NEONATAL INTERVENTIONS AND INFANT DEATHS IN CHILE

International Family Planning Perspectives, Sep 2006 by Rosenberg, Jared

Neonatal care interventions may help explain the reduction of mortality among newborns during the 1990s, according to an analysis of Chilean Ministry of Health data from 2.9 million births that occurred between 1990 and 2000.1 The overall mortality rate in Chile among infants younger than 28 days decreased from 8.3 deaths per 1,000 live births in 1990 to 5.7 in 2000. This decrease, however, did not occur because of reductions in the rates of premature, low-birth-weight and very low birth weight deliveries, as those rates remained stable throughout the decade. When patterns of neonatal mortality were examined by birth weight and gestational age, reductions were observed in all groups; however, the greatest proportional reductions were seen in the lowest birth weight and gestational age categories. In analyses by year, reductions were more noticeable in the years after implementation of certain neonatal care interventions nationwide, such as neonatal cardiorespiratory resuscitation training in 1994 and surfactant therapy in 1998. The authors conclude that such interventions may have "played a role in the decline of neonatal mortality that was observed between 1990 and 2000."

1. Gonzalez R et al. Reduction in neonatal mortality in Chile between 1990 and 2000, Pediatrics, 2006, , accessed Aug. 17, 2006.