| Abstract
| - The editorial on perinatal and infant mortality: a worldwide issue, Eur J Public Hlth 1996; 6: 157-8, appropriately links reductions in perinatal and infant mortality with improvements in socioeconomic status in developing and developed countries. However, in summary discussions of the worldwide trends of infant deaths, certain critical issues that also influence the rates of perinatal and infant mortality deserve mentioning, even if briefly. These critical issues include race/ethnic status, the pre-conception health status of the mother, the past obstetrics history, the very important effect of low birth weight and preterm delivery, the effect of maternal education and the relationship between maternal mortality/morbidity and infant survival. I briefly review the relationship between infant deaths and these critical issues. Discussing these critical issues in summary articles may help advance policy and programme debate on how to reduce the rate of infant deaths worldwide effectively.
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