Understanding perinatal mortality

Various assessments of health are used to promote comprehensive, formulated worldwide policies for improvement of delivery of care. Perinatal mortality is one measure of global perinatal health. In this review, we clarify the definition of perinatal mortality and discuss the recent trends, backgrounds, contributing factors, and practical management strategies. The wide differences in perinatal mortality between developing and developed countries are well recognized. Of equal concern are the potentially avoidable perinatal deaths that occur in developed countries; the varying perinatal mortality rates between developed countries indicate that they are not yet at an irreducible minimum. To that effect, international health policies should include the unique circumstances of developed countries, and effective practices should be better shared amongst developed countries. The international goal for improving the perinatal mortality rate, in addition to improving public health and access to good care for all pregnant women, is to develop a unified and multifaceted approach as considerably more can be achieved.