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CAROLINA STATE LIBR/
STUDIES N. C.
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A SPECIAL REPORT SERIES BY THE N.C. DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN RESOURCES, DIVISION OF
HEALTH SERVICES, STATE CENTER FOR HEALTH STATISTICS, P.O. BOX 2091, RALEIGH, N.C. 27602
No. 21 August 1981
MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH STATISTICS
IN NORTH CAROLINA OVER THE LAST DECADE 1 1981
Introduction
North Carolina routinely collects information on maternal characteristics
that are known risk factors for conditions associated with fetal , neonatal and
postneonatal deaths. These maternal risk characteristics are derived from
information recorded on birth certificates and include young and old age, low
educational status, out of wedlock, high parity, a previous fetal death or a child
born alive but who is now dead (1). Other factors which are not routinely
collected but which are known to play important roles in birth outcome include
genetic factors, environmental factors (for example, exposures to various toxins
in the atmosphere or food) and infectious diseases. There are, no doubt, many
others. Therefore, many questions of interest to health officials concerned with
fetal , neonatal and postneonatal mortality cannot be answered on the basis of
routinely recorded birth and death data but rather require in-depth special
studies. However, many questions can be examined on the basis of these data. In
particular, it is incumbent upon health officials to periodically examine the
known recorded maternal characteristics that have traditionally been associated
with risk to deliveries in order to see if the risks are changing and, if so, in
what direction, and to see if the distribution of risk characteristics among
delivering women changes, and, if so, how. Also, questions regarding risk in
various regions of the state may be answered from these data.
The following definitions apply to this study:
Live Birth - A live birth is the complete expulsion or extraction from
its mother of a product of human conception, irrespective of the
duration of pregnancy, which, after such expulsion or extraction,
breathes or shows any other evidence of life, whether or not the
umbilical cord has been cut.
Fetal Death - A fetal death (stillbirth) is death prior to complete
expulsion or extraction from its mother of the product of conception.
This report shows only registered fetal deaths of 20 or more weeks
gestation that were not recorded as abortions.
Neonatal Death - A neonatal death is the death of a liveborn child
under 28 days of age. This report shows only matched neonatal deaths.
A matched neonatal death is one which is matched with a birth
certificate.
Postneonatal Death - A postneonatal death is the death of a liveborn
child of 28 days to one year of age. Only matched postneonatal deaths
are displayed in this report. A matched postneonatal death is one
which is matched with a birth certificate.