No. 394-Stillbirth Investigation.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: To provide an investigation protocol to help health care providers determine the cause of a fetal death. OPTIONS Consideration has been given to protocols for the investigation of fetal death that are currently available in Canada and in other countries. OUTCOMES: Identification of possible causes of stillbirth and their relationship to future pregnancies. EVIDENCE Articles related to the etiology of fetal death were identified in a search of PubMed (June 2006 to September 2018), the Cochrane Library, and investigation protocols from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the International Stillbirth Alliance Collaborative for Improving Classification of Perinatal Deaths, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, the Queensland clinical guidelines, and the Reproductive Care Program of Nova Scotia. BENEFITS To provide better advice for women regarding possible causes of fetal death and implications for future pregnancies. VALIDATION The evidence obtained was reviewed and evaluated by the Maternal-Fetal Medicine Committee and the Clinical Practice Obstetrics Committee of the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada. The level of evidence and quality of the recommendation made was described using the Evaluation of Evidence criteria of the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care.