This is a cross-sectional study with the aim of describing the early neonatal deaths that took place at a Public Maternity Hospital, Maternidade Odete Valadares in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil, from 2001 to 2006. It used variables related to the newborn (period the death took place, age at death, gender, gestational age, and birth weight), to the mother (type of pregnancy, type of delivery, age, parity, and number of stillborn children), and to the multiple causes of death. Three profiles of early neonatal death were obtained through the Grade of Membership method (GoM), which also made it possible to find the prevalence of such profiles in the study population. Profile 1 was characterized by deaths of difficult reduction (prevalence of 41.4%); Profile 2 was characterized by deaths amenable to reduction (prevalence of 28.3%); finally, Profile 3 was marked by preventable deaths (prevalence of 30.4%). These profiles provided an understanding of the spectrum of causes of early neonatal mortality at Maternidade Odete Valadares, along with the analysis of its relationship with the reproductive, obstetric and maternal history, as well as with newborn conditions. The high prevalence of preventable deaths is a reality at Maternidade Odete Valadares, which should be tackled by healthcare workers and public health authorities.
Early neonatal mortality; Multiple causes of death; Public health
