Perinatal and Infant Mortality Flashcards
Define ‘miscarriage’
Pregnancy loss before 24 weeks
Define ‘stillbirth’
When a baby is born after 24 weeks and shows no signs of life
Define ‘neonatal death’
Baby is born alive but dies in the first 28 days of life
Define ‘infant death’
All deaths in the first year of life
Define ‘post-neonatal infant death’
Deaths in the first year of life that don’t occur in the first month
How does prematurity lead to increased risk of neonatal death?
Surfactant deficiency, periventricular haemorrhage, infection
What are the major risk factors for neonatal death?
Prematurity, congenital abnormalities, asphyxia, infections, SIDS
What are the causes of stillbirth?
Foetal disorder, umbilical cord dysfunction, amniotic fluid dysfunction, uterine abnormality/rupture, maternal conditions, intrapartum issues (asphyxia/birth trauma) and general trauma
What is the cause of acute stillbirth?
Caused by acute hypoxia due to placental abruption or cord accidents. This occurs within hours
What is the cause of chronic stillbirth?
Takes days to several weeks to occur. This is caused by maternal disease or placental problems causing progressive hypoxia leading to death.
What does SUDI stand for?
Sudden unexpected death in infancy
What are the causes of SUDI?
Cot death (due to congenital heart disease, respiratory infections etc), instant death (due to accident or trauma or arrhythmia), rapid death (due to unrecognised illness) or SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome)
What is SIDS?
Sudden infant death syndrome - where there is an unexpected death of an infant less than 1 which remains unexplained
What are the risk factors for SIDS?
Male baby, co-sleeping, maternal smoking and low birth weight
