Planners have not always had resp~t for numbers. Satan invited David to number the troops of Israel, and God was so displeased with the resulting Census that he sent a 3-day pestilence to show his disapproval. Perhaps He thought that the information might not be sufficiently accurate to be of use. Certainly the information we can derive from our statistics is only as accurate as the information we put into them. Causes of death have always b,,~:en suspect in this respect, particularly in the older age groups, and maybe greater accuracy would serve no useful purpose. But deaths of children by any reckoning are unnatural events, and cause of death in this group is important, if through the knowledge we learn from our mistakes and do better in the future. The numbers involved are also small, and should make the problem easier. Errors in certification may arise when the death certificate gives a wrong cause of death, for whatever reason, and no further information is forthcoming. Or they may arise from a failure to alter the original diagnosis even after autopsy has produced an alternative diagnosis. A study of all childhood deaths in one inner London Area Health Authority produced some interesting results. In the years 1977-1979 238 children died, 94 of these being less than 1-week-old at the time of death. Of these tiny babies, 40~ had post-mortem examinations, and inthe older group the figure was 69~o. During the course of the study, 12 children had diagnoses on their death certificates which did not correspond with the cause of death following autopsy. One mother brought this angrily to my attention, l~ause she had been told that her baby died as a result of aspiration pneumonia. However, after the cremation had taken place, she was invited to see the Paediatric Registrar, who told her that her baby had, in fact, die.x1 as a result of serious congenital heart disesase. They wait until my baby is gone, and then tellme that, she said, I think they are covering up, because they now know that no one can find out any:more, because he is all burnt up. I took the 12 death ccrtifi¢ates, and sent thein to O.P.C.S. to ask for their help. I received every possible assistance from them. On a death cartificate, it was explained, there is an indication if further information may be available following autopsy. Later, a letter will be sent to the certifying doctor asking for such information if be has not already submitted it.