Why our neonates are dying? Pattern and outcome of admissions to neonatal units of tertiary care hospitals in Peshawar from January,2009 to December,2011

Objectives: to find out the frequency of neonatal mortality in tertiary care hospitals to determine the common causes. methods: the descriptive retrospective study was conducted in the paediatric wards of kuwait teaching hospital and khyber teaching hospital,peshawar,pakistan,and comprised data fromhospital registers fromjanuary,2009 to december,2011. a structured proforma was used as the data collection tool. results: there were 4497 neonatal admissions in both hospitals; 4067(90.4%) at khyber and 430(9.5%) at kuwait. overall neonatal deaths were 726(16%); 703(17.2%) in khyber and 22(5.1%) in kuwait. major causes of neonatal deaths weremultiple 341(48.50%),general 99(14%) and infections 81(11.52%) at khyber teaching hospital,whereas at kuwait teaching hospital,they were central nervous system 8(36.30%),general 5(22.72%),and infections 4(18.10%). conclusion: increased awareness regarding timely referral to tertiary care hospitals is essential for the health workers who conduct deliveries at home,maternity homes,private hospitals and clinics. © 2016,pakistan medical association. all rights reserved.