Irish neonatal mortality statistics for 2004 and over the past 17 years: how do we compare internationally?

In the past 17 years neonatal mortality survey has provided important data on the trends in deaths of all live born infants born in Southern Ireland who are greater than 500 g birth weight and who die within the first 28 days of life. The aims of this study were to report neonatal mortality data for Southern Ireland for 2004, to examine trends in neonatal mortality over the past 17 years and compare Irish Neonatal Mortality rates to other countries around the world. The neonatal mortality rate for 2004 was 2.9/1000 with a corrected NMR of 1.9/1000. The response rate to the survey was 100%. Prematurity is now the leading cause of neonatal mortality representing a change from previous years. Deaths related to asphyxia have remained largely unchanged. When compared to international figures Ireland compares favourably to other countries around the world.