Contributions to midwifery. No. v, On the influence of ergot and rye on the foetus in utero / [Thomas Edward Beatty].

  • Beatty, Thomas Edward, 1801-1872
Date:
[1844]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Contributions to midwifery. No. v, On the influence of ergot and rye on the foetus in utero / [Thomas Edward Beatty]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    damp mass, more like wet turf-mould than any thing else. If I had used this in ignorance of its being spoiled, of course dis¬ appointment would have been the consequence, and my faith in the power of the drug would have been shaken. The second objection, viz. that the ergot is at all times de¬ structive to the life of the child, has probably arisen from the employment of the medicine at improper times. Thus recourse has been frequently had to its aid in cases of difficult labour arising from mechanical opposition to the exit of the child. In such a case the destruction of the infant is almost sure to follow, for the delay which necessarily occurs between the adminis¬ tration of the dose and the expulsion of the head is almost cer¬ tain to produce fatal results. In a former communication* I have stated that I consider a delay of two hours after the ergot has been taken, as sufficient to cause the death of the child. I will revert to this subject in a subsequent page, at present I will only observe, that persons who employed the drug under circumstances like these must have been led to form the opinion that it was highly dangerous to the life of the infant. The third class of authors above alluded to have formed far too sweeping an opinion of the merits of this medicine, when they state that it may be always given with advantage; the safety of the mother or of the child being never endangered. This is a kind of praise most likely to do mischief, and damage the reputation of a valuable remedy, by inducing others to em¬ ploy it under circumstances in which it is quite inadmissible. From a very extensive use of the ergot I am quite prepared to maintain that none of the three opinions is correct, but that the truth lies between them. The medicine, when fresh, and carefully preserved, is in fact one of great energy, and influences not only the mother but also the infant. It requires to be used with great discretion, for while it will in one case effect the de- * Dublin Medical Journal, vol. xxi. p. 361.