Male infants are at higher risk of neonatal mortality and severe morbidity

Background While a male infant is usually born with a higher birthweight than his female counterpart, he is more at risk of variety of adverse perinatal outcomes. Indeed, throughout life, females exhibit a marked survival advantage compared to males. The aetiology for such pertinent sex disparity remains unclear and is likely multifactorial. Aims The aim of this study was to investigate obstetric and perinatal outcomes by infant sex from 28 weeks in a contemporary, large Australian birth cohort. Materials and Methods A 14‐year retrospective cohort study of 130 133 births over 28 weeks gestation from a single tertiary centre. Results Male infants had overall higher rates of neonatal mortality (0.12% vs 0.06%, P