ABORTIONS. In the nature of things, it is impossible to say how often abortions occur. They sometimes happen so early in pregnancy that the patient is unaware of the accident; or, if she does know of it, she may take no notice of it or regard it of so little consequence that she does not consult a doctor; while in many cases it is intentionally concealed because of having been criminally induced. But such information as is available suggests that at least one out of every five pregnancies ends in an abortion. Since the ovum is insecurely attached to the uterus until the sixteenth or eighteenth week, an abortion is more likely to occur during this time than later, while of this period, the second and third months seem to be the most perilous. Abortions are less likely to happen during first pregnancies than succeeding ones; they occur more often among women over thirty-five years old than in younger ones, and in all cases are most likely to take place at the time when the menstrual period would fall due were the woman not pregnant. Their frequency probably increases with the number of pregnancies, because of the tendency of multiparous women to have endometritis, which, as we shall see later, is a causative factor. =Causes.= There is a variety of causes of abortions and miscarriages, some entirely unavoidable, but many which are preventable, and it is well for the nurse to be familiar with those which operate most frequently, as follows: =1. Certain abnormalities of the developing fetus= are inconsistent with life, and are, therefore, a frequent cause of abortion. Dr. Mall, of Johns Hopkins University, showed after years of investigation that at least one-third of the embryos obtained from abortions were malformed and would have developed into monstrosities had they lived to term. It is often a great comfort to the expectant mother who loses her baby early in pregnancy to realize that had she carried her baby to term it might have been a monster, and that, therefore, she has not lost a beautiful, normal child. Just why these abnormalities occur is not known, nor is there any known method of preventing or correcting them. There also may be such defects in the placental development, that the fetus does not derive sufficient nourishment to continue its development, and dies very early as a result.