[A contribution to the medical and organizational care of high-risk premature infants and newborn (author's transl)].

Perinatal mortality is a qualitative parameter for the obstetric and neonatologic efficiency of an obstetric center. The present study conducted at the Herford clinical center, based on 3,700 case histories from 1972 to 1976, revealed a drop of the uncorrected perinatal mortality from 35.08% to 14.23%, and a drop of the corrected perinatal mortality from 21.35% to 5.02%. Two groups with an observation period of 2.5 years each, were compared with each other to demonstrate the efficiency of modern perinatologic care and control methods. The methods of intensive care and control of high-risk pregnancy and high-risk parturition (ultrasound, cardiotocography, fetal blood analysis; tocolysis, laboratory diagnostics of placental insufficiency), practised since 1974, and the close cooperation with a newborn intensive-care ward of the infant hospital of the Herford center have brought about a definite improvement in perinatologic efficiency.