ABSTRACT
The aim of this study is to evaluate the incidence of neonatal mortality rate [NMR] and causes leading to neonatal deaths in this center. It is the first reported detailed study of neonatal vital statistics in Kuwait. Both prospective and retrospective procedures for data collection were used to assess the neonatal mortality for 5545 live births in Adan Hospital during the period from first of January 1999 till end of December 1999. The results showed that of a total 5545 live births enrolled in this study, the overall neonatal mortality was 6.49 per 1000 live births. The main causes of neonatal deaths were congenital anomalies, preterm birth related problems and hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy. These causes accounted for around 94% of all neonatal deaths. Around 55.6% of the deaths were considered preventable
Conclusion: identification of suboptimal care and the avoidable factors based on agreed set of standards seems to be valuable in improving the quality of medical care and reducing the neonatal mortality