POTENTIALLY AVOIDABLE PERINATAL DEATHS IN DENMARK AND SWEDEN 1991

Background. Since 1950 the perinatal mortality has been significantly higher in Denmark than in Sweden. In 1991 the rate in Denmark was 8.0/ 1000 deliveries compared to 6.5/1000 in Sweden. An international audit was designed to investigate whether the perinatal death rates in the two countries to some extent could reflect differences in the quality of care, indicated by the numbers of perinatal deaths in categories of potentially avoidable deaths. Material and methods. Medical records o f 97% of all perinatal deaths in 1991 in the two countries were analyz ed. A new classification focusing on potential avoidability from a hea lth services perspective was elaborated at a Nordic-Baltic workshop. u sing the variables: time of death in relation to admission and deliver y, fetal malformation, gestational age, growth-retardation and Apgar s core at 5 min. Results. Rates of perinatal deaths of malformed infants (0.00195 and 0.00145) and intrapartum deaths of non-malformed infants (0.00042 and 0.00019) was significantly higher in Denmark than in Swe den. Conclusion. Application of the Nordic-Baltic Perinatal Death Clas sification on perinatal deaths in Denmark and Sweden in 1991 raises th e questions as to why the rate of perinatal death of malformed infants is higher in Denmark than in Sweden and whether intrapartum care in D enmark could be improved.