Objective: We aimed to document the reasons of perinatal deaths in a large autopsy series performed in our institute, which is a reference center in the Çukurova region of Turkey.

Material and Method: The study included 2150 autopsies performed between January 2000 and December 2012at our institute. Diagnoses were categorized according to the detected pathologies; congenital malformations were detailed based on systems.

Results: A pathology was detected in 1619 of 2150 (73.3%) autopsies. Congenital malformations were the most common diagnosis with 68.2%. Neural tube defects and central nervous system malformations were the most frequent system malformation in 28.8% of cases, followed by the urogenital system (11.4%) and musculoskeletal system (8.3%), respectively. Malformation syndromes including multisystem anomalies were defined in 109 cases (9.3%).

Conclusion: Congenital malformations are the most common reason for perinatal deaths, with autopsy having an additive role to prenatal and genetic evaluations and providing foresight for planning a subsequent pregnancy.