The Impact of Centralization of Obstetric Care Resources in Japan on the Perinatal Mortality Rate

Objective. We investigated the effects of the centralization of obstetricians and obstetric care facilities on the perinatal mortality rate in Japan. Methods. We used the Gini coefficient as an index to represent the centralization of obstetricians and obstetric care facilities. The Gini coefficients were calculated for the number of obstetricians and obstetric care facilities of 47 prefectures using secondary medical care zones as units. To measure the effects of the centralization of obstetricians and obstetric care facilities on the outcomes (perinatal mortality rates), we performed multiple regression analysis using the perinatal mortality rate as the dependent variable. Results. Obstetric care facilities were more evenly distributed than obstetricians. The perinatal mortality rate was found to be significantly negatively correlated with the number of obstetricians per capita and the Gini coefficient of obstetric care facilities. The latter had a slightly stronger effect on the perinatal mortality rate. Conclusion. The centralization of obstetric care facilities can improve the perinatal mortality rate, even when increasing the number of obstetricians is difficult.