Labor among primitive peoples : Showing the development of the obstetric science of to-day, from the natural and instinctive customs of all races, civilized and savage, past and present / By Geo. J. Engelmann ... Fifty-six illustrations.

  • Engelmann, George J. (George Julius), 1847-1903.
Date:
1882
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Labor among primitive peoples : Showing the development of the obstetric science of to-day, from the natural and instinctive customs of all races, civilized and savage, past and present / By Geo. J. Engelmann ... Fifty-six illustrations. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, Harvard Medical School.

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    Horizontal or Eecumbp:nt—Ordinary dorsal decubitus—Care iimoug primitive peoples—Lateral decubitus—In isolated cases—Prone upon stomach—Rare—Sometimes in difficult labor. I'AKT n. The Position of Women among Civilized Races of the Present Day in THE Agony of the Expulsive PAiNs---Semi-recumbent position usual- ly taken. Resume and Conclusions—Instinct governs position of savages—Comfort and modesty govern modern obstetrics—Positions vary in different stages of labor—Striking positions mostly in last stage—Massage in dif- ficult cases—We should give patients greater liberty in labor—Dorsal decubitus undesirable as a rule—An inclined position should be resorted to—Semi-recumbent best. CHAPTER II. THE THIRD STAGE OF LABOR. Treatment of Simple Cases—More natural among primitive people—Mostly the placenta is delivered in the same position in which the child was ex- pelled—Manual expression—Kneeding of the abdomen very common— Diaphragm often made use of—Traction on the cord not as common as among civilized people—Less often is the placenta delivered in a posi- tion different from the one occupied during the expulsion of the child- • The motion, or the standing position assumed, supposed to further ex- pulsion. Management of Difficult and Complicated Cases—Forcible expulsion bj^ external pressure—Methods of cutting and tying the cord—Burial of after-birth and other superstitions—Importance of skilled management in the third stage—Vis a Tergo practiced by primitive people—a posi- tion only recentljr obtained by scientific Midwifery. CHAPTER III. PREGNANCY, PARTURITION AND CHILDBED. Many points of resemblance to the customs of a more advanced civilization. Pregnancy.—Its importance—Rarity of abortion—Testing the value of conception in the seventh month—Anxiety for male offspring—Signs of pregnancy—Careful treatment of pregnant women—Peculiar super- stition of the Pahutes.