A treatise on etherization in childbirth : Illustrated by five hundred and eighty one cases / By Walter Channing.

  • Walter Channing
Date:
1848
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A treatise on etherization in childbirth : Illustrated by five hundred and eighty one cases / By Walter Channing. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library at Yale University, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library at Yale University.

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    on this subject is one of the first men in the practice of his profession in Boston, and of a grade of intellect in other fields of inquiry which entitles him to every credence and confidence necessary to a writer on such a vital topic. The book is one which the love for every mother should provide, and see examined. As the preface says, It treats of a noble subject, the remedy of pain. After ages of suffering, and of frequently and long intermitted pursuit of such a remedy, one has been discovered. It remains with the profession to say, whether it shall take its place among the permanent and most important agents in the treatment of disease, and in abolishing pain; or whether it shall pass away with the un- important and undeserving, until another and a truer age shall revive, and give it a wider sphere of usefulness and a surer perpetuity. FROM THE BOSTON COURIER, OCT. 18, 1848. This work is not only an important contribution to medical literature, but it contains matter to interest and instruct the general reader. Dr. Channing bases his argument for the use of etherization, in his own particular department of the profession, on undoubted facts, which have fallen within his own experience, or which have been contributed by eminent physicians. He goes thoroughly into the subject, weighs and scrutinizes every objection from every quarter, and gives evidence on every page of a complete mastery of the matter in its principles and details. The conclusion to which he arrives is, that etherization is certainly safe in obstetrics, whatever view may be taken' of its use in other operations; and that it not only destroys the pain of labor, but also relieves the patient from injurious consequences, which often result from pain. The evidence for so important a deduction as this is contained in his volume. FROM THE NEW YORK CHRISTIAN INQUIRER. Here is a most valuable work, and which we should have noticed earlier, had we not determined to go through it before we should put pen to paper. We have read it with great admiration of the clear, lucid, vigorous style of the author; and with a profound feeling of gratitude, that he has pursued his inves- tigations upon this subject with so much care, candor, and diligence. It seems, too, from beginning to end, as though he had been prompted and sustained by a simply humane spirit; as though professional ambition had been entirely laid aside, in a most disinterested desire to help or relieve our suffering humanity. FROM THE BOSTON EVENING TRANSCRIPT, OCT. 1848. The importance of the subject here treated of cannot be overstated. Five hundred and eighty-one cases are here published as illustrations of the great fact, that the use of ether in midwifery is now an established blessing. The question of safety, in administering either chloroform or ether, is put beyond the shadow of a doubt by the able investigations of Dr. Channing; and we are confident no book has appeared for years whose practical benefit on the commu- nity will be so largely felt as this one. FROM THE NEW YORK TRIBUNE, DEC. 5, 1848. The book with the above title [ Etherization in Childbirth ], lately published by Dr. Walter Channing, deserves to be widely read bj' the medical profession and by parents. It is illustrated by more than five hundred cases, enabling every reader to judge of the safety and expediency of employing this wonderful pain-removing agent. AVe shall merely condense some of the facts and conclu- sions stated by the author, whose long and varied experience in this special branch of professional duty entitles him to most respectful consideration We close our extracts from this profoundly interesting and instructive book, with the following words of its benevolent author : — This book treats of a noble subject, the remedy of pain. After ages of suffering, and of frequently