[Avoidable infant mortality and associated factors in Porto Alegre, Southern Brazil, 2000-2003].

A case-control study was performed to investigate the association between the categories avoidable and non-avoidable death and socio-demographic, maternal reproductive, and neonatal status. The study used multivariate logistic regression according to a hierarchical model to analyze 1,139 infant deaths from 2000 to 2003. The variables sex, maternal age, number of live born infants, type of pregnancy, place of birth, and 5-minute Apgar were not associated with avoidable deaths. However, maternal schooling <or= 3 years (RC = 1.56; 95%CI: 1.01-2.45); single mother (RC = 0.65; 95%CI: 0.49-0.86) or mother with a history of stillbirth (RC = 1.59; 95%CI: 1.01-2.48); congenital malformation (RC = 0.26; 95%CI: 0.18-0.37); cesarean section (RC = 1.52; 95%CI: 1.10-2.11), premature labor between 22 and 36 weeks (RC = 0.47; 95%CI: 0.34-0.65), birth weight < 2,500 g (RC = 0.51; 95%CI: 0.32-0.79); and neonatal age < 6 days (RC = 0.62; 95%CI: 0.42-0.89) were significantly associated with avoidable death. These findings can help identify infants at increased risk.