Consent to autopsy for neonates

Objectives-To determine parents' views on autopsy after treatment withdrawa l. Design-Face to face interviews with 59 sets of bereaved parents (108 indivi dual parents) for whose 62 babies there had been discussion of treatment wi thdrawal. Results-All except one couple were asked for permission for postmortem exam ination; 38% refused. The main reasons for declining were concerns about di sfigurement, a wish to have the child left in peace, and a feeling that an autopsy was unnecessary because the parents had no unanswered questions. Th e diagnosis, the age of the child, and the approach of the consultant appea red to influence consent rates. Of those who agreed to autopsies, 92% were given the results by the neonatologist concerned. Whether or not they had a greed to the procedure, at 13 months no parent expressed regrets about thei r decision. Conclusions-Autopsy rates in the East of Scotland stand at 62%. Parents' pe rceptions are an important element in consent to postmortem examination.