Objectives: to analyze the risks of deaths in the first 24 hours of life and their preventable causes.
Methods: cross-sectional study carried out in Pernambuco, Northeast of Brazil, between 2000-2019, with mortality and live birth data. The avoidability was analyzed through the Brazilian List of Avoidable Causes of Deaths due to Interventions of the Unified Health System. For the statistical analyses, Pearson's chi-squared test and relative and attributable risks were used.
Results: 13,601 deaths were registered, of which 10,497 (77.19%) were from preventable causes. Of the total, 5,513 (40.53%) were reducible through adequate care for women during pregnancy. The lower the gestational age, birth weight and education level, the higher the relative and attributable risk of death in the first 24 hours of life.
Conclusions: most of the deaths were considered avoidable and with high relative and attributable risks. These early deaths suggest care failures and the need to reinforce prevention and treatment measures.