CAUSES OF NEONATAL DEATHS IN A PEDIATRIC HOSPITAL NEONATAL UNIT

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Abstract
A study is presented of 1020 consecutive autopsies on newborn infants who died during the first 28 days of life at the Children's Hospital, University of Helsinki, during 1969–1978. The infants were grouped into four categories according to their weight at birth and into early (0–7 days) and late (8–28 days) neonatal groups according to their age at death. 77.5 % of the cases fell into the early neonatal group. The most common causes of death were hyaline membrane disease (HMD) and cerebral haemorrhage (CH), which together accounted for 41.9% of all the deaths. Congenital anomaly was the second most common group of causes, comprising 35.3 % of the cases. A gradual fall in the total number of deaths was conspicuous during the ten‐year period. There was a statistically significant decrease in the number of deaths from HMD and CH in the weight categories 1001–1500 g and 1501–2500 g. The fall is considered to reflect improvement in both obstetrics and neonatal medicine.