This dataset presents the crude rate of neonatal mortality, defined as the number of deaths of infants aged under 28 days per 1,000 live births. It is a vital indicator of perinatal and maternal health, reflecting the quality of antenatal, intrapartum, and neonatal care services.
Rationale
Reducing neonatal mortality is a key public health goal. Elevated rates may indicate challenges in maternal health, access to quality healthcare during pregnancy and childbirth, or complications in the early neonatal period. Monitoring this indicator supports efforts to improve maternity services and early life outcomes.
Numerator
The numerator is the number of deaths of infants aged under 28 days registered during the relevant period. Data are sourced from the Deaths Register.
Denominator
The denominator is the number of live births registered during the same period. Births are assigned to geographical areas based on the mother’s usual residence. Data are sourced from the Births Register.
Caveats
Live births are geographically assigned based on the mother’s usual residence, which may differ from the location of the birth or death. This should be considered when interpreting local-level data.
External References
Fingertips Public Health Profiles – Neonatal Mortality Rate
Localities Explained
This dataset contains data based on either the resident locality or registered locality of the patient, a distinction is made between resident locality and registered locality populations:
- Resident Locality refers to individuals who live within the defined geographic boundaries of the locality. These boundaries are aligned with official administrative areas such as wards and Lower Layer Super Output Areas (LSOAs).
- Registered Locality refers to individuals who are registered with GP practices that are assigned to a locality based on the Primary Care Network (PCN) they belong to. These assignments are approximate—PCNs are mapped to a locality based on the location of most of their GP surgeries. As a result, locality-registered patients may live outside the locality, sometimes even in different towns or cities.
This distinction is important because some health indicators are only available at GP practice level, without information on where patients actually reside. In such cases, data is attributed to the locality based on GP registration, not residential address.
Click here to explore more from the Birmingham and Solihull Integrated Care Partnerships Outcome Framework.