STUDIES IN THE SEX-RATIO IN MAN. 26l 



cent. According to Prinzing ('07), reports show that from 1891 

 to 1900 in every hundred births there were the following pro- 

 portions of stillbirths: 



Austria 2.9 Holland 4.3 



Switzerland 3.6 Belgium 4.5 



Italy 3.9 France 4.6 



These figures are somewhat increased when expressed in per- 

 centages of livingborn. Computing from Auerbach's ('12) sta- 

 tistics of over 100,000 births in Budapest, the stillbirths 

 amounted to 3.3 per cent, of the livingborn. Bucura ('05) found 

 that among 40,169 births in the Clinic Chrobak in Vienna 5.8 

 per cent, were stillborn; Le Maire ('06) found 5.7 per cent, among 

 4O,339 births in Copenhagen. Both of these figures are too high, 

 inasmuch as these authors did not use the term stillborn in the 

 usual sense, a small number of abortions being included. Ber- 

 noulli accepts 4 to 5 per cent, stillbirths to the total number of 

 births. 



The relative number of abortions is extremely difficult to 

 determine, inasmuch as everywhere large numbers, especially of 

 the earlier months, remain unknown. Williams ('17) expresses 

 himself on this point as follows: "A conservative estimate would 

 indicate that about every fifth or sixth pregnancy in private 

 practice ends in abortion, and the percentage would be increased 

 considerably were the very early cases taken into account, in 

 which there is profuse loss of blood following the retardation of the 

 menstrual period for a few weeks." Other obstetricians give 

 different estimates. Franz ('98) found 15.4 per cent, of preg- 

 nancies ending in abortion, Malins ('03) 19.23 per cent. 

 Taussig ('10) estimates that one abortion occurs to every 

 2.3 labors, Pearson ('97) to every 2.5 labors. Auerbach 

 reports that according to estimates for Berlin, abortions 

 amount to one-sixth to one-tenth of the number of living- 

 born. According to the same author, there were in Budapest in 

 1901-05, 111,139 living born, and in the years from 1903-05, 

 7,702 abortions. Assuming an approximately equal number of 

 livingborn for each year, the livingborn between 1903 and 1905 

 would amount to 66,678, of which number there would be 11.55 

 per cent, abortions. This percentage is doubtless too small; 



