ABSTRACT
The greatest risk to life is in its beginning. A good start in life begins well before birth, however it is just before, during and in the very first hours and days that life is most at risk [1].
A newborn is known a “neonate” during the first 28 days of life and this period is referred to as the neonatal period. On the basis of survival, the neonatal period is further classified into early neonatal period 0-7 days and late neonatal period 8-28 days (Figure 6.1). The probability of dying in first month of life is known as neonatal mortality [2] and when expressed as “deaths within the first twenty eight days per 1000 live births” the term is known as neonatal mortality rate.
