Search

Background: Similar to Indonesia, Aceh Province also showed a slight decline in neonatal mortality rate. However, the rate is still high compared to other provinces. Efforts to reduce neonatal mortality rate are essential because neonatal deaths contributed up to 71% of all under-five deaths in 2017 in Aceh. Antenatal care and low birth weight are known to be associated with neonatal mortality. The purpose of this study was to map district-level neonatal mortality rate and its determinants (antenatal care and low birth weight) in Aceh to inform policymakers in planning the interventions. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study using publicly available secondary data obtained from Aceh Provincial Health Office. The study used the 2017 data of neonatal mortality rate, percent of 4th antenatal care visit and percent of low birth weight at district level. Thematic maps were produced using ArcMap (V.10.5). The correlation was analyzed using the Spearman rank test. Results: The results indicated the regional variation of neonatal mortality rate across Aceh Province. Districts in the Southern region had lower neonatal mortality rates compared to others. Low birth weight was positively correlated with neonatal mortality rate at district level (Spearman’s Rho=0.545, P=0.007). However, the percent of 4th antenatal care visit at district level was not correlated with neonatal mortality rate (Spearman’s Rho= -0.35, P=0.097). Conclusion: The study identified regional variations of neonatal mortality rate, low birth weight and ante natal care visit.

Background: Neonatal deaths stand for almost two-thirds of all deaths occurring in infants under one year of age. Congenital anomalies are responsible for 24.5% of these cases forming a highly important issue for health policy-makers.Methods: We studied the pre-, peri- and post-natal conditions of 77 patients with multiple congenital anomalies (MCA) through genetic counseling at Several university Hospitals, in Tehran, Iran. The collected data were subsequently analyzed using SPSS software. Results: The patients did not have a good prognosis, demonstrating the need for the diagnosis of such diseases early in pregnancy to be of utmost importance. We screened for trisomy and nuchal translucency, which the first showed a low risk and the second showed normal results in most cases.Conclusion: Establishment of standards for prenatal diagnosis of congenital anomalies and monitoring their implementation seem to be necessary for the reduction of deaths due to congenital anomalies and infant mortality rate (IMR).

Background: The first duty of any government is to ensure the health of its children and neonates. Today's countries are classified as declining mortality in this group. To increase neonatal survival rate, classified causes of newborn mortality are the Core Strategy and Policies. This study was aimed to determine the classification of causes of neonatal death in Iran. Methods: Neonatal mortality refers to deaths of young children, typically those less than 28 days of age. It is measured by the neonatal mortality rate (NMR), which is the number of deaths of neonates per 1000 live births.This study was used data from 11693 neonatal deaths (from 22 weeks gestational age to neonatal death less than 30 days), in IRAN's hospitals in 2012 that registered in the Perinatal Mortality Surveillance System (hospital-based system). Demographic characteristics and other factors associated with neonatal death were investigated. To aid in cause of death analyses, burden of disease analyses, and comparative risk assessment we classified the causes of death according to International statistical classification of diseases version 10 (ICD 10), divided into three cause mortality strata. Results: The most common cause of neonatal mortality was "certain conditions originating in the perinatal period" (77.92%) with the highest incidence of "disorders related to length of gestation and fetal growth" (37.7%) in this group. Also 2419 (20/82%) of deaths caused by "Congenital malformations, deformations and chromosomal abnormalities" and 147 (1/26%) cases had occurred as a result of "accidents and injuries". The greatest cause of death in the neonates with weight over one thousand grams was "certain conditions originating in the perinatal period" (71/29%), with the highest percentage in the disorders related to "length of gestation and fetal growth" (29/65%). Conclusion: Policies and interventions should be in line with the priority given to the most common causes of death in prenatal care, prevention and treatment of complications of pregnancy and delivery.

In a case control study the effects of literacy, socio-economic status and the fertility behavior of mothers were fully investigated in two groups. Out of 13123 babies born in 17 hospitals during almost 8 months in 1988-1989 in Tehran 730 had a low birth weight (less than 2500 gr). As a control group, 1460 births were randomly selected from normal weight births. Some basic findings are as follows: 1)Mothers who become pregnant in either age group of “less than 20” or “35 and over” will eventually have a higher chance of delivering a low birth weight baby, and as a result, such babies will gave a higher probability mortality in the first week and first month of their lives. 2) Age at marriage is positively correlated with the level of education. 3) The number of children born alive is negatively correlated with the level of education of mothers. 4) The socio-economic status of the family has a significant impact upon child spacing, and that will affect the probability of having a low birth weight newborn, and finally, will increase the mortality rate of babies.