One of the oldest known forms of tetany is that associated with pregnancy. As early as 1830, Steinham described the condition, and Dance, in 1831, published his observations. Trousseau, in 1854, proposed the name "rheumatic contracture of nursing women." However, judging from the literature that has since accumulated, this form of tetany is relatively rare. Niderehe1states that even in Vienna, an endemic tetany locality, the incidence of maternal tetany to total births is about 3 to 10,000. Adler and Thaler,2in Schauta's clinic, observed only nine cases in 30,000 births over a period of ten years. Von Jaschke3also states that outspoken tetany in pregnant women is very rare, although he qualifies this by adding that mild manifestations of nervous hyperexcitability are quite frequent. On the other hand, Kehrer4suggests that the relative frequency of tetany to total births may vary for, like the epidemic