[Neonatal and perinatal mortality in hospitals of the Basque Country-Navarre Neonatal Study Group (GEN-VN) during the period 2000-2006]

Abstract

Background: In 2000, the Basque-Navarre Neonatal Study Group (GEN-VN) was created with a clear objective of studying the perinatal and neonatal health outcomes in newborns.

Objective: The aim of this investigation is to present the trends of neonatal and perinatal mortality and their causes in the hospitals of the Basque-Navarre Neonatal Study Group from 2000 to 2006.

Patients and method: A descriptive study was carried out on the 157,623 births in the participating hospitals of the Basque-Navarre Neonatal Study Group, from 2000 to 2006. During this period, of the total births, 156.904 were born alive, there were 719 foetal deaths and 363 newborns died within the first 28 days of life. Perinatal and neonatal mortality was analysed, raw and stratified by gestational age and birth weight.

Results: The Basque -Navarre Neonatal Study Group collects from 80.5% to 96.8% of all the births reported by the authorities. There is a decreasing trend in foetal and perinatal mortality rates from 2000 to 2006. However, neonatal mortality rates shows a stable trend when compared with the descense in the last years of the 20th century. The most frequent causes of death are respiratory, infections and the congenital anomalies.

Conclusions: Collecting regional data improves the quality of neonatal and perinatal mortality studies. Very low birth weight and very low gestational age newborns require special quality of care due their high mortality (54.8% of neonatal mortality in 2006), therefore further studies are required on the impact of these newborns on neonatal mortality in our hospitals.