Abstract

Introduction

The death of a foetus is one of the unhappy events in the field of obstetrics. It’s distressing when in occurs without warning in a pregnancy that has previously seemed entirely normal. It is thus vital to identify specific probable causes of fetal death to determine the risk of recurrence, prevention or corrective action. For an obstetrician, documentation of primary event or factor which has led to fetal death is of paramount importance. Only when probable etiology is known the illiteracy, poor socioeconomic condition and social status of women and misbelieves are important contributory factors responsible for higher fetal mortality rate.

Newer techniques of diagnosis and a letter understanding of pathophysiology, have led to the determination of cause of death in a greater proportion of fetal deaths than in the past.Others like eclampsia, pre-eclampsia, Rh-isoimmunisation, diabetes, post-maturity, are preventable by good antenatal care.