Causes of fetal and neonatal mortality in a South African black community

Little has been published about the underlying disorders responsible for the high perinatal mortality rates found in African cities. We searched for answers by identifying the causes of fetal and neonatal death in Blacks living in and around Durban. A 91% autopsy rate was achieved when 506 postmortem examinations were performed in 557 consecutive cases of fetal and early neonatal death. The perinatal mortality rates were 55/1000 for single births and 170/1000 for twins; 29% of the deaths were due to amniotic fluid infections, 9% to abruptio placentae, 5% to birth trauma, 4% to congenital syphilis, 4% to obstructed labour, 4% to major congenital malformations, 2% to umbilical cord compression and the rest to more than 20 other specific disorders.