[Legal and practical aspects of perinatal death]

There is some debate as to whether the Dutch Burial Act applies to neonatal deaths after a gestation of less than 24 weeks. It is recommended that the Act be considered applicable in these situations, leading to a compulsory (external) post mortem examination, the issue of an official death certificate, and registration of the birth and death at the official registry office, followed by burial or cremation according to the law. The Act should be amended to this effect. It is also recommended that the Burial Act no longer apply in cases of known intra-uterine death before 24 weeks of gestation where birth takes place after 24 weeks. The stipulated cut-off point in the Act for defining a miscarriage as opposed to a birth or stillbirth, i.e. 24 weeks of gestation, should preferably be replaced by the international (WHO) criterion of a birth weight of 500 g, as this will lead to less ambiguity and a better comparison of Dutch and international data concerning perinatal mortality.