Perinatal care in Pakistan: a situational analysis
Bhutta, Z.A.; Rehman, S.
Journal of Perinatology Official Journal of the California Perinatal Association 17(1): 54-59
1997
ISSN/ISBN: 0743-8346 PMID: 9069067 Document Number: 474597
Pakistan has an estimated perinatal mortality rate of 60-90 per 1000 births, of which almost half are stillbirths. Infant mortality rates have declined in recent years, but the proportion of deaths occurring during the neonatal period has remained rather stable over several decades at almost 60% of all deaths. This latter mortality is largely the result of inadequate attention to programs of maternal and newborn care. The government of Pakistan's recently implemented social action and health care programs will deliver domiciliary maternal and newborn care services through trained birth attendants and community workers. Pakistan's primary health care services network is also being overhauled in an attempt to improve the timely recognition of high-risk pregnancies and to facilitate prompt referral. The importance of the newborn period is also being stressed in pediatric undergraduate and postgraduate training programs, as well as through continuing medical education. Health status and spending in Pakistan, the organization of health care services, maternal mortality, and the causes of infant and neonatal mortality are discussed.