Postnatal mortality in Brazilian territory: a literature review

This is a systematic review regarding postnatal mortality, covering the period between 2004 and 2009. The objective was to identify how the causes of death and the relationship with socioeconomic conditions are stated in the literature. Twenty-seven articles were selected, 74.4% of which were published in public health journals, with 66.7% having an ecological study design. Nearly all articles addressed cause groups and their components (66.7%), followed by the remaining third, which addressed the identification of the determinant factors of the deaths. The Southeast region produced over 37% of the studies. In most Brazilians cities and states, there was a reduction of deaths by more than 50% by the end of the 1900s. Among the cause of death groups, the diarrhea-pneumonia group was predominant, followed by congenital abnormalities. The basic life conditions according to socioeconomic indicators - housing, basic sanitation, education, and accessibility to health - were determinants for the highest postnatal death rates due to reducible causes.