title: Etiologies and contributing factors of perinatal mortality: a report from southeast of Iran.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to investigate the etiology and risk factors of perinatal mortality in Rafsanjan, Iran.
  
  
  METHODS
  This case-control prospective study was conducted on 321 perinatal deaths (as case group) and 321 live births who were alive until 28 days after birth (as control group) during a 2-year period. Data about demographic characteristics of mother, fetus, and newborn and also mother's obstetrics and clinical status was recorded in a questionnaire.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The most important causes of newborn death were prematurity (63.24%), cardiac arrest (11.49%), and septicemia (5.75%) as well as premature rupture of membrane, pregnancy-induced hypertension, placenta decolman, and congenital abnormality for stillbirth. A significant association was found among the fetal weight, gestational age, and amniotic fluid volume with stillbirth.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Prematurity, cardiac arrest, and septicemia were the most important causes of neonatal mortality. It is concluded that attention to the following points is very important: adopting program for pregnancy care improvement, finding and removing risk factors of premature birth, control of infection in mother's and newborn's wards, examining of personnel skill about correct newborn resuscitation methods, and arrangement of training courses.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, University of Medical Sciences, Rafsanjan, Iran. hadavimaryam@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Maryam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hadavi
authors.forename: Soghra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Alidalaki
authors.forename: Maryam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Abedininejad
authors.forename: Setare
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Akhavan
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001724:Birth Weight; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D000013:Congenital Abnormalities / Q000401:mortality; D005260:Female; D005322:Premature Rupture of Fetal Membranes / Q000401:mortality; D005865:Gestational Age; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000401:mortality; D006801:Humans; D046110:Hypertension, Pregnancy-Induced / Q000401:mortality; D007226:Infant Mortality; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007492:Iran / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008423:Maternal Age; D054238:Perinatal Mortality; D011247:Pregnancy; D047928:Premature Birth / Q000401:mortality; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D018805:Sepsis / Q000401:mortality; D050497:Stillbirth / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult