It was verified in the District of São Paulo, Brazil that 9.5% of all infant deaths (children less than one year old) did not have birth certificates; 82.5% of them were deaths ocurred in hospitals. This data was analised considering the Law of Public Register, decree no. 4857 of November, 9, 1939 with the modifications presented in the decree no. 5318 of November, 29, 1940. From this, some propositions were made to Hospital Administrators. Considering the observed "under-register", the District of São Paulo vital rates and ratios, that utilize the number of live births in their computation, must be corrected.
Natality; Vital statistics; Infant mortality
