Preventable deaths in childhood, according to actions of the Unified Health System, Brazil.

The decrease in childhood mortality rates was expected in the last decade, suggesting the progress in the response of health systems, in addition to improvements in health conditions and social determinants. Special attention should be given to pregnancy-related causes, i.e., expand the quality of prenatal care, in particular, due to fetal and newborn deaths resulted from maternal conditions, which increased significantly in the period (8,3% per year).