How helpful are investigations after a stillbirth?

Summary

The aim of this study was to determine the usefulness of the introduction of a protocol for the investigation of intrauterine death. We found that although such a protocol increased the number of investigations performed, many were still omitted. Despite investigation the cause of death remained unknown in the vast majority of cases. The most useful investigations were the Kleihauer, fetal X-ray, placental histology and the anticardiolipin antibodies.