This study provides a description and analysis of characteristics of the monitoring system for congenital anomalies at birth and prevalence trends in Latvia using retrospective analysis of congenital anomalies at birth with cross-sectional data on prevalence (national data from Latvia, 2000-2010). There are three main monitoring systems on congenital anomalies among newborns and infants: the Medical Birth Register with data on live births with one or more congenital anomalies at birth, the Register on Congenital Anomalies with genetically approved cases for live births and the National Causes of Death Register with data on stillbirths. Methodological problems were analysed by calculating different prevalence rates. The main outcome measures are as follows: prevalence rate, live birth prevalence rate, major congenital anomalies live birth prevalence rate, and stillbirth rate. The live birth period prevalence was 319.7/10,000 live births, and the majoir congenital anomalies live birth prevalence was 211.4/10,000. The period total prevalence rate of births was.323.7/10,000 live births and stillbirths. The stillbirth rate due to congenital anomalies was 6.1/10,000 live and stillbirths. The live birth prevalence with congenital anomalies decreased slightly from the year 2000 tothe year 2010. The present system of congenital anomaly registration requires improvements for better completeness. Latvia should use the experience.of Nordic countries and introduce a mother's and children's identification number to the Medical Birth Register. It would be helpful to link the information from hospitals and perinatal centres together to validate the congenital anomaly diagnoses of newborns after their discharge from the maternity unit. The monitoring system should also include information on pregnancies with congenital anomalies which do not end in birth, especially terminations of pregnancy.

Background and Objectives: Worldwide, preterm birth (PTB) stands as the primary cause of mortality among children under 5 years old. Socioeconomic factors significantly impact pregnancy outcomes, influencing both maternal well-being and newborn health. Understanding and addressing these socioeconomic factors is essential for developing effective public health interventions and policies aimed at improving pregnancy outcomes. This study aims to analyse the relationship between socioeconomic factors (education level, marital status, place of residence and nationality) and PTB in Latvia, considering mother’s health habits, health status, and pregnancy process. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted using data from the Medical Birth Register (MBR) of Latvia about women with singleton pregnancies in 2022 (n = 15,431). Data analysis, involving crosstabs, chi-square tests, and multivariable binary logistic regression, was performed. Adjusted Odds ratios (aOR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated. Results: Lower maternal education was statistically significantly associated with increased odds of PTB. Mothers with education levels below secondary education had over two times higher odds of PTB (aOR = 2.07, p < 0.001, CI 1.58–2.70) and those with secondary or vocational secondary education had one and a half times higher odds (aOR = 1.58, p < 0.001, CI 1.33–1.87) after adjusting for other risk factors. Study results also showed the cumulative effect of socioeconomic risk factors on PTB. Additionally, mothers facing two or three socioeconomic risk factors in Latvia exhibited one and a half times higher odds of PTB (aOR = 1.59, p = 0.021). Conclusions: The study highlights the cumulative impact of socioeconomic risk factors on PTB, with higher maternal education demonstrating the highest protective effect against it. This underscores the importance of education in promoting optimal foetal development. Since the influence of socioeconomic factors on PTB is not a widely studied issue in Latvia, further research is needed to improve understanding of this complex topic.

Antenatal care plays a basic role in the management of woman's health during pregnancy, and women who have not been registered to antenatal care are at increased risk of poor pregnancy outcome, including stillbirth. The aim of this study was to identify differences in maternal characteristics, antenatal care factors and perinatal mortality between urban and rural area in Latvia. The Medical Birth Register of Latvia (MBR) was used as a data source, all births in 2017 (n = 20,406) were included in the analysis. Mother's place of residence was categorized in 3 groups: Riga, other cities and rural area. Higher risk of smoking (OR = 1.4; p < 0.001), late first antenatal visit (after 12th gestation week) (OR = 1.2; p < 0.05) and incomplete antenatal care (including cases without care) (OR = 1.3; p < 0.05) were detected more in other regions (other cities and rural area) than in Riga. After adjustment by maternal age and education, just late first antenatal visit was significantly higher in other regions (ORadj = 1.2; p < 0.05) vs. Riga. New-born mortality in perinatal period is substantially higher in other regions vs. Riga. The results indicate health education gap and potential inequalities in receiving antenatal care and emergency obstetric care by regions.

Pregnancies that occur after assisted reproduction procedures constitute high-risk pregnancies. There is a lack of sufficient epidemio-logically based data on this issue in Latvia. The aim of this study was to compare the maternal and perinatal outcomes of multiple pregnancies conceived by in vitro fertilization (IVF) in comparison with spontaneous multiple pregnancies. This retrospective cohort study (2007–2014) analysed data from population-based Medical Birth Register (MBR). There is a statistically significant increase of multiple births from IVF pregnancies – an average 2% per year (p< 0.01). Newborns of IVF multiple births have higher odds of low birth weight (OR = 1.2) and congenital anomalies (OR = 1.6). Maternity characteristics showed that mothers in the IVF group were significantly older than those in the control group (≥35 years) (OR = 2.1) and primipara births (OR = 4.1). Multiple births conceived by IVF have similar outcomes as spontaneously conceived multiples in the perinatal period, although the rates of congenital anomalies after IVF are just slightly higher than in control group.