A study of perinatal morbidity and mortality in maternity hospitals: II - perinatal mortality according to birth weight, maternal age, prenatal care and maternal smoking

Abstract

The influence of birth weight, maternal age, prenatal care and smoking during pregnancy are analysed. Of 12,999 births (live and stillbirths) ocurring in nine maternity hospitals during one year, the greatest perinatal mortality rate (PM) was that of low birth weight babies (665.3 for those weighing less than 1,500 g). The PM decreases with increasing weight. Young mothers (less than 15 years of age) and women aged 35 or more also had higher Perinatal Mortality rates - 45.5 for the former and 47.0 for the latter. Prenatal care is important for the decrease of high risk in pregnancy. Mothers who had made 7 or more consultations during pregnancy had the lowest PM (17.7 live and stillbirths). Smoking during pregnancy has an influence only when women smoke more than 10 cigarettes a day. Perinatal mortality for babies whose mothers smoked less than 10 cigarettes a day is not different from non-smoking women.