[Difficulties for identification of cause of fetal death: how to solve?].

Purpose: To identify the causes of fetal death in the studied population and to measure their contribution in identifying the cause of this outcome. To propose the use of the system Relevant Condition of Death (ReCoDe) in elucidating the causes of fetal death to minimize the number of unknown causes.

Methods: Cross-sectional study related to fetal deaths seen at a specialized academic hospital in the South of Brazil, from January 2000 to December 2009.