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Updated: Jun 28, 2026
Biochemical Measurement of Neonatal Hypoxia
Published on: August 24, 2011
Neonatal mortality outcome and trends: A 6-year retrospective analysis from a North Indian teaching college hospital
Ritu Rakholia1, Mohd Maroof2, Damini Kharkwal1
1Department of Pediatrics, Government Medical College and Dr. Susheela Tiwari Hospital, Haldwani, Nainital, Uttarakhand, India.
Insights
Neonatal mortality in India is declining, but still high. Key causes include respiratory distress syndrome, hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, and sepsis, requiring targeted interventions for sustainable development goals.
Area of Science:
- Medical Research
- Public Health
- Neonatology
Background:
- India faces the world's highest burden of neonatal deaths, contributing a quarter of the global total.
- Achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3.2 for neonatal mortality requires region-specific cause analysis.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze trends in neonatal mortality and its causes over a six-year period.
- To inform targeted interventions for reducing neonatal deaths in India.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective study of medical records for neonates admitted to a special care neonatal unit (SCNU) from 2018 to 2023.
- Analysis of mortality rates, birth weights, and causes of death.
Main Results:
- Total admissions: 9462 neonates.
- Neonatal mortality declined from 19.40% in 2018 to 12.34% in 2023, with greater reduction in outborn neonates.
- Leading causes of death were respiratory distress syndrome (RDS), hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), sepsis, prematurity, and congenital malformations.
Conclusions:
- Encouraging mortality trends observed, but may not be sufficient to meet SDG 3.2 targets.
- Targeted interventions for perinatal asphyxia, sepsis, improved antenatal care, and preterm neonate management are crucial.
- Addressing preventable causes is essential for further reducing neonatal mortality.
Background:
India contributes to the highest number of neonatal deaths in the world, a fourth of the world's total. Targeted interventions can be planned after a specific analysis of region-specific causes if India is to achieve the sustainable development goal (SDG 3.2) of neonatal mortality of 12 per 1000 live births.
Material And Methods:
A retrospective study of medical records of all neonates admitted in the special care neonatal unit (SCNU) over the 6-year period of 2018-23 at a teaching medical college.
Results:
A total of 9462 neonates were admitted over the 6-year period. The trends in mortality were encouraging, declining from 19.40% in 2018 to 12.34% in 2023. The reduction was more in outborn (24.32% to 11.68%) than inborn (14.86% to 12.89%) neonates. The low birth rate also declined from 40.77% in 2018 to 25% in 2023. The rate of discharges went up. The trends in etiology of death were uniform over the years with respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) (37.24%), hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) (29.5%), sepsis (16.12%), prematurity (11.45%), and congenital malformations (2.47%) being the chief contributors to death among newborns admitted in SNCU.
Conclusion:
The trends are encouraging but may be insufficient to meet the target of SDG 3.2. Further targeted intervention to tackle preventable cause, such as perinatal asphyxia, sepsis, better antenatal care, and better management of preterm neonates on mission mode, is need of the hour as they continue to contribute significantly to neonatal mortality.
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