Perinatal deaths preventable by intervention of the Unified Health System of Brazil.

OBJECTIVE

To describe the epidemiological characteristics of perinatal deaths through the actions of the Unified Health System.

METHODS

This is a descriptive study of temporal analysis with a population of perinatal deaths of mothers residing in Recife, Brazil, from 2010 to 2014. A list was used to classify the preventable diseases and the variables were analysed using Epi lnfo™ version 7.

RESULTS

The perinatal deaths totalled 1,756 (1,019 foetal and 737 neonatal premature) with a reduction of neonatal deaths (-15.8%) and an increase of foetal deaths (12.1%) in the study period. The main causes of death were foetus and newborn affected by the mother´s condition and asphyxia/hypoxia at birth.

CONCLUSIONS

Most deaths were avoidable, especially in the group of appropriate care to mothers during pregnancy. Faults in the care provided to women at birth explain the percentage of deaths caused by asphyxia/hypoxia. The reduction of preventable perinatal mortality is associated with the increased access and quality of care, which ensures health promotion, disease prevention, treatment and specific and timely care.