Infant mortality: surveillance, epidemiological characteristics and spatial distribution pattern in Recife, Brazil

To describe the occurrence and spatial distribution of infant deaths investigated by surveillance in Recife, state of Pernambuco, Brazil, in 2014. This is an exploratory ecological study investigating 183 infant deaths. Data from the confidential records of surveillance investigation of the infant death and the Mortality Information System were used. In order to detect spatial distribution patterns, the kernel estimation of infant, neonatal and post-neonatal mortality was used. Deaths were mainly of the neonatal type (n = 144; 78.69%), with gestational age below 37 weeks (n = 147; 80.3%) and birth weight lower than 2500 g (n = 143; 78.1%). The main causes of infant deaths were the disorders originating in the perinatal period, with emphasis on maternal hypertensive disorders (n = 31; 16.9%). The kernel map showed a higher density in 12 neighborhoods of the North (4), Northwest (2), West (3) and South (3) regions of the municipality. It was found a heterogeneous pattern in the occurrence and distribution of deaths in the territory; spatial clusters were observed in several areas of Recife with similar geographic spaces between types of death.