Abstract
Bakcground
In Brazil, neonatal deaths are the main component of infant mortality, requiring information to support the reorganization of local systems and the planning of neonatal care.
Objective
Verify the potentiality of the Sistema de Informação sobre Nascidos Vivos to describe the distribution of births with severity markers in maternities with neonatal intensive care unit in the Unified Health System.
Method
A Cross-sectional study was performed using birth records. Birth weight and Apgar score at 5 minutes were used to establish the severity markers. The maternities were classified according to offer neonatal intensive care unit.
Results
In Brazil, 55% of births and 38% of those occurred with markers of severity and in maternities without intensive care. Newborn infants with birth weight less than 1,500g showed higher percentage in maternities which have intensive therapy. It was observed a higher frequency of birth in intensive care in the Southeast and South regions.
Conclusion
The Sistema de Informação sobre Nascidos Vivos, even though presenting problems in the register of important variables for the definition of severity criteria, showed potential to be used for research and local managers in the analysis of neonatal care.
Keywords:
newborn; intensive care neonatal; information systems