Abstract Sadly, the death of a fetus may occur at any stage of a pregnancy, including during the labour process. A pregnancy loss will be devastating for the expectant parents. Obstetricians should be familiar with the management of intrauterine fetal death as prompt and appropriate counselling will aid the couple's grief process. Understandably, couples wish to know the cause and chances of recurrence; thus, the full investigation of possible aetiological factors using a pragmatic approach will help in the postnatal counselling and management of future pregnancies. This review also explores the legal and ethical aspects of postmortem consent.