Highlights
- •Meconial fluid does not correlate with histologic signs of fetal distress.
- •Clear amniotic fluid does not indicate the absence of intrauterine fetal distress.
- •The staining of amniotic fluid does not reflect the fetal conditions surrounding the death.
Abstract
Objective
Stillbirth is one of the most devastating adverse pregnancy outcome, but it is often
associated with a missing post-mortem histological examination. We aimed at evaluating
whether the staining of amniotic fluid reflects the fetal conditions surrounding the
death and if it correlates with any histologic sign of fetal distress.
Study Design
Terminal gasping (represented by the massive presence of intra-alveolar squamous cells),
thymic and adrenal cortex modifications were evaluated as histologic signs of fetal
distress in stillbirths, and stratified according to the degree of staining of the
amniotic fluid.
Results
The presence of meconium-stained amniotic fluid did not correlate with the presence
of gasping and/or thymic and/or adrenal cortex changes. Clear amniotic fluid was not
associated with the absence of histologic signs of distress.
Conclusions
The evaluation of the staining of the amniotic fluid fails to identify distressed
fetuses. A histologic evaluation of fetal organs provides detailed information, irrespective
of the presence/absence of meconium-stained amniotic fluid.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: September 15, 2021
Accepted:
September 13,
2021
Received in revised form:
July 31,
2021
Received:
April 12,
2021
Identification
Copyright
© 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
