Strengths and limitations
The strengths of this study are first, the strict inclusion and exclusion criteria in the cohort of singleton antepartum stillbirths, each of which has been subject to extensive post-mortem investigations in order to define the cause of death. Our institutional database on antepartum stillbirths includes reliable and accurate data, which are annually checked and updated. This ascertains a continuous degree of quality. The single-centre setting of the study also reduces bias and heterogeneity in reporting pathology findings and collection of pregnancy data.
However, we acknowledge the relatively small sample size due to the study’s design and retrospective setting. Also, maternal demographic parameters were self-reported by the woman at time of antenatal booking or delivery and therefore subject to recall bias which we cannot control for.