Neonatal Mortality Rate in Al-Ramadi Teaching Hospital for Maternity and Childhood from 2018-2020

Abstract

The first 28 days of life – the neonatal period – is the most vulnerable time for a child’s survival. Children face the highest risk of dying in their first month of life at an average global rate of 17 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2019. Neonatal mortality is a core indicator for neonatal health and wellbeing and is becoming a prominent component of overall under-five mortality. It is therefore receiving particular attention from health authorities. The aim of our study to neonatal mortality rate at Al-Ramadi Teaching Hospital for Maternity and Childhood, 2018-2020. Our study conducted retrospectively in Neonatal Intensive Care unit during a period of six months from October 2020 till the end of March 2021. It included 15686 neonates admitted to the inborn and outborn Neonatal Intensive Care unit and collected from the archive's files during the years 2018, 2019, and 2020. Any newborn who died was recorded as an outcome. Our Results: In this study, neonatal mortality rate was (9.2%)92/1000 in 2018, decreased to(3.79%)37.9/1000 in 2019, then slightly increased to become (4.49%)44.9/1000 in 2020. the overall neonatal mortality rate in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit was (5.32%)53.2/1000. Sepsis was the leading cause of death, followed by extreme prematurity. Independent and un-confounded risk factors for neonatal deaths were birthweight < 1500g (OR= 4.86), birth asphyxia (OR= 3.99), lower educational level of mothers (OR= 3.05), and the delivery at home (OR= 2.84).The Conclusion of our study are prevalence of neonatal death is still very high at rate (5.32%) 53.2/1000 although it has decreased in the last two years and the most common cause of death is sepsis. The most important risk factors for neonatal mortality are low birthweight, birth asphyxia cause for NICU admission, illiteracy and low education of mothers, and home deliveries