Perinatal Mortality and Social Determinants of Health: A Scopus-Based Bibliometric Analysis of Publication Patterns, Contributors, and Thematic Structure
How to cite :
Introduction: This study examined publication development, prominent contributors, citation visibility, thematic clusters, and keyword temporal distribution in research on perinatal mortality and social determinants of health.
Methods: Scopus was searched without publication-year restrictions through 28 January 2026. Screening and metadata verification retained 810 documents. Biblioshiny analyzed publication performance and corresponding-author collaboration; VOSviewer mapped keyword co-occurrence and average publication years.
Results: Annual output was highest during 2023–2025. The United States and United Kingdom led corresponding-author output; single-country publications predominated among several leading countries. The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, and Steegers led affiliation, journal, and author output, respectively. Duley’s article ranked highest in citations. Five clusters connected population disparities, obstetric outcomes, demographic and service characteristics, geographic surveillance, and neonatal socioeconomic contexts. Equity-related keywords had comparatively later average publication years alongside established clinical and socioeconomic terminology.
Conclusion: The corpus connects clinical vulnerability, social conditions, and healthcare delivery. Future research could examine disadvantaged populations’ maternity access, neighborhood deprivation and birth outcomes, and socioeconomic differences in neonatal care. Interpretation remains bounded by Scopus coverage and bibliometric measures.
- Boerma T, Campbell OMR, Amouzou A, Blumenberg C, Blencowe H, Moran A, et al. Maternal mortality, stillbirths, and neonatal mortality: A transition model based on analyses of 151 countries. Lancet Glob Health. 2023;11(7):e1024 – e1031. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/S2214-109X(23)00195-X
- Lawn JE, Lee ACC, Kinney M, Sibley L, Carlo WA, Paul VK, et al. Two million intrapartum-related stillbirths and neonatal deaths: Where, why, and what can be done? Int J Gynecol Obstet. 2009;107:S5–S19. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijgo.2009.07.016
- Bollini P, Siem H. No real progress towards equity: Health of migrants and ethnic minorities on the eve of the year 2000. Soc Sci Med. 1995;41(6):819–828. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/0277-9536(94)00386-8
- Flenady V, Wojcieszek AM, Middleton P, Ellwood D, Erwich JJ, Coory M, et al. Stillbirths: Recall to action in high-income countries. Lancet. 2016;387(10019):691–702. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(15)01020-X
- Sobhy S, Arroyo-Manzano D, Murugesu N, Karthikeyan G, Kumar V, Kaur I, et al. Maternal and perinatal mortality and complications associated with caesarean section in low-income and middle-income countries: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Lancet. 2019;393(10184):1973–1982. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(18)32386-9
- Adu J, Tenkorang EY, Banchani E, Allison J, Mulay S. The effects of individual and community-level factors on maternal health outcomes in Ghana. PLoS One. 2018;13(11):e0207942. doi: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0207942
- Sankar MJ, Neogi SB, Sharma J, Chauhan M, Srivastava RK, Prabhakar P, et al. State of newborn health in India. J Perinatol. 2016;36(S3):S3–8. doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/jp.2016.183
- Tibenderana JR, Kessy SA, Mlaponi DF, Mtenga JE, Gimonge J, Mwaitete NL, et al. The adequacy of ANC components received and associated factors among women of reproductive age in Tanzania. PLoS One. 2024;19(11):e0301570. doi: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0301570
- Torres‐Torres J, Martinez‐Portilla RJ, Sosa SE y, Monroy-Muñoz IE, Pérez‐Durán J, Solís-Paredes JM, et al. Maternal social determinants of health: The hidden face of perinatal mortality in Mexico. Int J Equity Health. 2025;24(1):105. doi: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12939-025-02471-w
- Solar O, Irwin A. A conceptual framework for action on the social determinants of health: Social determinants of health discussion paper 2. World Health Organization.; 2010.
- Zilidis C, Hadjichristodoulou C. Economic crisis impact and social determinants of perinatal outcomes and infant mortality in Greece. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020;17(18):6606. doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17186606
- Ribeiro LZ, Macedo CR, Laignier MR, Santos BB dos, Sousa LV de A, Ramos JLS. Analysis of the perinatal mortality rate in the metropolitan region of Grande Vitória, Espírito Santo, Brazil, Between 2008 and 2017. J Hum Growth Dev. 2023;33(2):250–9. doi: https://doi.org/10.36311/jhgd.v33.14755
- Jana N, Barik S, Arora N, Singh A. Tuberculosis in pregnancy: The challenges for South Asian countries. J Obstet Gynaecol Res. 2012;38(9):1125–36. doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1447-0756.2012.01856.x
- Martins EF, Rezende EM, Almeida MC de M, Lana FCF. Perinatal mortality and socio-spatial inequalities. Rev Lat Am Enfermagem. 2013;21(5):1062–70. doi:https://doi.org/10.1590/s0104-11692013000500008
- Yadeta TA, Mengistu B, Gobena T, Regassa LD. Spatial pattern of perinatal mortality and its determinants in Ethiopia: Data from Ethiopian demographic and health survey 2016. PLoS One. 2020;15(11):e0242499. doi:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0242499
- Poeran J, Maas AFG, Birnie E, Denktas S, Steegers EAP, Bonsel GJ. Social deprivation and adverse perinatal outcomes among Western and non-Western pregnant women in a Dutch urban population. Soc Sci Med. 2013;83:42–49. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2013.02.008
- Blanchard AK, Colbourn T, Prost A, Ramesh BM, Isac S, Anthony J, et al. Associations between community health workers’ home visits and education-based inequalities in institutional delivery and perinatal mortality in rural Uttar Pradesh, India: A cross-sectional study. BMJ Open. 2021;11(7). doi:https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2020-044835
- Arthurs AL, Harrison JK, Williamson JM, Roberts CT. Pregnancy and birth trends across Australia, the United States of America and the United Kingdom. J Clin Med. 2025;14(16):5841. doi:https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm14165841
- Batiz LF, Barrera V, Mattar CNZ, Choolani MA, Kemp MW. Climate change and preterm birth: A narrative review. Environ Adv J. 2022;10. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envadv.2022.100316
- Chavira-suárez E. Insights into the global and Mexican context of placental-derived pregnancy complications. Biomedicines. 2025;13(3):595. doi:https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines13030595
- Minani P, Ross A. Strengthening caesarean birth: Sub-Saharan Africa health system evaluation: Scoping review. Afr J Prim Health Care Fam Med. 2024;16(1):a4128. doi:https://doi.org/10.4102/phcfm.v16i1.4128
- Whittaker M, Greatholder I, Kilby MD, Alexander EP. Risk factors for adverse outcomes in twin pregnancies: A narrative review. J Matern Fetal Neonatal Med. 2023;36(2):2240467. doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/14767058.2023.2240467
- Wang Y, Shan C, Tian Y, Pu C, Zhu Z. Bibliometric analysis of global research on perinatal palliative care. Front Pediatr. 2022;9:827507. doi:https://doi.org/10.3389/fped.2021.827507
- Dol J, Campbell-Yeo M, Leahy-Warren P, Hambly LaPointe C, Dennis CL. Bibliometric analysis of published articles on perinatal anxiety from 1920 to 2020. J Affect Disord. 2024;351:314–22. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2024.01.231
- Vieira EDS. A bibliometric analysis of neonatal condition research in Africa: Volume, impact, themes, and collaboration. Metrics. 2025;2(1):2. doi:https://doi.org/10.3390/metrics2010002
- Donthu N, Kumar S, Mukherjee D, Pandey N, Lim WM. How to conduct a bibliometric analysis: An overview and guidelines. J Bus Res. 2021;133:285–96. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.04.070
- Passas I. Bibliometric analysis: The main steps. Encyclopedia. 2024 Jan;4(2):1014–25. doi:https://doi.org/10.3390/encyclopedia4020065
- Baas J, Schotten M, Plume A, Côté G, Karimi R. Scopus as a curated, high-quality bibliometric data source for academic research in quantitative science studies. Quant Sci Stud. 2020;1(1):377–86. doi:https://doi.org/10.1162/qss_a_00019
- Page MJ, McKenzie JE, Bossuyt PM, Boutron I, Hoffmann TC, Mulrow CD, et al. The PRISMA 2020 statement: an updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews. BMJ. 2021;372:n71. doi:https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.n71
- Aria M, Cuccurullo C. Bibliometrix: An R-tool for comprehensive science mapping analysis. J Informetr. 2017;11(4):959–75. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joi.2017.08.007
- van Eck NJ, Waltman L. Software survey: VOSviewer, a computer program for bibliometric mapping. Scientometrics. 2010;84:523–38. doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-009-0146-3
- van Eck NJ, Waltman L. How to normalize cooccurrence data? An analysis of some well-known similarity measures. J Am Soc Inf Sci Technol. 2009;60(8):1635–51. doi:https://doi.org/10.1002/asi.21075
- Duley L. The global impact of pre-eclampsia and eclampsia. Semin Perinatol. 2009;33(3):130–137. doi:https://doi.org/10.1053/j.semperi.2009.02.010
- Lumley J, Chamberlain C, Dowswell T, Oliver S, Oakley L, Watson L. Interventions for promoting smoking cessation during pregnancy. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2009;(3). doi:https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD001055.pub3
- Fretts RC. Etiology and prevention of stillbirth. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2005;193(6):1923–1935. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajog.2005.03.074
- Rantakallio P. Groups at risk in low birth weight infants and perinatal mortality. Acta Paediatr Scand. 1969;193:Suppl 193:1+. PubMed PMID: 4911003.
- Bilano VL, Ota E, Ganchimeg T, Mori R, Souza JP. Risk factors of pre-eclampsia/eclampsia and its adverse outcomes in low- and middle-income countries: A WHO secondary analysis. PLoS One. 2014;9(3). doi:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0091198
- de Jonge A, van der Goes BY, Ravelli ACJ, Amelink-Verburg MP, Mol BW, Nijhuis JG, et al. Perinatal mortality and morbidity in a nationwide cohort of 529,688 low-risk planned home and hospital births. BJOG. 2009 Aug;116(9):1177–84. doi:https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-0528.2009.02175.x PubMed PMID: 19624439
- Kale PL, De Mello-Jorge MHP, Da Silva KS, Fonseca SC. Neonatal near miss and mortality: Factors associated with life-threatening conditions in newborns at six public maternity hospitals in Southeast Brazil. Cad Saude Publica. 2017;33(4):e00179115. doi:https://doi.org/10.1590/0102-311X00179115
- Oliveira CNV e, Konstantyner T, Costa-Nobre DT, Marinonio ASS, Kawakami MD, Balda RDCX, et al. Clusters of adolescent pregnancies and neonatal deaths in São Paulo state, Brazil: A population-based spatial analysis with a socioeconomic approach. BMJ Open. 2025;15(11):e106373. doi:https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2025-106373
- Roro EM, Sisay MM, Sibley LM. Determinants of perinatal mortality among cohorts of pregnant women in three districts of North Showa zone, Oromia Region, Ethiopia: Community based nested case control study. BMC Public Health. 2018;18(1):888. doi:https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-018-5757-2
- Tesfay N, Tariku R, Zenebe A, Dejene Z, Woldeyohannes F. Cause and risk factors of early neonatal death in Ethiopia. PLoS One. 2022;17(9 September). doi:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0275475
- Anastasi E, Ekanem E, Hill O, Oluwakemi AA, Abayomi O, Bernasconi A. Unmasking inequalities: Sub-national maternal and child mortality data from two urban slums in Lagos, Nigeria tells the story. PLoS One. 2017;12(5). doi:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0177190
- Waelput AJM, Sijpkens MK, Lagendijk J, van Minde MRC, Raat H, Ernst-Smelt HE, et al. Geographical differences in perinatal health and child welfare in the Netherlands: Rationale for the healthy pregnancy 4 all-2 program. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 2017;17(1). doi:https://doi.org/10.1186/s12884-017-1425-2
- Hidalgo-Lopezosa P, Jiménez-Ruz A, Carmona-Torres JM, Hidalgo-Maestre M, Rodríguez-Borrego MA, López-Soto PJ. Sociodemographic factors associated with preterm birth and low birth weight: A cross-sectional study. Women and Birth. 2019;32(6):e538 – e543. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wombi.2019.03.014
- Homer CSE, Leap N, Edwards N, Sandall J. Midwifery continuity of carer in an area of high socio-economic disadvantage in London: A retrospective analysis of Albany Midwifery Practice outcomes using routine data (1997–2009). Midwifery. 2017;48:1–10. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.midw.2017.02.009
- Khan Z, Vowles Z, Fernandez Turienzo C, Barry Z, Brigante L, Downe S, et al. Targeted health and social care interventions for women and infants who are disproportionately impacted by health inequalities in high-income countries: A systematic review. Int J Equity Health. 2023;22(1). doi:https://doi.org/10.1186/s12939-023-01948-w
- Bertens LCM, Burgos Ochoa L, Van Ourti T, Steegers EAP, Been J V. Persisting inequalities in birth outcomes related to neighbourhood deprivation. J Epidemiol Community Health. 2020;74(3):232–239. doi:https://doi.org/10.1136/jech-2019-213162
- Heys S, Pegler D, Elahi A, Heazell AEP, Watson K, Hope H, et al. Disparities in access to the Northwest ambulance service during pregnancy, birth and postpartum period and its association with neonatal and maternal outcomes [DiAAS]: A retrospective cohort study and qualitative framework analysis. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 2025;25(1). doi:https://doi.org/10.1186/s12884-025-08108-8
- Dmello BS, John TW, Housseine N, Meyrowitsch DW, Roosmalen J Van, Akker T Van Den, et al. Incidence and determinants of perinatal mortality in five urban hospitals in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania: A cohort study with an embedded case–control analysis. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 2024;24:1–15. doi:https://doi.org/10.1186/s12884-023-06096-1
- Eick F, Vallersnes OM, Fjeld HE, Sørbye IK, Valberg M, Dahl C. Perinatal mortality among pregnant undocumented migrants in Norway 1999–2020: A register-based population study. Soc Sci Med. 2024;353. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2024.117055
- Ahrens KA, Nelson H, Stidd RL, Moskosky S, Hutcheon JA. Short interpregnancy intervals and adverse perinatal outcomes in high-resource settings: An updated systematic review. Paediatr Perinat Epidemiol. 2019;33(1):O25 – O47. doi:https://doi.org/10.1111/ppe.12503
- Barros FC, Victora CG, Vaughan JP, Tomasi E, Horta BL, Cesar JA, et al. The epidemiological transition in maternal and child health in a Brazilian city, 1982-93: A comparison of two population-based cohorts. Paediatr Perinat Epidemiol. 2001;15(1):4–11. doi:https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-3016.2001.00320.x
- de Graaf JP, Steegers EAP, Bonsel GJ. Inequalities in perinatal and maternal health. Curr Opin Obstet Gynecol. 2013;25(2):98–108. doi:https://doi.org/10.1097/GCO.0b013e32835ec9b0
- Vos AA, Denktaş S, Borsboom GJJM, Bonsel GJ, Steegers EAP. Differences in perinatal morbidity and mortality on the neighbourhood level in Dutch municipalities: A population based cohort study. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 2015;15(1). doi:https://doi.org/10.1186/s12884-015-0628-7
- Menezes AMB, Barros FC, Victora CG, Tomasi E, Halpern R, Oliveira ALB. Risk factors for perinatal mortality in an urban area of Southern Brazil, 1993. Rev Saude Publica. 1998;32(3):209–216. doi:https://doi.org/10.1590/S0034-89101998000300002
- Terefe B, Bikale Kebede F, Nigussie Abrha N, Fentaw Shiferaw Y, Kahsay Asgedom D, Keflie Assefa S, et al. Multilevel modelling of determinants of perinatal mortality in East Africa: A pooled analysis of National health survey data. BMC Public Health. 2025;25:2003. doi:https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-23218-w
- Ericson A, Eriksson M, Källén B, Zetterström R. Socio-economic variables and pregnancy outcome. 2. Infant and child survival. Acta Paediatr Scand. 1990;79(11):1009–16. doi:https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1651-2227.1990.tb11376.x

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with Journal of Public Health and Pharmacy retain the copyright of their work. The journal applies a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0), which grants the following rights:
-
Copyright Retention: Authors retain the copyright of their work, maintaining full control over their intellectual property without restrictions.
-
Right of First Publication: Authors grant the journal the right of first publication of their work. This ensures that the work is initially published and credited in Journal of Public Health and Pharmacy.
-
License to Share and Reuse: The work is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, allowing others to copy, distribute, remix, and build upon the work for any purpose, even commercially, as long as proper credit is given to the authors, and any new creations are licensed under the same terms.