Comparison Study of Causes and Neonatal Mortality Rates of Newborns Admitted in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of Al-Sadder Teaching Hospital in Al-Amara City, Iraq

Each year about 32.4 million of children are born with low birth weight, which is below the 10th percentile for their gestational ages; moreover, about fifteen million of them are premature. Actually, about 60% of neonatal deaths occur in low birth weight neonates related to their prematurity. This study aimed to determine the neonatal death rate and the most common causes of the hospital inborn admissions to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).
A descriptive cross sectional study was conducted in NICU, during two separated periods one in 2007 and the other during 2015. All consecutive live born babies from 1st of January to 31st of December of 2007 were included as 1st period studied and the second period from 1st of January to 31st of December 2015. The neonatal mortality rate (NMR), and causes of deaths in two years, were studied and compared.
In 1st period, the neonatal death rate in NICU was 27.2 %, while in 2nd period; it was 33.9%, which was higher. The commonest causes of neonatal death were the same but, the percentages were different and the leading causes of death from the higher frequencies down were hyaline membrane syndrome, birth asphyxia, congenital anomalies, meconium aspiration and others.
The neonatal death rate in the NICU was higher in 2015, compared to 2007. This needs special efforts for strengthen the strategies of neonatal care and management at the time of delivery and even before and during intrauterine life through good antenatal care to improve the NICU outcome.