%0 Journal Article %T Perinatal mortality in rural Burkina Faso: a prospective community-based cohort study %A Abdoulaye Diallo %A Nicolas Meda %A Emmanuel Zabsonr¨¦ %A Halvor Sommerfelt %A Simon Cousens %A Thorkild Tyllesk£¿r %A the PROMISE-EBF study group %J BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth %D 2010 %I BioMed Central %R 10.1186/1471-2393-10-45 %X To measure the perinatal mortality rate (PNMR) in the PROMISE-EBF cohort in Banfora Health District and to identify potential risk factors for perinatal death.We used data collected prospectively during the PROMISE-EBF-trial to estimate the stillbirth rate (SBR) and early neonatal mortality rate (ENMR). We used binomial regression with generalized estimating equations to identify potential risk factors for perinatal death.895 pregnant women were enrolled for data collection in the EBF trial and followed-up to 7 days after birth. The PNMR, the SBR and the ENMR, were 79 per 1000 (95% CI: 59-99), 54 per 1000 (95% CI: 38-69) and 27 per 1000 (95% CI: 9-44), respectively. In a multivariable analysis, nulliparous women (RR = 2.90, 95% CI: 1.6-5.0), primiparae mothers (RR = 2.20, 95% CI: 1.2-3.9), twins (RR = 4.0, 95% CI: 2.3-6.9) and giving birth during the dry season (RR = 2.1 95% CI: 1.3-3.3) were factors associated with increased risk of perinatal death. There was no evidence that risk of perinatal death differed between deliveries at home and at a health centreOur study observed the highest PNMR ever reported in Burkina. There is an urgent need for sustainable interventions to improve maternal and newborn health in the country.Reducing perinatal mortality, the sum of all stillbirths and early neonatal deaths (END), i.e. deaths within the first 7 days of life, is a major public health challenge in the low-income countries [1]. The annual global number of perinatal deaths was estimated by WHO to be 5.8 million in 2004 with 3 million stillbirths and 2.8 million ENDs [2].Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest perinatal mortality rate (PNMR), estimated to be 56 per 1000 births in 2004, followed very closely by the Asian region with 47 per 1000 births [2]. Within the African region there is considerable variation, with the Central and West African regions having the highest perinatal mortality rates in the world, at 74 and 69 per 1000 births, respectively [2].There is a paucity %U http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2393/10/45