Effect of the political system on perinatal and neonatal care in Berlin between 1950 and 2010

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate whether different political systems within Berlin had an impact on perinatal and neonatal care between 1950 and 1990 and to analyze the effect of the re-unification on maternal-infant outcomes. Methods: The following outcome parameters were evaluated: Number of live births, Total fertility rate, Maternal mortality, Perinatal mortality, Distribution of birth weight < 2500 g, Infant mortality. Between 1950 and 2000, former East and West Berlin data base systems could be analyzed separately from the former data base systems, from 2000 to 2010, East and West Berlin da…