Iatrogenic disease in the perinatal period.

The ever-changing complexion of iatrogenic perinatal disease dictates the following: 1. Neonatologists and pediatric pathologists must be aware of the current spectrum of these lesions and ever alert to the appearance of new ones. 2. The neonatologist and pediatric pathologist within any given institution should be in regular, systematic communication with each other concerning lesions of this type. 3. There must be a national network for rapid dissemination or exchange of information among institutions regarding these lesions. The Study Group for the Complications of Perinatal Care (SGCPC), established in 1984 as an international, multicenter, multidisciplinary study group, is committed to the prevention of complications of perinatal care by individual and collective effort. Its individual members include perinatologists, neonatologists, pediatric pathologists, and obstetricians. There are institutional members as well. Activities to date include the development of a standardized perinatal autopsy protocol and the initiation of a uniform system for the categorization of perinatal deaths. If the reader is interested in obtaining further information about the organization, contact Trevor Macpherson, MD, in the Department of Pathology at the Magee-Womens Hospital in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.