Perinatal Mortality Surveillance Report – UK Perinatal Deaths for Births from January to December 2014
The second Perinatal Mortality Surveillance report issued by the MBRRACE-UK collaboration is published today: https://www.npeu.ox.ac.uk/mbrrace-uk/reports.
The report shows a slight fall in the rates of stillbirth and neonatal death in the UK compared with 2013, continuing the downward trend in rates seen since 2003. However, this overall trend masks variations in rates across the UK. These variations remain despite the fact that a novel method of analysis introduced by MBRRACE-UK takes into account aspects of case-mix to allow ‘fairer’ comparisons of mortality rates between services provided for high risk and low risk pregnancies. The new analytical method, which divides the figures for Trusts and Health Boards into five groups based on the services they deliver, also takes into account the random variation in rates which can occur because of small numbers of births in some areas.
Led by the MBRRACE-UK collaborators based in the Department of Health Sciences at the University of Leicester, the report also explores the effect of gestational age on perinatal mortality rates in more detail. This shows that around two thirds of stillbirths and neonatal deaths were born preterm, indicating that initiatives to reduce stillbirth and neonatal deaths must include a focus on reducing preterm birth as well as ensuring high quality care for all women whose pregnancies reach full term. Read the full report: https://www.npeu.ox.ac.uk/mbrrace-uk/reports.
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