A treatise on the science and practice of midwifery / By W. S. Playfair.
- William Smoult Playfair
- Date:
- 1885
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: A treatise on the science and practice of midwifery / By W. S. Playfair. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Provider: This material has been provided by the Augustus C. Long Health Sciences Library at Columbia University and Columbia University Libraries/Information Services, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the the Augustus C. Long Health Sciences Library at Columbia University and Columbia University.
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![PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITIOiN. Those who have studied the progress of Midwifery know that there is no department of medicine in ^hieh more has been done of late years, and none in which modern views of practice diifer more widely from those prevalent only a short time ago. The Author's object has been to place in the hands of his readers an epitome of the science and practice of midwifery which embodies all recent advances. He is aware that on certain important points he has recommended practice which not long ago would have been considered heterodox in the extreme, and which even now will not meet with general approval. He has, however, the satisfaction of knowing that he has only done so after very deliberate reflection, and Avith the profound conviction that such changes are right and that they will stand the test of experience. He has endeavored to dwell especially on the practical part of the subject, so as to make the work a useful guide in this most anxious and responsible branch of the profession. It is admitted by all that emergencies and difficulties arise more often in this than in any other branch of practice; and there is no part of the practitioner's work which requires more thorough knowledge or greater experience. It is, moreover, a lamentable fact that students generally leave their schools more ignorant of obstetrics than of any other subject. So long as the absurd regulations exist which oblige the lecturer on midwifery to attem])t tlie impossible task of teaching obstet- rics in a short three months' coui'sc—an absurdity which has over and (A'cr again been pointed out—such must of necessity be the case. This nnist be the Author's excuse for dwelling on many topics at greater l(!ngth than some will doubtl(!ss think their im|)ortancc merits, since he desires to ))lace in the hands of his students a work which may in sonu; measure su|)ply tiu' inevitable defects of liis lectures.](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b2121072x_0017.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
