- Although the global number of newborns deaths declined from 5 million in 1990 to 2.4 million in 2019, children face the greatest risk of death in their first 28 days.
- In 2019, 47% of all under-5 deaths occurred in the newborn period with about one third dying on the day of birth and close to three quarters dying within the first week of life.
- Children who die within the first 28 days of birth suffer from conditions and diseases associated with lack of quality care at birth or skilled care and treatment immediately after birth and in the first days of life.
- Preterm birth, intrapartum-related complications (birth asphyxia or lack of breathing at birth), infections and birth defects cause most neonatal deaths.
- Women who receive midwife-led continuity of care (MLCC) provided by professional midwives, educated and regulated to internationals standards, are 16% less likely to lose their baby and 24% less likely to experience pre-term birth.
Globally 2.4 million children died in the first month of life in 2019. There are approximately 7 000 newborn deaths every day, amounting to 47% of all child deaths under the age of 5-years, up from 40% in 1990.
The world has made substantial progress in child survival since 1990. Globally, the number of neonatal deaths declined from 5.0 million in 1990 to 2.4 million in 2019. However, the decline in neonatal mortality from 1990 to 2019 has been slower than that of post-neonatal under-5 mortality The share of neonatal deaths among under-five deaths is still relatively low in sub-Saharan Africa (36 per cent),
which remains the region with the highest under-five mortality rates. In Europe and Northern America, which has one of the lowest under-five mortality rates among SDG regions,
54 per cent of all under-five deaths occur during the neonatal period. An exception is Southern Asia, where the proportion of neonatal deaths is among the highest (62 per cent) despite a relatively high under-five mortality rate.
