title: Perinatal health in Belgium: an introduction.
abstract: The objectives of this special issue are reviewed. The principle aim is to discuss the relatively high perinatal mortality rate observed in Belgium. Belgian perinatal mortality is higher than that of Japan and very close to that of the USA, even though Belgium has fewer low-birthweight newborns and teenage pregnancies than the USA. This introduction also briefly describes the general organization of the Belgian health care system.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire d'Epidémiologie et de Médecine Sociale, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Buekens
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Derom
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: De Wals
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001530:Belgium; D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007226:Infant Mortality / Q000639:trends; D007230:Infant, Low Birth Weight; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007564:Japan; D011247:Pregnancy; D011253:Pregnancy in Adolescence; D014481:United States