ast bone; at nine
months, it is to the breast bone; from the middle to the end of the ninth
month, the top of the womb sinks to about the position occupied at the
eighth month.

Twins occur about once in ninety to one hundred and twenty, triplets once
in one thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, and quadruplets once in
three hundred and seventy-one thousand one hundred and twenty-six
pregnancies. The causes are unknown. Twin conception is more common in
women who have borne children, and more so in the elderly than in the
young, first bearing women (primiparae).

Sex.--Children from the same ovum (egg) are always of the same sex. Of
twins in general, more than one-third are males, less than one-third are
females, and in the remaining one-third both sexes occur. The after-birth
is always, at least at first, double.

Diagnosis.--In twin pregnancy the symptoms and disorders of pregnancy are
apt to be exaggerated, and watery swelling above the pubic bone is almost
always present in the latter months. The abdomen is larger and broader and
there may be a depression dividing the abdominal wall in two spaces. The
womb is much distended and the walls are thin.

Hygiene of pregnancy.--In pregnancy the dividing line between health and
disease is often so shadowy that every care should be given the pregnant
woman, not only that she shall escape dangers that may come, but that the
future health of the coming baby may be safeguarded.

The care taken in pregnancy therefore should include attention to
clothing, food, exercise, rest, sleep, functions of all excreting organs,
the breasts, nervous system and the mind.

[520 MOTHERS' REMEDIES]

Clothing.--This should be worn loose. The heavier garments should not be
held by the waist but suspended from the shoulders. Flannels, if possible,
should be worn next the skin excepting, possibly, during the warmest
weather. Every precaution should be taken not to take cold or to chill the
surface of the body, as this might bring on an acute trouble of the
kidneys. As soon as the womb has risen out of the pelvis during the fourth
month, the corset should be absolutely abandoned, since pressure upon the
enlarging womb tends to cause acute Bright's disease and uraemia, and
these troubles are always to be guarded against. During the later months
of pregnancy, when the abdominal enlargement is great, a linen or elastic
bandage may be worn with great comfort, but it must be so put on as to
su