Prevalence of the neonatal autopsy: a report of the Study Group for Complications of Perinatal Care.

Neonatal autopsy findings are valuable additions to the information base for current cases and future perinatal care, so the reported decline in the autopsy rate is disturbing. In order to estimate the prevalence of the neonatal autopsy among a large population of deaths, we surveyed participating institutions of the Study Group for Complications of Perinatal Care. Investigators from 37 neonatal intensive care units, located in 9 children's hospitals, 4 hospitals for women and infants, and 24 full-service pediatric and adult care hospitals, reported their neonatal death and autopsy rates for 1989. The overall neonatal autopsy rate was 51% among 1645 neonatal deaths. The rate was variable, ranging from 22 to 100%. We found the neonatal autopsy rate to be lower than previously reported and not apparently influenced by the type of center or by the type of medical staff at the centers. In order to assess and potentially reverse the current low rate, the influence of neonatal demographic and clinical factors, as well as physician-related factors, must be studied.