The Eurostat report focused on infant mortality among children aged under a year. Published at the end of last week, the statistics office drew comparisons across Europe over the last ten years.
In Luxembourg the mortality rates were said to massively increased, from 1.8 to 3.2 cases per 1000 births. However, this statistic requires further nuance.
Gynaecologist Pit Duschinger, president of the Luxembourg Society of Gynaecology and Obstetrics since September, said the rates could change very quickly.
The Luxembourg sample was small and therefore just a few cases of infant mortality could dramatically influence the rate.
Focusing on the actual numbers, with just 6000 births, a mere 15 more cases could affect the statistics, making the number per 1000 births rise enormously per year and therefore make the overall rate look worse, said Duschinger.
In reality, the next year could show a completely different situation. But there is a second issue to focus on, said Duschinger.
The law has changed in the last 30 years regarding the declaration of intrauterine deaths. When Duschinger started in 1991, he said intrauterine deaths were only declared as such from the 26th week of pregnancy. Prior to the 26th week, intrauterine deaths were considered late term miscarriages and were not declared, so the infant mortality numbers were much lower.
Nowadays, the law has changed to include intrauterine deaths as far back as the 16th week. Although a baby cannot receive proper treatment until week 24 of the pregnancy, intrauterine deaths occurring in week 16 and onwards are now declared, which has skewed the numbers revealed by Eurostat.
Duschinger insisted that the Eurostat report should not cause panic, underlining that antenatal care in the Grand Duchy is generally considered to be excellent.
