The effect of intrauterine development and nutritional status on perinatal mortality.
OBJECTIVE
To study the influence of bodily development and nutritional status on perinatal mortality.


METHODS
The authors developed a new method, the MDN system (MDN: Maturity, Development, Nutritional Status), to determine the development and nutritional status of newborns based on their weight and length standard positions. Using data of 680,947 neonates born in the 7 years from 1997 to 2003 in Hungary, they computed the perinatal mortality (PM) rate of each developmental groups of neonates.


RESULTS
PM in the group of neonates of absolute average development was 7 per thousand, 30 per thousand in the proportionally retarded group and it was 90 per thousand in the extremely overnourished group. The PM rate was the highest (191 per thousand) in the extremely undernourished group.


CONCLUSIONS
Both bodily development and nourishment have a major impact on PM. The MDN system is a suitable method to differentiate the most endangered groups of neonates based on their development and nutritional status.
Berkõ
Péter
P
Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Borsod-A.-Z. County and University Teaching Hospital, Miskolc, Hungary. berko.szulesz@bazmkorhaz.hu
Joubert
Kálmán
K
D001724:Birth Weight; D001827:Body Height; D001837:Body Weights and Measures / Q000592:standards; D005260:Female; D047109:Fetal Development / Q000502:physiology*; D048070:Fetal Nutrition Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000401:mortality; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D006814:Hungary / Q000453:epidemiology; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007236:Infant, Small for Gestational Age; D008297:Male; D009752:Nutritional Status; D054238:Perinatal Mortality; D011247:Pregnancy; D039401:Prenatal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D012015:Reference Standards