To Professor Simpson, of Edinburgh, in reply to his letter to Dr. Collins, on the "Duration of labour as a cause of mortality and danger to mother and infant" : second letter / by Robert Collins, M.D.

  • Collins, Robert, 1801-1868.
Date:
1848
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: To Professor Simpson, of Edinburgh, in reply to his letter to Dr. Collins, on the "Duration of labour as a cause of mortality and danger to mother and infant" : second letter / by Robert Collins, M.D. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The University of Glasgow Library. The original may be consulted at The University of Glasgow Library.

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    small, notwithstanding the high proportional fatality you have endeavoured to exhibit. I have also demonstrated that, with regard to the infant, we have only one child still-born in every 473 births, with a labour exceeding 48 hours; whereas, one in 19 is still-born, where the labour does not exceed twelve hours. I have similarly demonstrated, with regard to the death of the infant subsequent to birth, that only two children died pre- vious to the mother's leaving the hospital, where the labour ex- ceeded 48 hours, out of 16,654 births! whereas 284 died, where the labour did not exceed twelve hours. The mortality, therefore, I unequivocally state to be strik- ingly small to both infant and mother, from protracted labour, no matter what imaginary proportions indicate. I have demonstrated that, so far as I know, my hospital re- port of one death in 186, out of 10,785 deliveries, is the most successful on record, and call upon you to refer me to any similar report. I have demonstrated that your own report of the Edinburgh Hospital proves, that the mortality has been vastly beyond what is known in any similar institution, with the exception of the Maternity in Paris. I have demonstrated that you had the report of your own hospital before you when you commented upon the conjoint mortality to the mother and child, in my hospital practice of one in 27, and stated the mortality in your private practice to be one in 100 ; but did not state that, in your own hospital, every fourteenth child was still-born, and that one out of 53 of the mothers died ; or, conjointly, in the proportion of one in twenty- Jive ! I have demonstrated that you had times as many labours protracted beyond 36 hours as I had, and ten times as many exceeding 24 hours; not one word of which you mentioned in your letter. I have demonstrated that the mortality in the Edinburgh Hospital was one in 21, for a period of two years; one in 53J for a second period of two years; and one in thirty-one for a third period of 18 months; although your letter states that your results were more successful than mine! and that you had only one death in 134, puerperal fever included, and one in 368 in its absence! I have demonstrated that the mortality in Dr. Churchiirs