Primary causes of perinatal mortality. Autopsy study of 100 cases.

Many previous reports on perinatal mortality mix primary and secondary causes of death, exclude such important causes as necrotizing enterocolitis and intrauterine growth retardation, and do not break down causes of extrinsic perinatal hypoxia. To avoid these criticisms, a slight modification was made of the list of causes of death used by the Perinatal Mortality Committee of Quebec Province, Canada. The methodology and results of 100 consecutive autopsies are described. Respiratory distress syndrome (31%), congenital anomalies (28%), and extrinsic perinatal hypoxia (17%) were the three commonest causes. Maternal, placental, or labor and delivery problems were associated with about half the cases of extrinsic perinatal hypoxia. In one case of unexplained death, sudden infant death syndrome may be considered as a possibility.