The study of 1124 deaths of under 5 years children residing in urban areas in the region of Ribeirão Preto, Brazil, in the period of June 1968 to July 1970, through the gathering of all information registered at the health care services and obtained through interviews with families and physicions responsible for the caring, is described. The predominance of deaths in the neonatal period is observed. The coefficient of infant mortality was estimated in 52.4 for a thousand live born. The importance of the infectious and perinatal causes is evidenced, as well as the health care problems regarding childhood chiefly and the want of trained paramedical personnel.
Infant mortality; Ribeirão Preto; Infectious diseases
