REPRODUCTIVE AND PERINATAL EPIDEMIOLOGY USING OFFICIAL STATISTICS - WHAT FUTURE FOR SWITZERLAND

There is evidence that the existing data on reproductive and perinatal health do not allow to answer some of the important public health questions of the ending 20th century in Switzerland. In fact, the vital registration of births remained basically in existence as it was developed more than 100 years ago. Therefore, it seems to be both useful and justified to develop the vital registration system in order to get one single database with all the information needed. The international comparison showed that more adequate systems are already existing in other industrialized countries. High additional investments in order to set up a better information system may well be repaid by benefits from better care and renunciation of adhoc studies or incomplete databases. However, success will greatly depend on the support of the medical profession, especially those involved in reproductive and perinatal health, e.g. obstetricians, paediatricians, pathologists and epidemiologists. © 1994 Birkhäuser Verlag.