Perinatal mortality

Perinatal mortality (PNM), also perinatal death, refers to the death of a fetus or neonate and is the basis to calculate the perinatal mortality rate. Variations in the precise definition of the perinatal mortality exist specifically concerning the issue of inclusion or exclusion of early fetal and late neonatal fatalities. The World Health Organization defines perinatal mortality as the "number of stillbirths and deaths in the first week of life per 1,000 live births, the perinatal period commences at 22 completed weeks (154 days) of gestation and ends seven completed days after birth", but other definitions have been used.

The UK figure is about 8 per 1,000 and varies markedly by social class with the highest rates seen in Asian women. Globally about 2.6 million neonates died in 2013 before the first month of age down from 4.5 million in 1990.

Causes

Preterm birth is the most common cause of perinatal mortality, causing almost 30 percent of neonatal deaths.Infant respiratory distress syndrome, in turn, is the leading cause of death in preterm infants, affecting about 1% of newborn infants.Birth defects cause about 21 percent of neonatal death.