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pregnancy which terminated at 4] months. Of the six multiparae, four
had had previous miscarriages or stillbirths, and the other two occurred in
women (20 and 21 years of age respectively) who had become pregnant, one
five months, and the other ten months after the birth of the first child. Of
the four who had had previous miscarriages or stillbirths, one was pregnant
for the fifth time in seven years, and her age was then 29. Her second
pregnancy had resulted in a stillbirth, and she had ante-partum haemorrhage
during her fourth. Another was having her second miscarriage within
twelve months following one live birth three years previously. The third
was in a woman of 37 years, in poor physical condition. She had had two
live births, followed by a miscarriage, a third live birth after an interval of
six years, and the present miscarriage was 4$ years later. The fourth had
had a neutral fixation fi.ve years ago and this was her second miscarriage
since then. She had previously had two living children.
(r) Prematurity (6 cases.)
Of the six cases of premature birth, three occurred in primigravidae and
three in multiparae.
Of the primigravidae, one developed pleurisy and a premature birth
resulted at 6 A month.®, the baby living for seven hours. In the second case
the pelvis was generally contracted—the patient was apprehensive and the
pregnancy terminated at 37 weeks. The third case had had one miscarriage
before, although this was her first labour. She had a small pelvis
and the pregnancy terminated at 36 weeks.
Of the three multiparae, one was a woman aged 41 who had previously
had two miscarriages and three full-term children—her mouth was in a
septic condition. The second had had oedema of her feet for one month
before her first and only attendance at the clinic at 36-37 weeks. The
pregnancy terminated the following week. In the third case there was
nothing to account for the termination of pregnancy at 36 weeks. The
only case in which the baby died was the case of pleurisy.
(d) Stillbirths (4 cases.)
Of the four stillbirths, two were premature births. One was in a
woman of 39 years who had had eight previous pregnancies, resulting in
four living children—two premature children who had died in a few hours,
and two miscarriages. This patient was in poor physical condition—she had
had all her teeth extracted earlier in pregnancy for pyorrhoea, and she was
ordered free milk, cod liver oil and malt and iron when she attended the
clinic. The second premature stillbirth was in a woman of 30 years who had
had one miscarriage—no other pregnancy. She had had slight swelling of
her feet and raised blood pressure during this pregnancy but these symptoms
responded to rest and diet.
Of the remaining two stillbirths, one was a case of placenta praevia in a
multipara aged 41; and the second was the result of a breech presentation
in a primigravida aged 21 who failed to attend the clinic during the last two
months of her pregnancy.