Infant mortality in a sample of births in the municipality of Rio de Janeiro 1999-2001: linkage with the Mortality Information System
Pereira, A.P.E.; Gama, S.G.N. da; Leal, M. do C.
Revista Brasileira de Saude Materno Infantil 7(1): 83-88
2007
Document Number: 200830
Neonatal and post-neonatal mortality rates (NMR and PNMR) of a sample of births in the municipality of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil during 1999-2001, were estimated and compared according to the type of maternity and access to hospital delivery. Deaths were described according to their primary cause. The identification of infant deaths in the Mortality Information System (MIS) was accomplished through a probabilistic record linkage method. Bivariate analysis was applied with calculation of relative risks (RR) and 95% confidence intervals. NMRs and PNMRs were 7 and 6 times higher in public than in private maternity services, respectively. For puerperal women non-resident in the municipality and those who were denied hospital admittance in other maternity hospitals, IMR was twice as high. There was a high IMR caused by affections of the perinatal period (PPA) even in children weighing over 1500 grams (2.3 of 1000 born alive infants). Neonatal deaths by PPA were six times more frequent in public maternity hospitals than in private ones. The enormous differences in NMRs and PNMRs between public and private hospitals point towards the need for reduction of social inequalities and improvement of the access to healthcare as fundamental issues to be approached in the municipality of Rio de Janeiro.