All issues > Volume 10(3); 1967

Original Article

J Korean Pediatr Soc. 1967;10(3):145-152. Published online March 31, 1967.

Fetal and Neonatal Mortality and Neonatal Morbidity

Bo Kyung Kim¹, Ja Hwan Kim¹, Ki Joon Kim¹, Byung Jin Choi¹, Duk Jin Yun¹

¹Department of Pediatric Yonsei University,College of Medicine

Abstract

The infant death after the first month of life is no longer a universal public health problem. But the trend in the decline of the death rate in later infancy has not been paralleled among infants less than one month of age. And the interest in reducing fetal and neonatal deaths has created a need for firmly established evidence to provide a basis for concrete guidence. This is a report on fetal and neonatal mortality and morbidity of the newborn at Severance Hospital covering a period of 7 years from Jan. 1st 1959 through Dec. 31st 1965. Total live births of the Korean in this period were 3, 597, and 124 were fetal deaths of 28 weeks gestation or over. The incidence of premature births were 480 in 3,597 live births, 13.3 per cent. Neonatal mortality rates are reported in each birth weight category under 28 days of age. These birth weight specific fatality rates are: 1,000gm or less, 91.2%: 1,001~1,500gm,65.2%:1,501~2, OOOgm, 22.0%: 2,001~2,500gm, 6.2%: all under 2,500gm, 24.6%' all over 2,500gm, 0.8%: total, 4.0%. The premature births accounted for 82.5% of all deaths of live births in the 28 days of life. The main cause of the neonatal deaths was respiratory difficulty and failure, 90% of which affected the premature. The neonatal mortality rate was 59.8 per 1,000 live births in 1959 and 23.6 in 1965, and fetal mortality rate was 57.0 per 1,000 live births in 1959 and 23.6 in 1965. The newborn who had various diseases within the 28 days of age numbered 544 amounting to 15.1% of the total live births. These newborns were affected with 928 diseases all together which were respiratory difficulty, birth injury, skin disorders, diarrhea of newborn, infection, congenital malformation, hyperbilirubinemia and others, in order of frequency. In as much as the prematurity is the main cause of the neonatal deaths, further significant reduction in fetal and neonatal mortality clearly depends on the reduction of the premature. More interest and research of the prematurity can not be overemphasized.

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