ABSTRACT
The study aims at comparing the perinatal mortality rates of Bahrain in 1985 and in 1996 for significance and trends, and to put forward suggestions for improvement. This is a retrospective descriptive study of vital statistics pertinent to perinatal mortality for the year 1985 and the year 1996 of Ministry of Health [MOH] hospitals, Bahrain. Perinatal mortality rate was 19.7 and 16.6 per 1000 total births for 1985 and 1996 respectively. Hyaline membrane disease contributed to 27% of neonatal deaths. There is a significant improvement the cause of 45.9% of early neonatal deaths. There is a significant improvement in perinatal mortality rate and survival of preterm babies with hyaline membrane disease. A national plan that aims at defining guidelines related to fetal viability, rescue and care of extremely preterm babies would likely result in further improvement in perinatal care in Bahrain