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v.hioh Idr~nt ,he mO'¡:ns of ,he ,"effds ,ha, are alfo eom·
p reffoJ by the body of the eh"J.
1"'he COllllllo n mí:thod of bre"kin 6 lhe rntmhrancs is hy
th.rufling the lingt'r ~gainn them when (hey : protrl1'~c:d
with the \\'311:r5 during the pJin. or by pinchillg lhcm with
(he hnccr ~nd [h umb; UUI ir (hey ..re det.tineJ tOO high
to be: managcd ia eithcr of thef~ methoJ:J, (he hand may
be introduccd ioto lhe vd~ina, if lhe os ( xternum is fo
lax as lO adrnit ir cafily: and ir this cannot be done with·
out ci\'ing mueh poi o, Ih e (ore and middle hngers bci ng
pu(heo ioto lhe vagina with lhe othcr hand, Ic:.t a pro!.>!!
Or pair of pointed feiff be Jircéted along and bttwf:cn
them., and thruft lhrough lhe mcmhranes, when lhey are:
pu(hed w¡lh lhe watt:rs beJow lhe head. This oper.ltion
mufl be eautiouOy performed, Idl the heaJ O¡ould be
woundcd in lhe attempt; and as for lhe membranes, Jet
tite opcning be never fo fm:lll, lhe: waters are difchargcd
\Vith fo rce fufficit!nt 10 tear them afund,:r.
If the vertex, infl..d of refling nt the Gde of the brim
of t~ pelvis, or al the os pubis, i5 fo:ced funher down
to lhe os ¡nteroum, and lhe W:Hers h:\ ppen to be in [mal!
<¡uanti,y, ,he bead is pufhed fo rw.rds, and graduaJly o–
peos lhe mouth of lhe womb without any fenfible ínter·
polilion of lhe waters: lhen it ad\"ances by degrecs iota
lhe vagina. and lhe membranes beioR fplit or tare, liu)e
or no,hing is difeharged until the body of .he ehild be
del ivered: and in this care, lhe hílir of the head being
plaínly ~clt, will be a Cutn cient ¡ndication th:n lhe mem–
branes are broke. If no hair i. to be fel t, but a fmooth
body prerents itfeff 10 the toueh; and the \Voroan h.. un·
dtrgone many Oraog pains, efen arter the mouth of lhe
womb hath been lar2e1y dilated, and ,he head foreed in·
to the middle of the pelyis ; you may conelude, tha, de–
JiTCry is retarded by .he rigidity of the membranes; ,ha!
there is bUl a fmalJ quanlity of waters; and Ihat, ir [he
containing facs were brokc, lhe head would come along
withoUl funher hefitation.
SOmeHOl<'l, no walers can be feh while the head is no
fanher aJ,'. need than the upp" PUt of the pefyi., be
eaufe it pIu;:, up the p,lfage and keep. them from def«nd–
iog; bUI, as il advanees dowr.wards, the uterus contraéh,
and ,hey are foreed down in a fmall quan,j,y 'o\Vards the
back part: from thence. as the head deCcends, or c"cn
though i· fhoufd Oick in that fitu.tion, ,hey are pufhed
fan her down, and (he membranes may be eaíily broke ;
bUI Ihe tafk is more difTicult when no water' come down,
and tbe membranes are COQtiguous tO lhe hcad. In lhis
care, they muU be rcratched a littlc during eyery paio ,
with lhe Oíl íl of a finger, which, thongh (hort and rmooth,
will, by c.kgrees. wcar Ihem thioncr ~nd lhinoer, until
they fplit"npon the head by ,he force of labonr. Yet thj.
expedieot ought oeTer to be ufed until you are ct:nain
that delivery is rClarded by lhei r rigidit y; for, jf that be
nOl the hindrance. the diflicllhy mufl procced from the
weaknefs of lhe \l,'onnn, a large htad, or narrow peh·is:
in wbich c..f1!. lhe dclivery is a work of time, and will
be obOrul1ed by ¡he premature difeharge of ,he water.,
"hieh by gradu.lfy p. tr,ng by ¡he he. d, ought 'o kcep
the pan ! 0I0d1 and Oippery, in order 10 facilitatc lhe
birth ; for \4hcn lhe fiI~01brane5 are nO{ broke unr¡) Ihe
I¡c.d i. for«J in,o ¡Le mi~dlc of ,he pelvis, th Lr¡:cfl
F E R Y.
por, of it bcing th"" pan the uppcr put of ,he (¡erum,
i, commonly r9ucez,:J along, opc::ns the os extcroum, and
is dc:ll \ ercd b::turc :111 I he:: watas are dl :d rrom lhe
uterus; (o that wh.H rtl11ains, by OloiHcning aod Iubri.
calin ó {he pan s, h;Jp lile lhoulders anJ body lO pars wit n
more edfe. \Vh~ n lhe;: rHt:mblalles are lOO foon brok'!,
rhe undcr pHI of \lhe UlenlS contrath fometimes fa
fironglr befare lhe nlouldcn, th,n il makes lhe retil1ance
Iltll grcatcr.
In nmll natural Jabours, the fpace betwixt [he fore and
hack font anelles. viz. lhe vertex, prefcnu tO the os in·
tcrnum, and (he forehead is turned lO lhe ride of (he pel.
vis; becaufe Ihe btl(jn at (he brim is widel1 from fide to
; and frequentfy, befo,. the he.d i. pufhed in and
wedged among the bone., the ehild (afte r a pain) i.
feh ro move and tu ro it to that fide or limatioo in which
it is le...U pn.trt'd and hun , if it was nat prcfenting in [hH
pofitioo before: bUI Ihis poíition of lhe head may alter,
1'TZ. in thofe where it is as \CÍide, or wider, from (he
back pan tO Ihe fore pan of Ihe brim, than froOl fide tO
fide, the f"rehead may be turned backwards or forwards.
Hu, this form of ,he pc¡"is feldom happen•.
This rollu re is obferveq io a oarro\V pelvis,
when the upp~er pan of lhe facrum jets forward to che
pubes; bUI, as the child is forced lower down, lhe fore·
head turos ioto the hollo\V al the inferior pan of lhe fa–
crum, becaufe the \'ertex and occiput find lers reliJl:aDce
at the lowcr pan of lhe olfa pubis chan al Ihe ¡fchium.
tOwhich jt was before turned ; lhe pelvis being al the
pubes, as formerly deCcribed, no more than IWO ¡nches
in depth, whereas at the ifchium it amouots la fOUL 1f,
therefo re, lh: forchead fiicks in ilS former Gtuation,
\Vithou, turning io!o the holfo\V, it may be allifled by in–
troducing fome fingers, or the whole h:and, into rhe vag~na, during a pain, and moviog it io the right pOIition .
\Vben ,he head of the ("'tUS prefeo", and i. foreed
aJoog in any of thoCe pofitions. the labour is accounted
natural; and liule elfe is to be done, but lO encourage
lhe woman tO be.u down with all her tlrength in every
pain, and 10 ren quietly during c3ch intervdl: if lhe
pJ.rtS are r¡gid, dry, or inRJmed, lh.:y ought to be Ju–
bricated with pomalUOl, hog's lard, bUller, or ""g. al–
Ih(~: the tWO 6rO are mofl proper for the external pans ;
and the ,he 'wo 1.11 (as being h. rder and not fo eafily
mclted) ougb, to be put up ioto th. vagina, ' o lubrie. :e
that and lhe os ¡nteroum.
The mouth of Ihe womb and os externUN, for lhe
mon pd.n, open with greater difficuhy in lile: firfl: than In
the fucceeding Jabours, more efpecially in womeo turoed
of thirty. In there cafe,. the os externllm mua be gra–
dually diloted in CTery pain, by introducing the finr.ers in
form or a cone, and tt.lrning thcm round. fo as to Urdch
the PAr" by gentle degree. ; and the whole hand being
admitted ioto the vagin:t, ir will be fometime, founu nc::–
ct: to in(inuatc t ~e lingers with the nat or lhe han.!
between lhe heao and os inlernum: for, wheo Ihis pre–
caulíon is not takcn in time, lhe os lIIeri is frequeutly
p"Oted before ,he head (cfp<cially .ha! pan ofi, ne xt the
pub(s) even throu~h the os cx:ernum; or ir ·the head
p.\lTcs the Olouth of the womb, it \Viii protrudc the paru
at lhe os ext('rr¡um, anJ \ViII endaos(r a l.tccr,uion in lhe
perioxullI.