PERINATAL AND EARLY NEONATAL MORTALITY IN A FIVE-YEAR PERIOD IN SBGA – CHAIR

Abstract

Perinatal mortality (PM) is a rate that combines fetal and early neonatal mortality (ENM), and is an indicator of the socio-economic development of a particular country, indicating the efficiency of antenatal, perinatal and neonatal health care. THE AIM of the paper is to analyze the rates of PM and ENM in SBGA-CHAIR in the five-year period from 2020 to 2024. MATERIAL AND METHODS - A retrospective analysis of medical documentation was performed using the histories of the studied group as well as the database of the neonatal department. Stillbirth, early neonatal mortality, and perinatal mortality were calculated according to standardized formulas for each year separately. RESULTS - During the five-year period, a total of 19,289 deliveries were realized in SBGA-Cair, resulting in 19,225 live births and 63 stillbirths. In the early neonatal period 8 newborns died, and including those transferred to a tertiary institution, the total number of deaths was 14. The paper tabulates the rates of stillbirth, early neonatal and perinatal mortality by year, with these indicators showing a decreasing trend. Analyzing the structure of PM, fetal mortality is maintained at the same level, unlike ENM, which shows a decreasing trend. Early neonatal mortality is most often due to extreme prematurity and congenital malformations. CONCLUSION - In order to further reduce the rate of PM, it is crucial to reduce fetal mortality with improved antenatal care, take measures to reduce premature birth, timely detection of life-threatening congenital anomalies with the aim of planned delivery in a tertiary center. Overall engagement of the wider community and a longterm strategy is necessary to achieve a rate similar to more developed countries.