Análisis de la mortalidad neonatal precoz en el Instituto Nacional de Perinatología (1999-2001)

objective: the early neonatal mortality was analyzed based on perinatal characteristics and time of neonatal death at the insituto nacional de perinatología. material and methods: to analyze the cases, we considered birth weight, gestational age, primary causes of death, and time of neonatal death. rate of neonatal mortality and incidence (per 1,000 live births) and survival tables were reported. results: the neonatal mortality rate was 17.13; the incidence was 2.48 deaths/day. congenital birth defects (34%) and immaturity (27%) were the principal causes of death. according to the time of death, 34.4% of the deaths happened in the first 59 minutes, 32.4% from one to 23 hours, and 33.2% from one to seven days. there was an inverse relationship between rates, related with birth weight and gestational age. the probability of survival was less in neonates with a weight less than 1,000 g and below 25 weeks. conclusions: those neonates whose birth weight was above 750 g and gestational age above 26 weeks had a low mortality rate. the main causes of death were congenital birth defects and immaturity.