Notes on Cuirass Respirators

A recent Ministry of Health Report (1949) gives a tentative figure for the general population in Britain of 0.5 to 1%, but this almost certainly understates the frequency, for Record and McKeown (1950) report an incidence of 0.59% for major malformations of the central nervous system alone. It would therefore seem that the congenital malformation rate in viable babies of women previously sterile is similar to that of the population in general, and this probably irrespective of the method of treatment. This is supported by a recent paper by Grant (1951), who found six abnormal babies among 457 born to women previously sterile, a rate of 1 .3 % against the rate of 2 % in his general obstetric service. With regard to the second point of view, it was thought desirable to see whether any support could be offered by this investigation to a theory that there is a sterilityabortion-malformation sequence due presumably to "defective germ-plasm." There is certainly an increased incidence of abortion in women previously sterile, but this investigation has shown no proportional increase in congenital abnormalities in foetuses of more than 28 wveeks' m7aturity. However, Hertig and Livingstone (1944) have repeatedly demonstrated a high incidence of pathological ova and foetal anomalies in abortions. It may also be significant that Schultze (1949) has been quoted, although without specific reference, as having reported that previous sterility is a. much more common finding in women aborting with abnormal than with normal ova (58% against 31.2%). There is therefore a possibility that there is an increased incidence of foetal abnormalities in women previously sterile, but it is not apparent; and in fact these abniorinalities thereby account for the high abortiont rate in these ivoinell. The possibility of a sterility-abortion-malformation sequence thus renrains to be refuted or confirmed.