Perinatal mortality in Sweden. Analyses with international aspects

Area of Science:

• Perinatal Health
• Public Health Statistics
• Reproductive Epidemiology

Background:

• Sweden has experienced a continuous decline in perinatal mortality over four decades.
• In 1976, Sweden reported the lowest international perinatal mortality rates.
• Mortality rates continued to decrease, reaching 10.0 per thousand in 1978.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze perinatal mortality trends in Sweden from 1973-1977.
• To investigate the relationship between birth weight and mortality components.
• To evaluate the utility of birth weight-specific mortality rates for assessing perinatal care quality.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of Swedish medical birth records for the 1973-1977 period.
• Inclusion of data from a 1973 WHO-coordinated international perinatal study.
• Calculation of birth weight (BW)-specific mortality rates in 250g increments for late fetal deaths (LFD) and early neonatal deaths (END).

Main Results:

• Late fetal deaths (LFD) showed a relationship with birth weight only at higher BWs.
• Early neonatal deaths (END) demonstrated an inverse relationship with birth weight.
• A significant male predominance was observed in END, with rates one-third higher for boys compared to girls, while LFD showed no sex difference.

Conclusions:

• Birth weight-specific mortality rates, separated into LFD and END, serve as valuable indicators for evaluating perinatal care quality.
• Factors associated with lifestyle patterns and living standards significantly influence perinatal outcomes.
• Perinatal mortality should be reported by its distinct components: late fetal death rates (LFD) and early neonatal death rates (END).