Obstetrics for nurses / by Joseph B. De Lee.

  • Joseph DeLee
Date:
1933
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Obstetrics for nurses / by Joseph B. De Lee. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    22/708 page 18
    The public is only just beginning to recognize, with appreciation and remuneration, the strenuous labors of the accoucheur, the nights’ rest lost, the interference with his other practice, the nervous wear and tear, and the actual technical skill he exhibits. Small wonder then that the field is deserted save by those who do the work to main¬ tain a family clientele. Why should not the woman about to perform the highest function of the race, at the most interesting, most endear¬ ing, and the crucial moment of her life, enjoy the greatest benefits, the finest art that the science of medicine affords ? She should and she must, and the nurse has a great opportunity, as well as a privilege and a duty, in helping to bring about such a happy state. By the power of good example and by precept she will instil in the public mind a knowledge of the importance of obstetrics and will engender a respect for the art which will soon result in a demand for higher standards of practice, and this demand will draw to the specialty the best medical and nursing talent the community possesses. She becomes really a missionary spreading the gospel of good obstetrics. Specifically, what may the nurse do to help to reduce the number of maternal deaths in childbirth, to diminish the amount of invalidism of the mothers, to prevent blindness, to save the babies, and to provide them with healthy, vigor¬ ous bodies at the start of their earthly careers ? She may do much, and this is brought out in the text of the book. Here we may emphasize only a few general principles. 1. The nurse has peculiarly favorable possibilities as a health teacher. She lives in the home, can observe how the laws of health are being observed or neglected, and her close association with the family enables her to correct evil habits of living and instill good ones. This is of course true of general hygiene, but is especially true in the case of the expectant mother. The nurse explains and teaches the benefits to be derived from fresh air,
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