Perinatal mortality in Indonesia: an unfinished agenda

Perinatal mortality is a profound issue in maternal and child health due to its close relation with the maternal condition. There exist Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which are to be achieved by 2015. These are coupled with a continuing need for comprehensively monitoring and identifying factors associated with perinatal mortality, which is a primary concern for developing countries inclusive of Indonesia. Previous and on-going health programs could have brought about strategic interventions but as different attributes can emerge due to epidemiological transition, and given the fact that associated factors may remain persistent, forward thinking strategies in public health are forever in need of renewal. Results from our research show that educational variables, poor awareness towards proper antenatal care visits and weak services at the front-line of healthcare delivery (community outreach) worsen the condition of childbearing women, raising the question of biological risk factors in line with socio-economic variables.