have a history of injection drug use.* U.S. birth certificate data were used to analyze tren...

OBJECTIVES To estimate the rate of neonatal mortality and to describe neonatal deaths in 2011 in hospitals of the Ministry of Health at Huanuco and Ucayali (Peru). MATERIALS AND METHODS Cross-sectional study from September to November 2012 in Huanuco and Ucayali. Records of neonatal deaths in 2011 were reviewed from provincial municipalities, regional health directorates and four referral hos...

p t w p n s B Despite decades of epidemiologic and clinical experience with maternal and congenital syphilis, both remain major public health problems in Brazil and in the rest of the Americas. In 2010 and supported by the World Health Organization (WHO), the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Member States approved the Strategy and Plan of Action for the Elimination of Mother-to-Child Tra...

OBJECTIVE To analyse severe acute maternal morbidity (SAMM) and maternal mortality in the Pretoria region over a 2-year period (2000-2001). SETTING Public hospitals in the Pretoria region, South Africa, serving a mainly indigent urban population. METHODS A descriptive study was performed whereby women with SAMM and maternal deaths were identified at daily audit meetings and an audit form wa...

INTRODUCTION Male live births occur slightly in excess of female births. The ratio of male divided by total births is referred to as M/F. Many factors reduce M/F including toxins, stress, and privation, with excess male foetal loss. "The Troubles" (1969-1998) of Northern Ireland (NI) and the economic downturn of Republic of Ireland (ROI) from 2007 posed stresses with corresponding controls. Thi...

OBJECTIVES To investigate if live births conceived in months when surface water agrichemicals are highest are at greater risk for birth defects. METHODS Monthly concentrations during 1996-2002 of nitrates, atrazine and other pesticides were calculated using United States Geological Survey's National Water Quality Assessment data. Monthly United States birth defect rates were calculated for li...

This paper describes the sample design for the National Survey into Labor and Birth in Brazil. The hospitals with 500 or more live births in 2007 were stratified into: the five Brazilian regions; state capital or not; and type of governance. They were then selected with probability proportional to the number of live births in 2007. An inverse sampling method was used to select as many days (min...

OBJECTIVE There are huge regional disparities in under-five mortality in Nigeria. While a region within the country has as high as 222 under-five deaths per 1000 live births, the rate is as low as 89 per 1000 live births in another region. Nigeria is culturally diverse as there are more than 250 identifiable ethnic groups in the country; and various ethnic groups have different sociocultural va...

AIM A recent international study reported a higher prevalence of oesophageal atresia with or without tracheo-oesophageal fistula (OA±TOF) in Western Australia (WA). The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence and trends of OA and/or TOF in WA, determine the proportion of cases with associated anomalies and explore the impact of time of diagnosis. METHODS The study population comprised...