The perinatal morbidity and mortality survey of Jamaica 1986–1987

Abstract

The Jamaican Perinatal Morbidity and Mortality Survey was conducted between September 1986 and August 1987. A total of 10,310 consecutive births were identified and mothers interviewed in the first 2 months (main cohort study), 1405 neonatal admissions were evaluated over a 6-month period (morbidity study), and 1855 perinatal deaths and 73 late neonatal deaths identified over 12 months (mortality study)-55% of the deaths were given a postmortem examination. The perinatal mortality rate for the cohort study was 38.1 per 1000 births. This was 36.6 percent higher than the 1982 estimate of 27.9/1000 based on deliveries at the Victoria Jubilee Hospital, a specialist maternity institution which has at least 13,000 deliveries per annum.