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Background and Objective: Perinatal mortality rate (PMR) is one of the main indicators in evaluation of health community and healthcare systems. This study was performed to determine the perinatal mortality rate in the referral third level of maternal and infant care center affiliated to Babol University of Medical Sciences.
Methods: This descriptive-analytical study was performed on by cross-sectional method and 19234 births (9751 male and 9483 female) from 22 weeks gestation to 29 days after delivery Ayatollah Rouhani Hospital in Babol, northern Iran during 2011-18. Data on the cause of neonatal death, maternal age, type of delivery, malformations, maternal underlying disease, maternal pregnancy-related conditions, and diseases at the time of death in neonate were collected from website of the Ministry of Health. Then each of the indicators was calculated per 1000 live births.
Results: In this study, the PMR was calculated per 1000 live births which was 29.01 (boys 16.17 and girls 12.84). The portion of vaginal delivery was 9.67 and cesarean section was 19.34. Out of 558 perinatal deaths, 59.9% died due to intrauterine death with an index of 17.37 and 40.1% of deaths were due to infant death with an index of 11.63. Most neonatal deaths (74%) occurred within the first 24 hours of birth and in terms of gestational age 86.02% were <37 weeks of gestation with an index of 24.95, and low birth weight were 83.8% with an index of 24.31. Underlying disease was found in 25.6% of mothers and pregnancy-related conditions in 74.4% of cases. Fetal distress in 14.4% with an index of 4.20 was the most common disease associated with infant death or cause of death in preterm infants. Other causes of perinatal death were specific disorders of perinatal origin, birth defects, chromosomal abnormalities, and accidents were 10.09, 4.06, and 0.58 per 1000 live births, respectively.
Conclusion: The most and important factors of prenatal mortality wrer prematurity and low birth weight that major causes include maternal pregnancy-related conditions and maternal underlying disease, Therefore, emphasis on adequate prenatal care, identification and follow-up of mothers with underlying diseases can be effective in reducing perinatal mortality.