Objective: The neonatal mortality rate is disproportionately influenced by preterm infants and does not reflect the rate in full-term infants. Our objectives were to estimate the full-term neonatal mortality rate and to identify causes of death in full-term infants during the first month of life.
Study design: A retrospective study of full-term infant deaths during a 6-year period from 2000 to 2005, in a tertiary medical center.
Result: During the study period there were 44,703 full-term births and 31 deaths, representing a mortality rate of 0.69 per 1,000 live births. The main cause of death was congenital anomalies (64.5%), specifically cardiac anomalies. Other causes were chromosomal anomalies or syndromes (12.9%), labor complications (12.9%), infections (3.2%), congenital diseases (3.2%) and metabolic disorders (3.2%).
Conclusion: The mortality rate of full-term infants may be lower than previous estimates. Efforts aimed at decreasing mortality among full-term infants should focus on prenatal diagnosis.