Perinatal mortality and fetal growth restriction

Stillbirths are the largest component of perinatal mortality. Most are currently classified as ‘unexplained’, which is not helpful for counselling and individual care or for setting priorities for maternity services. The new ReCoDe classification reduces the number of stillbirths categorized as ‘unexplained’ from 66 to 14%. Both stillbirths and neonatal deaths are strongly associated with fetal growth restriction, and increased awareness of intrauterine growth is essential for any strategies which seek to avoid adverse perinatal outcome.