[The register of stillbirths in Bouches-du-Rhône: evaluation after 3 years in operation]

A register of stillbirths from the Bouches-du-Rhône area in France was settled in 1982 with the double goal to provide epidemiological data on mortinatality and to help organizing a network of post-mortem examination. The results on 409 stillbirths out of 21.292 consecutive births are presented. The protocol for post-mortem examination included photography, radiography, karyotype and autopsy. A definitive conclusion was drawn in 75% of cases. The fetal anomalies recognized were isolated malformations (14,4%), multiple malformations (5,1%), syndromes (3,2%) and chromosomal anomalies (3,9%).