Risk factors associated with neonatal deaths among very low birth weight infants in Latvia

Every year, 1 million new-borns, on average, die from various complications caused by premature birth [1,2]. Low birth weight (LBW) has long been used as an important public health indicator. LBW is not a proxy for any single dimension of either maternal or perinatal health outcomes [3]. The main cause of neonatal LBW is premature birth and intrauterine growth restriction, which are most often due to different placental problems and health problems of the mother or new-born [4-6]. A growing trend in the number of premature births has been observed worldwide, and in Latvia, this number increased from 4.8% in 2008 to 5.9% in 2012 [1,2,7]. Therefore, reducing premature births is a major public health objective.