Neonatal health care is concerned with the condition of the newborn from birth to 4 weeks (28 days) of age. Neonatal survival is a very sensitive indicator of population growth and socio-economic development. The survival rate of female infants correlates to subsequent population replacement. For these reasons, the issue of neonatal deaths is a serious national health concern, especially in dev...

OBJECTIVES To identify the common causes and contributory factors for high neonatal mortality in Pakistan and propose effective strategies to safeguard against it. METHODS This retrospective study was carried out in Neonatal Unit (NNU) of Rawalpindi General Hospital (RGH) from January 1995 to December 1996. Relevant prenatal information obtained from referral forms, admission files or attenda...

OBJECTIVE Neonatal mortality is a major health problem in sub-Saharan Africa and the risk factors are not well established. The objective of this study was to determine the risk factors for neonatal mortality at the Yaounde Gynaeco-Obstetric and Pediatric Hospital. METHODS We conducted a retrospective and analytic case-control study from the medical records of newborns admitted at the neonata...

OBJECTIVE To measure the incidence of maternal and early neonatal mortality in women who gave birth at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) in Kenya and describe clinical and other characteristics and circumstances associated with maternal and neonatal deaths following deliveries at MTRH. METHODS A retrospective audit of maternal and neonatal records was conducted with detailed analysis ...

Mortality among children under 5 years of age in developing countries has fallen dramatically in recent decades. Unfortunately, declines in neonatal mortality during this period have been less impressive. Neonatal mortality now accounts for >40% of under-5 mortality.1 About onequarter of neonatal deaths result from intrapartum-related conditions and their consequences (eg, birth asphyxia), 2 wi...

BACKGROUND In this study, we examined the epidemiological aspects of neonatal mortality due to intrauterine infections with regard to regional characteristics. METHODS Consolidated report of the Ministry of Health and Social Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan on children deceased during their first 28 days of life due to intrauterine infections (P23 - congenital pneumonia, P35-39 - inf...

This study explores the potential contribution of DHS data in improving knowledge of trends in neonatal mortality in developing countries. It outlines the causes and possible consequences of sampling and non-sampling error in survey data of this nature, before using DHS and World Fertility Survey estimates to describe apparent trends in neonatal mortality over the last few decades. It also exam...

OBJECTIVE Caesarean section was initially performed to save the lives of the mother and/or her baby. Caesarean section rates have risen substantially worldwide over the past decades. In this study, we set out to compile all available caesarean section rates worldwide at the country level, and to identify the appropriate caesarean section rate at the population level associated with the minimal ...

This study investigates the levels, trends and differentials of infant and child mortality in Yemen. The data used are from the 1979 Yemen Fertility Survey, part of the World Fertility Survey. Mortality rates for 4 age intervals of life are presented: neonatal, postnatal, infant and child. For the birth cohort immediately preceding the survey (1976 1978), the level of infant mortality was e...

BACKGROUND The Antenatal Corticosteroid Trial (ACT) assessed the feasibility, effectiveness, and safety of a multifaceted intervention to increase the use of antenatal corticosteroids (ACS) in mothers at risk of preterm birth at all levels of care in low and middle-income countries. The intervention effectively increased the use of ACS but had no overall impact on neonatal mortality in the targ...