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CONDITIONS ORIGINATING IN THE PERINATAL PERIOD (P00-P96)

Conditions originating in the perinatal period (P00-P96) were identified as the underlying cause of 578 deaths registered in 2007. Of these, 325 (56%) were males, and 253 (44%) were females.

Although the majority of deaths attributed to this cause occur in the neonatal period (within 28 days of birth), this is not always the case. In 2007, 94% of deaths due to Certain conditions originating in the perinatal period occurred in the neonatal period, while 5.9% of these deaths were in older age groups. For further information on perinatal death statistics, see Explanatory Note 15.

Of note, deaths attributed to Other conditions originating in the perinatal period (P96) increased from 6 in 2005 to 48 in 2006. This is largely a residual code, and the increase may reflect a decline in the specificity of certification. In 2007, deaths for this cause have returned to levels observed prior to 2006.

There were 131 deaths due to Disorders related to short gestation and low birth weight, not elsewhere classified (P07) in 2007, which was consistent with a gradual increase over the last 10 years.

In prior years, statistics on perinatal deaths have been included in this publication. However, for 2007 this data will be published as a separate publication, Perinatal Deaths, Australia (cat.no. 3304.0), which will be released in June 2009.

3.15 SELECTED UNDERLYING CAUSES(a)(b), Conditions Originating in the Perinatal Period (P00-P96)(c) - 2007(d)
			MALES	FEMALES	PERSONS	PROPORTION OF ALL DEATHS
Cause of Death and ICD Code			no.	no.	no.	%
Conditions originating in the perinatal period (P00-P96)			325	253	578	0.4
	Fetus and newborn affected by maternal factors and by complications of               pregnancy, labour and delivery (P00-P04)		130	99	229	0.2
		Fetus and newborn affected by maternal conditions that may be unrelated to present pregnancy (P00)	13	9	22	-
		Fetus and newborn affected by maternal complications of pregnancy (P01)	47	37	84	0.1
		Fetus and newborn affected by complications of placenta, cord and membranes (P02)	61	51	112	0.1
	Disorders related to length of gestation and fetal growth (P05-P08)		74	65	139	0.1
		Disorders related to short gestation and low birth weight, not elsewhere classified (P07)	70	61	131	0.1
	Respiratory and cardiovascular disorders specific to the perinatal period (P20-P29)		52	38	90	0.1
		Birth asphyxia (P21)	11	14	25	-
	Haemorrhagic and haematological disorders of fetus and newborn (P50-P61)		19	9	28	-
		Intracranial nontraumatic haemorrhage of fetus and newborn (P52)	14	9	23	-
	Other disorders originating in the perinatal period (P90-P96)		10	19	29	-
		Other disturbances of cerebral status of newborn (P91)	9	14	23	-
- nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)
(a) Causes selected are those with 20 or more deaths at the 3 digit level of ICD-10.
(b) Data cells with small values have been randomly assigned to protect the confidentiality of individuals. As a result, some totals will not equal the sum of their components. It is important to note that cells with a zero value have not been affected by confidentialisation.
(c) Relates to conditions originating in but not necessarily occurring in the perinatal period.
(d) Causes of death data for 2007 is subject to revision. See Explanatory Notes 3-4 for further information.