Analysis of perinatal and infant mortality adjusted by exclusion of deaths from congenital malformation

There is considerable variation in the prevalence of malformations among live and stillbirths with respect to the social and biological characteristics of the parents and child. Although potentially eliminable, malformations are believed to be less preventable than other causes of death, and are becoming increasingly important as such in infancy and childhood. This study examined the effects of excluding malformation deaths from perinatal and infant mortality rates across a broad range of factors about which information is routinely collected at the time of birth. The results highlight our relative lack of understanding of the aetiology of congenital malformations, but suggest that, despite this, it would be acceptable to publish routine statistics adjusted in this way.