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Peri-natal mortality

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Peri-natal mortality  (PERI-NATAL mortality)


The mortality of live-born children who have not yet reached their first birthday is called infant mortality1. The mortality of live-born children who die before reaching a certain age, taken as four weeks or a month, is called neo-natal mortality2. It has been suggested that the deaths of children dying after the neo-natal period3, but before reaching the age of one year might be called post-neo-natal mortality4. The expression foetal mortality5 as recommended for instructional use by the World Health Organization is used for deaths prior to the complete expulsion or extraction from its mother of a product of conception (602-6) irrespective of the duration of pregnancy (603-3). The terms mortality in utero5 or intra-uterine mortality5 may also be used. Foetal mortality includes miscarriages, abortions (cf. 603-5) and stillbirths6. Since the causes of death of foetuses (602-7) during the last few weeks of pregnancy and of live-born infants during the first few days of life often result from similar underlying factors, the term peri-natal mortality7 has been suggested to include stillbirths and neo-natal deaths.

  • 3. In English-speaking countries the neo-natal period is taken as 28 days. The term early infancy is occasionally used as an approximate equivalent to neo-natal period, as, e. g., in "diseases of early infancy".
  • 5. foetal — American spelling fetal.
  • 6. Miscarriages, abortions and stillbirths are collectively referred to as "foetal deaths".


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