Four million neonatal deaths: counting and attribution of cause of death
Open accessAbstract
Summary: Each year there are an estimated four million neonatal deaths and at least 3.2 million stillbirths. Three‐quarters of the world's neonatal deaths are counted only through five‐yearly retrospective household surveys. Without these surveys we would have no data, but limitations remain particularly in detecting deaths on the first day of life. Comparable reliable neonatal cause of death data through vital registration are available for less than 5% of the world's neonatal deaths, necessitating modelled estimates for the majority of the world. Improving the quantity, quality and frequency of data for numbers and causes of neonatal deaths is essential to effectively guide the increasing investments to reduce these deaths. Advancing the data requires general investment in information systems and specific improvements of tools and methods for both household surveys and verbal autopsy, particularly the use of consistent case definitions and hierarchical attribution of cause of death. An important paradigm shift is from historical categories for cause of death (‘perinatal causes’) to programmatic categories which are consistent with the International Classification of Diseases. If neonatal deaths remain uncounted, they cannot count in policy and in programmes.
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
Many neonatal deaths are believed to occur because of potentially preventable causes such as complications of preterm birth, infectious disease and asphyxia.
“Many of these neonatal deaths are believed to occur because of potentially preventable causes such as complications of preterm birth, infectious disease and asphyxia [4].”
From Neonatal deaths in rural Karnataka, India 2014–2018: a prospective population-based observational study in a low-resource setting (2020) · cites this paper as [4]
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Cites
4 million neonatal deaths: When? Where? Why?
Lawn, J. E., Cousens, S., & Zupan, J. (2005) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(05)71048-5 · Cited by 3,670 · see citing works
Self-citationTudor Hart, J. (1971) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(71)92410-x · Cited by 3,253 · see citing works
Evidence-based, cost-effective interventions: How many newborn babies can we save?
Darmstadt, G. L., Bhutta, Z. A., Cousens, S., Adam, T., Walker, N., & de Bernis, L. (2005) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(05)71088-6 · Cited by 1,541 · see citing works
Self-citationKilbourn, J. P. (1974) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(74)93167-5 · Cited by 588 · see citing works
Make every mother and child count.
Spencer-Jones, J. (2005) · PubMed · Cited by 523 · see citing works
Estimating the causes of 4 million neonatal deaths in the year 2000
Lawn, J. E., Wilczynska-Ketende, K., & Cousens, S. N. (2006) · International Journal of Epidemiology · doi:10.1093/ije/dyl043 · Cited by 515 · see citing works
Self-citationStillbirth rates: delivering estimates in 190 countries
Stanton, C., Lawn, J. E., Rahman, H. A., Wilczynska-Ketende, K., & Hill, K. (2006) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(06)68586-3 · Cited by 497 · see citing works
Self-citationA scandal of invisibility: making everyone count by counting everyone
Setel, P. W., Macfarlane, S. B., Szreter, S., Mikkelsen, L., Jha, P., Stout, S., & AbouZahr, C. (2007) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(07)61307-5 · Cited by 469 · see citing works
INTERNATIONAL CLASSIFICATION OF DISEASES AND RELATED HEALTH PROBLEMS
Zikmundová, K. (2019) · Social Medicine · doi:10.2307/jj.5666715.15 · Cited by 367 · see citing works
Debas, H. T., Donkor, P., Gawande, A. A., Jamison, D. T. T., Kruk, M. E., & Mock, C. (2015) · Cited by 267 · see citing works
Murray, C. J. L., Laakso, T. A., Shibuya, K., Hill, K., & López, A. D. (2007) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(07)61478-0 · Cited by 254 · see citing works
Analysis of Perinatal Mortality and Its Components: Time for a Change?
Kramer, M. S. (2002) · American Journal of Epidemiology · doi:10.1093/aje/kwf077 · Cited by 185 · see citing works
Setting international standards for verbal autopsy
Baiden, F. (2007) · Bulletin of the World Health Organization · doi:10.2471/blt.07.043745 · Cited by 147 · see citing works
Gaps in policy-relevant information on burden of disease in children: a systematic review
Rudan, I., Lawn, J. E., Cousens, S. N., Rowe, A. K., Boschi-Pinto, C., Tomašković, L., Mendoza, W., Lanata, C. F., Roca‐Feltrer, A., Carneiro, I. A., et al. (2005) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(05)66697-4 · Cited by 123 · see citing works
Self-citationEdmond, K. M., QUIGLEY, M. A., Zandoh, C., et al. (2008) · Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology · doi:10.1111/j.1365-3016.2008.00961.x · Cited by 110 · see citing works
Validation of the Symptom Pattern Method for Analyzing Verbal Autopsy Data
Murray, C. J. L., López, A. D., Feehan, D. M., Peter, S. T., & Yang, G. (2007) · PLoS Medicine · doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.0040327 · Cited by 99 · see citing works
Causes of childhood deaths in Bangladesh: an update
Baqui, A. H., Sabir, A. A., Begum, N., Arifeen, S. E., Mitra, S., & Re, B. (2001) · Acta Paediatrica · doi:10.1111/j.1651-2227.2001.tb02434.x · Cited by 96 · see citing works
Edmond, K. M., QUIGLEY, M. A., Zandoh, C., Danso, S., Hurt, C. N., Owusu‐Agyei, S., & Kirkwood, B. R. (2008) · Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology · doi:10.1111/j.1365-3016.2008.00962.x · Cited by 81 · see citing works
Trend and causes of neonatal mortality in the Kassena–Nankana district of northern Ghana, 1995–2002
Baiden, F., Hodgson, A., Adjuik, M., Adongo, P. B., Ayaga, B., & Binka, F. N. (2006) · Tropical Medicine & International Health · doi:10.1111/j.1365-3156.2006.01582.x · Cited by 68 · see citing works
Why Are Thai Official Perinatal and Infant Mortality Rates So Low?
Lumbiganon, P., Panamonta, M., Laopaiboon, M., Pothinam, S., & PATITHAT, N. (1990) · International Journal of Epidemiology · doi:10.1093/ije/19.4.997 · Cited by 68 · see citing works
The Egypt National Perinatal/Neonatal Mortality Study 2000
Campbell, O. M. R., Gipson, R. F., Mohandes, A. E., et al. (2004) · Journal of Perinatology · doi:10.1038/sj.jp.7211084 · Cited by 58 · see citing works
Lee, A. C., Mullany, L. C., Tielsch, J. M., et al. (2008) · PEDIATRICS · doi:10.1542/peds.2007-2644 · Cited by 39 · see citing works
Health statistics: time to get serious.
Shibuya, K., Scheele, S., & Boerma, T. (2005) · PubMed · Cited by 30 · see citing works
The epidemiology of perinatal death in Jamaica
Greenwood, R., Golding, J., McCaw‐Binns, A., Keeling, J. W., & Ashley, D. (1994) · Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology · doi:10.1111/j.1365-3016.1994.tb00497.x · Cited by 27 · see citing works
Lancet, T. (2005) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(05)66671-8 · Cited by 16 · see citing works
(2005) · PubMed · Cited by 10 · see citing works
Millennium: invest in country statistical systems
Macfarlane, S., Thomson, M. C., & AbouZahr, C. (2007) · Nature · doi:10.1038/446974b · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Research works printed but not linked: 1
- Bang AT, Reddy HM, Deshmukh M. Child mortality in Maharashtra. Economic and Political Weekly. 2002; 37:4947-4965.
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Every Newborn: progress, priorities, and potential beyond survival
Lawn, J. E., Blencowe, H., Oza, S., You, D., Lee, A. C., Waiswa, P., Lalli, M., Bhutta, Z., Barros, A. J., Christian, P., et al. (2014) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(14)60496-7 · Cited by 1,929 · see citing works
Self-citationWang, H., Abajobir, A. A., Abate, K. H., Abbafati, C., Abbas, K. M., Abd-Allah, F., Abera, S. F., Abraha, H. N., Abu-Raddad, L. J., Abu-Rmeileh, N. M. E., et al. (2017) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(17)31833-0 · Cited by 801 · see citing works
Stillbirths: Where? When? Why? How to make the data count?
Lawn, J. E., Blencowe, H., Pattinson, R., Cousens, S., Kumar, R., Ibiebele, I., Gardosi, J., Day, L. T., & Stanton, C. (2011) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(10)62187-3 · Cited by 785 · see citing works
Self-citationthe GAPPS Review Group, Lawn, J. E., Gravett, M. G., Nunes, T. M., Rubens, C. E., & Stanton, C. (2010) · BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth · doi:10.1186/1471-2393-10-s1-s1 · Cited by 784 · see citing works
Self-citationVerbal Autopsy: Methods in Transition
Fottrell, E., & Byass, P. (2010) · Epidemiologic Reviews · doi:10.1093/epirev/mxq003 · Cited by 195 · see citing works
Goudar, S. S., Carlo, W. A., McClure, E. M., Pasha, O., Patel, A., Esamai, F., Chomba, E., Garces, A., Althabe, F., Kodkany, B., et al. (2012) · International Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics · doi:10.1016/j.ijgo.2012.04.022 · Cited by 144 · see citing works
Persson, L. Å., Nga, N. T., Målqvist, M., Thi Phuong Hoa, D., Eriksson, L., Wallin, L., Selling, K., Huy, T. Q., Duc, D. M., Tiep, T. V., et al. (2013) · PLoS Medicine · doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1001445 · Cited by 83 · see citing works
The Global Network Neonatal Cause of Death algorithm for low‐resource settings
Garces, A. L., McClure, E. M., Pérez, W., Hambidge, K. M., Krebs, N. F., Figueroa, L., Bose, C. L., Carlo, W. A., Tenge, C., Esamai, F., et al. (2017) · Acta Paediatrica · doi:10.1111/apa.13805 · Cited by 30 · see citing works
Dhaded, S. M., Somannavar, M. S., Moore, J. L., McClure, E. M., Vernekar, S. S., Yogeshkumar, S., Kavi, A., Ramadurg, U. Y., Nolen, T. L., Goldenberg, R. L., et al. (2020) · Reproductive Health · doi:10.1186/s12978-020-01014-6 · Cited by 13 · see citing works
- Authors
- Lawn, J. E., Osrin, D., Adler, A., & Cousens, S.
- Affiliations
- South African Medical Research Council (ZA)
- University College London (GB)
- London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Lawn, Joy E.
- Venue
- Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2008-08-04
- Volume
- 22
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 410-416
- ISSN
- 0269-5022 (ISSN-L)
- 1365-3016
- PMC
- PMC3428888
- OpenAlex
- W2068241434
- Cited by
- 123
- References
- 27
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 10 · 2019: 9 · 2018: 6 · 2017: 7 · 2016: 6 · 2015: 11 · 2014: 9 · 2013: 10 · 2012: 3
- FWCI
- 7.49
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology (publishedVersion, other-oa)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- LSHTM Research Online (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine) (acceptedVersion)
- UCL Discovery (University College London) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
- Wellcome Trust (081052, 085417)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health › Global Maternal and Child Health
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Maternal and Neonatal Healthcare
- Social Sciences › Demography › Insurance, Mortality, Demography, Risk Management
- Keywords
- neonatal mortality, stillbirth, cause of death attribution, verbal autopsy, household surveys, civil registration, mortality data quality, case definition, International Classification of Diseases, perinatal causes, mortality surveillance
- MeSH terms
- Cause of Death, Humans, Infant Mortality, Infant, Newborn, Population Surveillance, Risk Factors, Global Health, Stillbirth
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
