Perinatal Pathology

Perinatal pathologists are Doctors who have trained in anatomical pathology and specialised in perinatal pathology.

The National Perinatal Pathology Service provides non-coronial post-mortems, including internal, external and placenta examination in the following situations:

• Stillbirths and terminations of pregnancy from approximately 14 weeks gestation to term for fetal abnormality, high-risk pregnancy, terminations and intrauterine deaths
• Neonatal deaths (up to 28 days)

A non-coronial perinatal post-mortem examination can be an important step in understanding why your baby or babies have died.

The National Perinatal Pathology Service does not coordinate coronial post-mortems; this is the responsibility of Coronial Services, which is part of the Ministry of Justice. You can find out more information about the coronial service and how to contact the service via the Forensic Pathology South Island page.

For more information about the National Perinatal Pathology Service, see: https://www.healthpoint.co.nz/public/pathology/national-perinatal-pathology-service/

Meet the Perinatal Pathology team:

• Dr Justine Gearry
• Dr Wendy McBurnie