An analysis of a prospective study of 82 patients with 'bad obstetric history' is presented. Sixty-four babies were born alive, 11 did not survive, and 7 mothers were lost to the study. The patients had had a total of 402 pregnancies (including the pregnancy under study). The study revealed the difficulty of pin-pointing the causes of or factors involved in the previous fetal loss. Organic and socio-economic factors combine to cause abortion, premature labour or stillbirth. It is pointed out that enough emphasis has been placed on bad obstetric history as an important cause of fetal wastage. Even in simple maternity wings lacking modern sophisticated equipment for monitoring patients during the antenatal period or in labour commendable results can be obtained, at the cost of a long stay in hospital to improve the general state of health.