Underestimation of infant mortality rates in one republic of the former Soviet Union.

Objectives: Kazakhstan's live-birth definition--that dates from the former Soviet Union (FSU) era--differs from that used by the World Health Organization (WHO). We studied the impacts of both live-birth definitions on the computations of the infant mortality rate (IMR) and maternal and child health (MCH) planning in Zhambyl Oblast, Kazakhstan.

Methods: We interviewed caregivers and abstracted medical records to obtain birth weight and age-at-death information on infant deaths in Zhambyl Oblast from November 1, 1996, through October 31, 1997.