Sinclair, Sir William J.: Semmelweis. His Life and his Doctrine (Manchester, 1909)
III. Life in Vienna
46 REMOVAL FROM ASSISTANTSHIP I had looked for in vain; I reflected on the import of the child-bed fever which attacked the new-born without distinction of sex, and I was misled through the observation of phenomena for which I could find no explanation. I had also to think of the deaths almost without exception in cases of protracted first stage in contrast to the immunity of the Gassengeburten (Street-births), and of women prematurely confined, which was in contradiction to my belief that the devastations of puerperal fever in the First Clinic must be attributed to endemic causes. Then there was to be considered the occurrence of cases of child-bed fever in rows in the First Clinic, the more favourable health conditions of the Second Clinic without any reason for believing that the Staff of the Second were more skilful or more careful than that of the First; and added to all was the contempt with which the resident staff of the First Clinic were treated by even their own domestic attendants; all this reduced me to such an unhappy frame of mind as to make my life far from enviable. Everywhere questions arose; everything remained without explanation : all was doubt and difficulty. Only the great number of the dead was an undoubted reality.” Some idea of the depression of spirits and perplexity produced by the failure of all his efforts to understand the nature of the disease, or to diminish its ravages, may be formed from the resort to the lateral instead of the dorsal position during labour. “ Like a drowning man clutching at a straw, I gave up the dorsal position in labour, which was customary in the First Clinic, and introduced the lateral position, for no other reason than because it was that adopted in the Second Clinic. I did not believe that the dorsal position was so disadvantageous compared with the lateral position as to cause the higher mortality in the First Division, but the results were better in the Second Division, and part of the cause might be the lateral position.” Removal from Assistantship. In October, 1846, when Semmelweis was fully
