Producing valid statistics when legislation, culture and medical practices differ for births at or before the threshold of survival: report of a European workshop

Abstract

Perinatal mortality is a major population health indicator conveying important signals about the state of maternity care and measures of the current and future health of mothers and newborns. International comparisons are used to encourage countries to improve their perinatal health and health systems. However, extensive evidence highlights methodological challenges to ensuring valid and robust comparisons, as a lack of standardised criteria can lead to bias and inappropriate inferences.