A practical treatise on midwifery / by M. Chailly ... A work adopted by the Royal council of public instruction. Tr. from the French and ed. by Gunning S. Bedford.
- Chailly-Honoré, Nicolas Charles, 1805-1866.
- Date:
- 1847
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: A practical treatise on midwifery / by M. Chailly ... A work adopted by the Royal council of public instruction. Tr. from the French and ed. by Gunning S. Bedford. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Provider: This material has been provided by the University of Massachusetts Medical School, Lamar Soutter Library, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the Lamar Soutter Library at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.
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![generation. They are capable of assuming every variety of form, whicii satisfactorily explains why we find in the older works such wonderlul narrations of women havhig been delivered of bodies pos- sessing the shape of animals, fruits, &c., &c. M. Velpeau regards it as the result of a hypertro])hy of the villosities of the chorion ; this is also the opinion of M. P. Dubois. This form of mole may attain a considerable volume, and, in this case, the enlargement of the ab- domen is similar to a pregnancy at the ninth month. M. Dubois exhibited an enormous mass at his lectures, which had been expell- ed by a female at the Maternite, It is impossible, at the commencement of pregnancy, to say whether the uterus contains a normal or degenerated foetus. At a more advanced period it is not so difficult to ascertain that a f(Btus does not exist in the uterus, but we may very readily confound the presence of a mole with some of those affections which simulate pregnancy. When the mole is expelled, the female requires the same attentions as in abortion. This accident may occur several times in the same woman, and we possess no means of preventing or curing it; only, in cases in which we have detected the presence of a mole in the uterus of a woman who has already thrown off several of them, we may administer ergot in order to favour its expulsion.* * In 1839 I received a note, requesting me to visit, without delay, a lady who was residing in the Stale of New-Jersey, about thirty miles from this city. I immediately repaired to her residence, and on my arrival was received by her father, a venerable and accomplished gen- tleman. He seemed broken in spirit, and it was evident that grief had taken a deep hold of his frame. On being introduced into his daughter's room, my sympathies were at once awakened on beholding the wreck of beauty which was presented to my view. She was evidently labouring under phthisis, and it appeared from her wasted form that her days were numbered. My presence did not seem to produce the slightest disturbance, and she greeted me with this expression, Well, doctor, I am glad to see you on my beloved father's account, for he will not believe that 1 cannot yet be restored to health. Life has lost all its charms for me, and 1 long for the repose of the grave. These words were spoken with ex- traordinary gentleness, but yet with a firmness that at once gave me an insight into the char- acter of this lovely woman. From her own lips I received the following history of her case. Her father was a clergyman of high standing in the English Church, and had had a pastoral charge in England, in which he continued until circumstances rendered it necessary for him to leave that country and seek a residence in America. At a very early age she had lost her mother, and was almost entirely educated by her father, whose talents and attainments admirably fitted him for this duty. When she had attained her eighteenth year, there was an attaciunent formed between her and a young barrister of great promise and respectability. This attachment resulted in a matrimonial engagement. Soon after the engagement, she began unaccountably to decline in health. There was considerable irregularity in her men- strual periods, with more' or less constant nausea, loss of appetite, inability to sleep, fever- ishness, and an uncontrollable dislike to society; besides, there was a general change in her personal appearance: her abdomen became enlarged, her breasts increased in size, &c. These changes soon attracted the attention of some of her female acquaintances, and ru- mour was uncharitable enough to suspect her virtue. The barrister to whom she was affi- anced heard of these reports, and, without a moment's delay, wrote a letter to her father, begging to be exonerated from his engagement. This was assented to without hesitation. This young lady, conscious other own innocence, requested that a [jhysician should be sent for, in order that the nature of her case might be ascertained. A medical man accordingly visited her, and, after an investigation of her symptoms, he, no doubt from very jihilanthropic motives, informed the father that she was pregnant, and that means should be immediately taken to keep the unpleasant matter secret. The father, indignant at this imputation against the honour of his child, spurned the pro[)osition, and instantly requested an additional con- sultation. This resulted in a confirmation of the opinion previously expressed, and the feel- ings of that father can be better appreciated than described. Without any delay, that good man determined to resign his living, gather up his little property, and proceed with his daughter to America. On his passage to this country his daughter became extremely ill, and as there was a physician on board the steamer, his advice was requested. After seeing the patient (she was at the time labouring under excessive vomiting from sea-sickness), he](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b21197878_0105.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
