Perinatal mortality in different ethnic groups.

We have analysed the cause of perinatal deaths in four hospitals in the North West Thames region over a six year period commencing January 1980. The Pakistani population had a significantly greater perinatal mortality rate (15.7/1000 births) than the Europeans (11.3/1000 births). This was due to an increased incidence of macerated stillbirths and lethal malformations, the latter resulting from a significantly higher incidence of autosomal recessive disorders, neural tube defects, and renal malformations.