NEONATAL MORTALITY IN ASSOCIATION WITH LOW BIRTHWEIGHT

Aim: 730 low birth weight (LBW) neonates and 1460 controls were selected from 13,123 neonates born from Mayo Hospital Lahore from June 2019 to May 2020, and were compared for mortality in the first seven and up to 28 days of life (early neonatal period).

Methods: In this study all low birth weight newborns are divided according to four sub-groups of birth weight, and the mortality within the first seven (early neonatal mortality) and up to twenty-eight days of life (neonatal mortality) is examined in both groups.

Results: Part of the results are as follows: I-low infants comprise 5.6% of total newborns, 2-14.3% of LBW neonates die within the first seven days of life, 3-75% of very LBW neonates (less than 1500 g) die within the first seven days of life, 4-low birth weight neonates have a mortality rate twenty four times that of normal birth weight infants in the first and fourth weeks of life, 5-neonatal mortality rate in this study was 18 per thousand.

Conclusion: In conclusion, our recommendation is for provision of the first line of approach i.e. special intensive care is of primary importance for helping the survival of premature infants. 

Key Words: low birth weight, neonatal mortality, newborns