Cause‐specific neonatal morbidity and mortality in the Solomon Islands: An assessment of data from four hospitals over a three‐year period

Aim Data on stillbirths and neonatal morbidity and mortality in low‐middle income Pacific Island Nations such as Solomon Islands is limited, partly due to weak health information systems. We describe the perinatal mortality and clinical factors associated with poor newborn outcomes at four hospitals in Solomon Islands. Methods This was a registry based retrospective cohort study at three provincial hospitals and the National Referral Hospital (NRH) from 2014–2016 inclusive. Results 23 966 labour ward births and 3148 special care nursery (SCN) admissions were reviewed. Overall still birth rate was 29.2/1000 births and the perinatal mortality rate was 35.9/1000 births. PNMR were higher in provincial hospitals (46.2, 44.0 and 34.3/1000) than at NRH (33.3/1000). The commonest reasons for admission to SCN across the hospitals were sepsis, complications of prematurity and birth asphyxia. SCN mortality rates were higher in the 3 provincial hospitals than at NRH (15.9% (95/598) vs. 7.9% (202/2550), P value