Man-midwifery exposed, or the danger and immorality of employing men in midwifery proved and the remedy for the evil found : addressed to the Society for the Suppression of Vice. / By John Stevens.

  • John Stevens
Date:
[1866]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Man-midwifery exposed, or the danger and immorality of employing men in midwifery proved and the remedy for the evil found : addressed to the Society for the Suppression of Vice. / By John Stevens. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by Royal College of Physicians, London. The original may be consulted at Royal College of Physicians, London.

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    was seized with brisk labor-pains, and was soon delivered of a dead child. From the degree of putridity, it is presumable that the child died early in, or before the attack. ITiere is by no means any certain proof that the chUd died before this.—-2?«WM, pp. 457'58. Only niniy-sevm ounces of blood taken in three days ! Eeally, what did kill the child ? Case 2.—Mrs. , aged twenty-six years, pregnant with her fii-st child— a large plethoric, robust woman, was, on the 9th of September, 1811, about live o'clock, a.m., taken with labor-pains, and sent for her midwife ; before the midwife arrived, she was seized with ten-ible convulsions, and I was imme- diately sent for. The fits were frequently repeated, and were, from their extreme violence, very threatening ; her face was immoderately swelled ; her eyes fairly protruded from their sockets ; her tongue terribly woundedi &c. I instantly bled her from the jungular vein more than forty-eight ounces ; examined her, and found labor approaching ; ordered a brisk injection ; saw her two hours after; had had several severe fits ; pulse extremely active ; labor advancing ; bled her twenty ounces; injection repeated; a stream of cold water was poured on her head during the interval of the fits. Eleven o'clock,A..M.; fits not so severe, but pretty frequent; pulse stiU very active; took [only] sixty-four ounces of blood more ; apparently much relieved ; lay more quiet. One o'clock, p.jt., had had three fits; very restless; moaned every two or three minutes ; desirous of getting from the bed; bled her twelve ounces ; examined, and found the head low in the pelvis, and delivered with the forceps. She had two or three fits after delivery, and remained insensible to every thing for forty-eight hours. She now began to show some signs of returning sensibility ; was bled twice in the interval—[How much, doctor ? Sixty-four ounces each time?] —cold was applied to her head, and legs blistered ; she was purged freely with senna-tea. After this she gradually recovered her senses. She was left com- pletely blind for two weeks ; she then began to see imperfectly, but was six weeks before she could distinctly discern objects. It may not be amiss to observe, the child was stUl living.—pp. 459-60. Does any one wonder that the doctor was surprised to find the chUd living ? If Nature can endure this, what can she not with- stand ? Fits are efforts of nature to recover from prostration. Is it any wonder she should make them as long as she is able, and cease them when all her strength is exhausted by bleeding ? No ; but it is a wonder that she could so often recover after the exercise of this barbarous practice. Let me here remark, lobelia and the vapour-bath of the Botanic Practice would spare all these horrors. Mrs. H., ofW., in this State (says Dr. G-raham) sent for a physician to attend her in labor. The labor was protracted. An- other physician was called ; instruments were used, and the child destroyed. At her second confinement, she again employed the first doctor, who laboured diligently to ' assist nature,' and then pronounced it impossible for the child to be born without again re- sorting to instruments. He retired to another room to wipe the sweat from his brow and take a little refreshment. The woman, being thus fortunately relieved from the presence and officious- ness of the doctor, nature consented to go to work again, and lo ' before the accoucheiu- had got ready for scientific operation, the child was born, safe and sound, without any aid whatever ! Tho women attendants announced the fact to the doctor, who ex- claimed, Impossihle ! and would not believe it till he saw it with ftis own eyes.