ABSTRACT
Introduction: The neonatal period refers to the first 28 days of life. Newborns are particularly vulnerable to death. The predictors associated with neonatal mortality need to be addressed, as identifying the predictors will contribute to reducing the rates of neonatal morbidity and mortality. Method: A facility-based retrospective cohort study was conducted of 332 records of neonates who were admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit at Arba Minch General Hospital. Data were collected from randomly selected neonate records using computer-generated random numbers. Data were entered into Epi-info version 3.5.1 and exported to SPSS v.23 for analysis. Crude hazard ratios, adjusted hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals were used to assess the strength of association and statistical significance. The incidence density rate of death with respect to 'person time at risk' was calculated. Variables which had a p-value of ⤠0.25 in bivariate analysis were considered as candidates for multivariate regression analysis; variables that had a p-value of â¤0.05 in the multivariate analysis were considered as independent predictors of neonatal mortality in the final Cox regression analysis. Result: The incidence density rate of neonatal mortality was 31.6 per 1,000 neonate days. The neonatal mortality predictors were 5th-minute APGAR score â¤5 (AHR: 1.9; 95%CI: 1.02,3.54); 2nd to 4th birth order (AHR:13; 95%CI: 5.1,33.4); 5th birth order (AHR:24; 95%CI: 10.5,55.2); history of two to four live births(AHR: 0.16; 95%CI: 1.07,3.63); history of â¥5 live births (AHR: 0.18; 95%CI: 0.06,0.51); and not initiating exclusive breastfeeding within the first hour of delivery (AHR: 1.8: 95%CI: 1.03,3.18). Conclusion: The incidence density rate of neonatal mortality was 31.6 per 1,000 neonate days, and maternal age, APGAR score, birth order, parity, and exclusive breastfeeding initiation were independent predictors of neonatal mortality