Routing of pregnant women as one of the ways to reduce infant mortality

Abstract

One of the most important tasks that healthcare providers face is to reduce infant mortality. The purpose of our study was to assess the effects of routing of pregnant women with preterm birth on the infant mortality rate. Materials and methods: оperating data of the Federal State Statistics Service (Rosstat), operational notifications about death of young children under the age of 1, monthly reports of obstetric hospitals subordinate to Moscow Healthcare Department, annual reports of hospital departments providing neonatal care in medical organizations of Moscow Healthcare Department, and statistical data analysis. Results and discussion. The infant mortality rate in Moscow has been declining in recent decades and has been less than 6‰ annually since 2016. The share of newborns with extremely low birth weight is insignificant in overall rate. At the same time, extremely low birth weight is one of the main causes of infant mortality. As this category of newborns requires specific care, it is better to deliver such babies in perinatal centers that provide high quality medical care. Within 5 years, the share of children with ELBW born in perinatal centers and specialized obstetric hospitals has almost doubled. At the same time, there is an increase in the survival rate of children with extremely low birth weight by the age of one year in obstetric hospitals. Conclusion. Well-planned routing of patient within the large system of obstetric hospitals in Moscow could reduce death rate, increase the survival rate of children with extremely low birth weight and contribute to reducing infant mortality in the region.