Intrauterine death of a single fetus in twin pregnancies.

The paper reports on nine twin pregnancies in the years 1982-1987 with the intrauterine death of a single fetus. The incidence of 0.10% is consistent with that reported in other comparable studies. Evaluation of the causes of death shows a preponderance of asphyxia. A fetofetal transfusion syndrome occurred in 4 cases. Eight of the pregnancies were terminated by caesarean section. One of the surviving children died in the neonatal period. The course of the neonatal period in the other babies was determined mainly by the state of maturity. No increased maternal morbidity was observed. On the basis of this and other experience described in the literature, some general guidelines are proposed for the management of the further pregnancy and delivery in such high-risk cases.