EPIDEMIOLOGICAL PROFILE OF NEONATAL MORTALITY IN THE STATE OF ALAGOAS, BRAZIL

Abstract

This study aimed to describe the epidemiological profile of neonatal mortality in the state of Alagoas, Brazil, from 2015 to 2024. This is an ecological, descriptive and retrospective study using data from the Mortality Information System (SIM) and the Live Birth Information System (SINASC). Absolute and relative frequencies and neonatal mortality rates per 1,000 live births were calculated according to characteristics of the newborn, the pregnancy and the mother, underlying causes of death and Health Regions. A total of 4,435 neonatal deaths occurred in the period, 76.9% of them in the early neonatal period. The neonatal mortality rate fell from 10.4 in 2015 to 9.1 per 1,000 live births in 2024. Most deaths involved males (54.3%), newborns of mixed race (parda) (74.3%), birth weight below 2,500 g (65.5%), gestational age below 37 weeks (62.3%), vaginal delivery (51.2%) and mothers aged 20 to 29 years (38.7%). Conditions originating in the perinatal period accounted for 77.7% of deaths, mainly bacterial sepsis of the newborn (22.9%) and respiratory distress of the newborn (21.8%), followed by congenital malformations (19.0%). The 9th Health Region had the highest rate in the period (10.4 per 1,000 live births). Neonatal mortality in Alagoas showed a slight reduction over the period and remained concentrated in the first week of life, among preterm and low birth weight newborns, with differences between Health Regions.