Perinatal mortality consists of deaths of the FETUS after the 28th week of pregnancy and deaths of the newborn child during the ?rst week of life. Today, more individuals die within a few hours of birth than during the following 40 years. It is therefore not surprising that the perinatal mortality rate, which is the number of such deaths per 1,000 total births, is a valuable indicator of the quality of care provided for the mother and her newborn baby. In 2002, the perinatal mortality rate was 7.87 in the United Kingdom compared with 11.4 in 1982 – and over 30 in the early 1960s.
The causes of perinatal mortality include extreme prematurity, intrapartum anoxia (that is, di?culty in the birth of the baby, resulting in lack of oxygen), congenital abnormalities of the baby, and antepartum anoxia (that is, conditions in the terminal stages of pregnancy preventing the fetus from getting su?cient oxygen).
The most common cause of perinatal death is some complication of placenta, cord or membranes. The next most common is congenital abnormality. Intrauterine hypoxia and birth asphyxia comprise the third most common cause.... perinatal mortality
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