Page 30 - IJPS-5-2

International Journal of Population Studies

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Maternal characteristics and the risk

of neonatal mortality in Brazil between

2006 and 2016

Pedro Henrique Costa , Luciana Correia Alves *,
1
1
Carlos Eduardo Beluzo , Natalia Martins Arruda ,
2
2
Rodrigo Campos Bresan , Tiago Carvalho 2
2
1 Department of Demography at the Institute of Philosophy and Human Sciences,
Population Studies Center Elza Berquó — NEPO, University of Campinas (Unicamp),
ARTICLE INFO
Campinas-SP, Brazil
Received: May 13, 2019 2 Federal Institute of São Paulo, Campinas-SP, Brazil
Accepted: June 29, 2019
Published: July 6, 2019
*CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Abstract: Neonatal deaths account for more than 60% of infant deaths and are a major concern
Luciana Correia Alves, in Brazil. The reduction of the occurrence of these events appears to be more challenging than
Department of Demography post-neonatal deaths, as such a reduction depends more on factors related to the pregnancy and
at the Institute of Philosophy childbirth than sanitary and health conditions. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the
and Human Sciences, influence of maternal factors (schooling, marital status, and age) on the risk of neonatal mortality in
Population Studies Center Elza Brazil between 2006 and 2016. Data were collected from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and
Berquó – NEPO, University of
Campinas – Unicamp, Cidade Statistics as well as two information systems of the public health-care system: Mortality Information
Universitária Zeferino Vaz. System and Live Birth Information System. The total valid sample size was 28,362,359 children.
Av. Albert Einstein, 1300 — Visualization and classification methods were performed. The results revealed a considerably higher
Sala 24, CEP: 13081-970, risk of neonatal deaths when the mothers were unmarried, had a low level of schooling, and were
Campinas – SP, Brazil. outside the 20-34-year-old age group. Different demographic profiles in Brazil exert an influence
lcalves@unicamp.br on neonatal health. The identification of the risk factors of neonatal mortality can assist in ensuring
CITATION pregnancy, delivery, and a neonatal period of greater quality.
Costa PH, Alves LC, Keywords: Infant mortality; Neonatal mortality; Maternal age; Risk factors; Brazil
Beluzo CE, Arruda NM,
Bresan RC, Carvalho T. (2019).
Maternal characteristics and 1. Introduction
the risk of neonatal mortality
in Brazil between 2006 and The infant mortality rate (IMR) is considered one of the best indicators of a population’s
2016. International Journal of standard of living and social well-being. The decline in this rate constitutes a remarkable
Population Studies, 5(2):24-33. success of governments, civil society, and academia and health professionals in the past
doi: 10.18063/ijps.v5i2.1130 two centuries. Global mortality has declined 5 times in the past 65 years, reaching 4.5%
Copyright: © 2019 in 2015. Particularly in Brazil, the reduction was greater than 10 times in the same period
Costa PH, Alves LC, (World Bank, 2019). Nonetheless, disparities between developed and developing countries
Beluzo CE, Arruda NM, demonstrate that there is much work left to do. The fact that mortality rates in developing
Bresan RC, Carvalho T. This
is an Open-Access article countries can be 10 times higher than those in developed countries is proof that we are
distributed under the terms dealing with a high percentage of avoidable deaths.
of the Creative Commons A reduction in child mortality rates is listed as one of United Nations (UN) Sustainable
Attribution-Non Commercial
4.0 International License Development Goals for 2030 (UN Resolution, 2015) and was also listed as one of UN’s
(http://creativecommons.org/ Millennium Development Goals for 2015, which aimed to reduce Child Mortality Rates
licenses/by-nc/4.0/), permitting by two-thirds between 1990 and 2015, a goal that Brazil achieved in 2011. The global
all noncommercial use, IMR declined from 65 deaths per 1000 live births in 1990 to less than 30 by 2018, which is
distribution, and reproduction
in any medium, provided the a considerable improvement, but still far from the rate considered acceptable by the World
original work is properly cited. Health Organization (WHO), which is 12 neonatal deaths per 1000 live births by 2030.

24 International Journal of Population Studies | 2019, Volume 5, Issue 2