Living in deprived urban districts increases perinatal health inequalities.

Objective: Analyses of the effects of place of residence, socioeconomic status and ethnicity on perinatal mortality and morbidity in the Netherlands.

Methods: Epidemiological analysis of all singleton deliveries > 22 gestational weeks (871,889 live born and 5927 stillborn) from the Dutch National Perinatal Registry 2002-2006. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to determine whether place of residence (deprived neighborhood, or not) contributed to the adverse perinatal outcome (defined as perinatal mortality, preterm birth, small for gestational age, congenital abnormalities or Apgar score <7, 5 min after birth), additional to individual pregnancy characteristics, demographic characteristics, ethnic background and socioeconomic class.