Objective: To investigate socioeconomic differences in mean birth weight, preterm birth, and neonatal and postneonatal mortality in the Czech Republic after 1989. Material and methods: Routinely collected records on singleton live births in 1989 - 1991 (n = 380 633) and 1994 - 1996 (n = 286 907) individually linked to death records. The effect of maternal education and marital status on birth weight, preterm birth (< 37 weeks gestation), and neonatal (0 - 27 days) and postneonatal mortality (28 - 365 days) was studied using multivariate linear and logistic regression. Results are adjusted for maternal age, parity, sex of the infant, and birth weight as appropriate. Results: The gap in mean birth weight of the infant between mothers with basic and university education widened from 120 g (95% CI 114 - 126) in 1989 - 1991 to 150 g (95% CI 143 - 158) in 1994 - 1996, adjusted for maternal age, parity, marital status and sex and gestational age of the infant. Socioeconomic differences in the risk of preterm birth and postneonatal mortality by maternal education also increased. Socioeconomic differences in neonatal mortality were minimal after adjustment for maternal age, parity, and birth weight, and remained stable over the study period. The proportion (as well as absolute numbers) of infants born to single and divorced mothers increased between 1989 and 1996. The effect of mother’s marital status on mean birth weight and preterm births was relatively stable during the study period, however, the effect of maternal education on postneonatal mortality became more marked.

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