THE
FEMALE PHYSICIAN,
Containing all the
DISEASES incident to that SEX,
IN
_Virgins_, _Wives_, and _Widows_;
TOGETHER
With their _Causes_ and _Symptoms_, their _Degrees_ of DANGER, and
respective _Methods_ of PREVENTION and CURE:
To which is added,
The Whole ART of _New improv’d_ MIDWIFERY;
COMPREHENDING
The necessary _Qualifications_ of a MIDWIFE, and particular _Directions_
for _laying Women_, in all _Cases_ of _Difficult_ and _Preternatural_
BIRTHS; together with the _Diet_ and _Regimen_ of both the MOTHER and
CHILD.
_By_ JOHN MAUBRAY, _M. D._
—— ——_Opiferq; per Orbem
Dicor_,—— Ovid. Met.
_LONDON_:
Printed for JAMES HOLLAND, at the _Bible_ and
_Ball_, in St. _Paul’s-Church-Yard_. 1724.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration]
_To all Learned and Judicious_ Professors _of_ PHYSICK, _as well as
Ingenuous and Experienced_ Practisers _of_ MIDWIFERY.
_Most Excellent_ SOCIETIES,
I Have generally observ’d, that _Men_ address their WORKS to improper
Hands; _some_ aim at _Personages_ too great, to regard them; _others_
stoop to _Men_ too unlearned, to defend them: _Some_ again make their
_Court_ and apply to Persons in Vogue or in Place, and _others_ cringe
and creep after _Purse-proud Patrons_: But as I pursue not the common
Designs of DEDICATORS, so I have studied no subterfuges of _Flattery_,
nor Flourishes of _Panegyrick_ in this DEDICATION. I know, that,
whatever my _Performance_ may prove, a _substantial_ WORK will stand
securely upon its own Bottom, and make its way into the World, without
any _secondary Helps_; whereas a slight _Defective Piece_ will fall and
be quash’d, tho’ it should even _strut_ with MAJESTY itself in its
glaring _Front_.
Had I then presum’d upon any particular VOUCHER for the FEMALE
PHYSICIAN, it would have look’d like acknowledging _Guilt_ and seeking
for _Defence_; Because _You_, and none else, are the _competent Judges_
in Affairs of this Nature: GOD having entrusted _you_ only with the
_Lives_ of Men; and _you_ (under HIM) being the Sole _Preservers_ of
LIFE and the great _Distributers_ of HEALTH, I have thought it my _Duty_
to make this solemn Application to _your August Societies_ in general;
and in this manner to render you some small _Account_ of the _TALENT_,
which some of your selves have entrusted me with for _Improvement_.
In fine, your _famous Fraternities_ being universally celebrated for
encouraging of _Learning_ and promoting _Ingenuity_, You are still the
more highly entitled to my _Endeavours_ in both respects; and I my self
in all points of _Humanity_ the more secure of your candid
_Interpretation_. The _undertaking_ then being yours by _Birth_, it has
a Natural Claim to your _Care_; And it being the _Duty_ of Men to
provide for their _Off-Spring_, it has a peculiar Right to your
_Patronage_. Wherefore, with all due _Deference_ and becoming
_Submission_ to your _wiser Judgments_, I lay the DEDICATION as well as
the WORK it self entirely at your Feet, in Hopes of your courteous
_Reception_ and benign _Tutelage_ both at Home and Abroad: Upon which
(in short) I beg Leave to Subscribe my self, with profound _Veneration_,
_Your Eminent_ SOCIETIES,
Most Faithful, and
Most Obedient, Servant
_John Maubray_.
[Illustration]
THE
PREFACE
TO THE
READER.
As the Study of _Physick_ has differ’d in every Age, according to the
prevailing Opinions and Ambiguous Determinations of _Philosophers_, so
the Practice of _Midwifery_ has also varied, according to the Judicious
Experiments and successful Operations of _Professors_; until of late
Years, by the many happy Discoveries and strict Inquiries made into the
Secrets of Nature, and Natural Causes, these Healing and obstetricious
_Arts_ are so much improv’d and advanc’d, that, they now seem to be
arriv’d at their very Height of _Perfection_: Insomuch that both the
_one_ and the _other_ stand this Day upon as sure a Foundation, and as
certain Principles, as most other _Sciences_ do, which notwithstanding
are not exempted from the Fate of _Casualties_.
THE Case then being so, it becomes all Men of Ingenuity and Integrity,
to be also _Communicative_ of such Things, as may tend to the Welfare of
their Neighbours and to the Common Good of Mankind; since according to
the Excellent _Poet_,
_Scire tuum nihil est, nisi te scire hoc, sciat alter._
THIS was the Principle of the _Ancients_, who, as they discover’d the
Natural Debility of the _Female Sex_, and that Women were not only
Subject to all Diseases in common with Men, but also obnoxious to a vast
many Distempers peculiarly singular to themselves, were first mov’d to
write particular _Books_, and respective _Treatises_, upon these Heads:
The most wise and divine _Hippocrates_, first breaking the Ice, after
him _Diocles_, next _Aetius_, and at last many _others_; For the more
Learned and Ingenious that any one found himself in his respective Age,
the more readily he exercis’d himself in these difficult Points.
BUT now a-days _Women_ may well complain, and cry out with _Soranus_,
“_O malè Occupatum virorum Genus, occidimur nos, non Morimur: Et ab
illis, qui inter vos peritissimi existimantur, perperam curatæ, vos vero
de qualibet vel levissima vestrarum Affectionum, Libros ex Libris
facientes, Bibliothecas voluminibus oneratas, de Nostris inter ea diris
ac difficillimis Cruciatibus, nulla vel exigua, & ea quidem satis
oscitanter mentione factâ_”: That _Men_, in short, study their own Good,
and take more Care of Themselves than of the _Women_.
BECAUSE then there are so many Faults and Defects in this part of
_Physick_; in that the _Antients_, by reason of their precise Gravity,
rendred their _Works_ either obscure, or at least difficult to be
understood: As _some_ of the more _modern Authors_ have, treated them
but Partially and Defectively in most respects; _others_ but transiently
and indifferently, or as if they were otherways employ’d: _Some_ again
darkly and briefly; _others_ so confusedly and prolixly, that we may
justly say to them, as the _Lacedemonians_ did to the _Samian Legats_ of
old; “_Prioris orationis vestræ partis sumus obliti, postremam ob primæ
oblivionem non intelleximus_”: We have forgot the Beginning of your
Discourse, and for that reason, cannot understand the latter Part.
THESE being the Reasons of this Undertaking, I shall trouble you with no
farther _Apologies_ in its behalf, save only that I thought it my Duty,
notwithstanding the Considerable _Charge_ and immense _Labour_, not only
so far to endeavour to imitate my _Predecessors_, but also to deserve
well of Humane Kind, and particularly of _English Women_: FIRST by
collecting these things, which I have found clearly written by the most
approved _Authors_, together with what I have conceiv’d to be true and
Rational by my own painful Study, frequent Speculation, and assiduous
Practice; and SECONDLY by publishing this _Praxis_ and _Analysis_ of
Women’s Distempers, as they are accurately, tho’ succinctly comprehended
in this small _Volume_: Yet not so briefly neither, but that most Things
are consider’d and explain’d for removing _Obscurity_; nor so prolixly,
that any Head is swell’d with Trifles or empty Words: And that not only
in our vernacular _Tongue_, but also in a certain middle _Style_,
adapted to the Capacity of the meanest _Reader_; so that if it be
possible, where the _Flowers_ are thinnest Sown, there the _Fruit_ may
appear the thickest; Because I have all along consider’d this to be no
Work of _Eloquence_, but of _Midwifery_, or _Physick_, or _both_
together, if you please, in which I have studied the common Good, but no
vain Glory.
IN composing the WORK, I have follow’d such Methods as seem’d to me the
most conducive towards its Use and Design, and insisted only upon such
_Topicks_, as can be most serviceable to the World, and absolutely
necessary in the Practice of either of these _Arts_; without touching
upon any of the pompous Superfluities, with which _Physick_, as well as
other _Professions_, is now a-days over-run and embarrass’d: The _one_ I
apprehended to concern my Integrity, and the _other_ only an empty
Applause. But that you may be at no Loss in conceiving the Regularity of
my Method, because of the variety of Subjects to be met with, I shall
here delineate or draw out the _Lines_ of the WORK, and give you some
distant _Idea_ of it, if possible, by a general Hint upon every _Part_
or _Section_ of the BOOK, _Viz._
IN the _first Part_, I have explain’d the History of the _Formation_ and
_Animation_ of Man, together with the _Maturation_, _Nutrition_, and
_Position_ of the Infant in the Womb; to which I have subjoin’d the
_Anatomical_ Account of the _Membranes_ and _Waters_, as well as of the
_After-Birth_ and _Navel-String_. I have likewise in this place
previously set forth the Dignity and Excellency of _Man_, together with
the Faculties of our _Souls_, and the Qualities of our _Bodies_; And,
having initiated the whole with the Natural Proofs of a GOD, and a short
Dissertation upon _Nature_, I hope none will take that amiss, because my
Belief in the _one_, and the small Knowledge I have acquir’d of the
_other_, are to be my _Guide_ throughout the Course of my Life, as well
as my _Directory_ in the present Performance.
IN the _Second Part_, I have not only explain’d the Natural _Philosophy_
of the _Maiden-State_, and set forth the Passions, as well as the
Diseases familiar to _Virgins_; but also defin’d the Power of
_Imagination_, and added the Natural Reasons for the various
_Likenesses_ of Children.
IN the _Third_, I have expounded the Mystery of _Conception_, together
with its Diagnostick Signs: I have directed the _Regimen_ of the
Pregnant Woman, and particularly set forth the various _Symptoms_ of the
Months of Gestation, together with the _Acute Diseases_ incident to her
in that Time. I have in the same place insisted at Large upon
_Miscarriage_, and explain’d at length the _Mystical Theory_ of Birth in
general.
IN the _Fourth Section_, I have defin’d the _Art of Midwifery_, and the
Contemplation of its _Theoretical_, as well as its _Practical_
Knowledge: And, that _Women_ practising this _Art_, may not mistake me
in what is said or recommended to them, I have also addressed my self to
_Men_ professing the same _Science_; and, with all imaginable
Impartiality, told them both their _Faults_ and their _Duties_, however
without any intended particular _Reflection_. To which I have subjoin’d
a compleat _Anatomical Description_ of the Parts of _Generation_ proper
to Women; together with the Natural History of the _Matrix_ and its
amazing Faculties.
IN the _Fifth_, I have ingenuously laid open the whole Mystery of
_Midwifery_, as to all Sorts of BIRTHS, whether _Natural_ or
_Preternatural_, and faithfully laid down the Fundamental Principles and
most certain Rules of this _Profession_; and that not only according to
the best _Notions_ of my own Application and Study, or the real
_Dictates_ of my proper Practice and Experience; but also according to
the most ingenious Precepts and infallible _Maxims_ of the ablest and
most polite _Professors_ of this excellent _Art_, and that also
according to its newest and latest _Improvements_: And in these _Cases_,
I have neither fear’d the Invectives of the Æmulous _Zoilus_, nor
regarded the Snarlings of the reprehensive _Momus_: For Wise Men are not
any longer to be entertained with _Ænigmas_, since GOD hath said, _Fiat
Lux_.
IN the _Sixth Part_, I have not only prescrib’d the due _Regimen_, and
provided for the Safety and happy _Recovery_ of the _Child-Bed-Woman_,
but also taken a suitable and corresponding Care of her _Babe_; As I
have farther instilled particularly upon the various Disasters incident
to both _Mother_ and _Child_, in their respective tender Conditions of
_Child-Bed_ and _Infancy_.
IN the _Seventh_, I have dilucidated the _Philosophical History_ of all
the different Sorts of _Preternatural Conceptions_ as well as BIRTHS;
and insisted at large upon the Theme of Women’s _Sterility_ or
_Barrenness_.
IN the _Eighth_ and last _Section_, I have not only defin’d the
_Widow-State_, as far as it concern’d my Purpose, but also diligently
pursued the _Subject-Matter_, and traced down the Particulars of their
common _Grievances_.
THESE, I say, are the general Heads of the WORK, which are all again
sub-divided into their proper respective Particulars; and consequently
every general _Head_ or _Section_ assign’d its own relative _Chapters_,
for the singular Benefit and more easy Comprehension of the _Reader_.
And these _Chapters_ consisting of 130 in Number, I have, with respect
to every singular _Distemper_ mentioned in them, FIRST, defin’d the
Nature of the _Disease_; SECONDLY, accounted for its _Causes_; THIRDLY,
I have given the _Diagnostick Signs_ or _Symptoms_; FOURTHLY, the
_Prognosticks_ or Degrees of Danger; to which I have FIFTHLY and lastly
added the Method of _Prevention_ in many Cases, and That of CURE in All:
So that there is almost not one _Disease_ which can affect the Woman
from her _Birth_ to her _Death_, in _Child_, _Maiden_, _Wife_, or
_Widow-hood_, whose _Essence_, _Species_, _Differences_, _Causes_,
_Signs_, and _Prognosticks_, we have not sufficiently clear’d up.
ALL these Things I have endeavour’d to be most particular in, to the end
that any _Woman_, who reads, so as to be conversant with this BOOK, may
know before She sends for her _Physician_, not only her _Distemper_, but
also the _Danger_, with which she is threatned upon every Sickly
occasion. And in these Things I flatter my self that this WORK will
prove Acceptable, where such a Number of _Diseases_ and _Symptoms_ are
set forth in so clear a Light, that any Person, making use of their Eyes
and Reason only, without being any ways vers’d in the Practice of
_Physick_, or _Midwifery_, may evidently see, perceive, and by
Experience find, every individual _Case_ to answer these Ends, and the
whole to correspond exactly with its _Title_ and _Contents_.
BUT upon the whole, if here and there a brief _Philosophical_ way of
Reasoning has crept in, I would have you consider, that it could not be
avoided; because the _Proofs_ relating to Natural Things are sometimes
taken from very minute _Instruments_; And that the Design of such an
_Interspersion_, is only to assist your Understanding, and conduct your
Thoughts through the WORK. However in such _Cases_ the _Reader_ may go
on, or pass by what does not suit with his _Taste_, as he pleases. Again
if here and there, I have retain’d a _Term of Art_, which the common
_Reader_ may call a hard Word, I declare it is out of no Design to amuse
any one, but out of mere Necessity, since otherways I should have been
ridiculously singular, and far less understood: In the mean time I have
taken what Care I could to explain the most, or at least the most
requisite of _These_, insomuch that whatever _Words_ or _Sentences_ of
this Kind are not fully interpreted, you may slip over, without losing
any thing Material of the Purport of the Matter, such Things concerning
the _Practitioner_ more than the common _Reader_.
HOWEVER yet, if the Measures I have pursued in handling this
uncultivated _Subject_, should not appear so exactly Methodical as some
of you may expect, I shall only say for _Excuse_, that, as it belongs to
hard Labour to cut out new Paths and Ways thro’ _Woods_ and _Desarts_,
and where _Guides_ are wanting, to find out the shortest _Cut_; so it is
only by frequent _Travelling_, that such _Roads_ can become smooth and
easy, however exactly plan’d. Again farther, I would have you also to
consider the Difficulty of the _Task_, to contract Much in a Little; to
omit Nothing which ought to be animadverted; to join Perspicuity with
Brevity; and after all, finally to reduce the whole to the certain
_Precepts_ of ART.
I have incessantly perus’d the vast _Volumes_ of others, _Ancients_ as
well as _Moderns_; and whatever may be found there variously dispers’d,
over-strain’d, or collected profusely, without either Order, or
Coherence, you’ll find here manifestly disposed, and neatly contracted
in this small WORK. I have sever’d the _Grain_ from the CHAFF, winnowed
the _Seeds_ from the HUSKS, and purged the _Gold_ from the ORE, to the
end that I might again successfully _Sow_ what I have thus laboriously
_reaped_; and digest all Things into such an easy and clear _Method_,
that you’ll be at no Loss here for what you want, but may turn to it at
once, whatever the _Case_ may be; you’ll read nothing twice, nor will
you fall into any _Trifles_, which might either confuse, or detain you.
BUT that I may not be misconstrued or misrepresented here, give me Leave
to affirm that the Design of this WORK, is not to reprehend or find
Fault, with any former _Writer’s Performance_; but only to render these
Things, which _others_ have either treated negligently, or
indifferently, confusedly, or obscurely, the more Clear and Evident.
THIS, candid _Reader_, being the Design as well as the Reason of my
_Undertaking_, according to the _Fruit_ you receive by it, Pray, repress
the Minds of the Invidious; and according to the Judgment you make of
its Worth, let it stand or fall in your Esteem. Not that I am so vain in
the _interim_ to imagine, that the Work can stand upon the Foot of its
own _Merit_; and far less can I expect that it will escape the ordinary
Fate of _Censure_: No, I shall take it well, considering its
_Imperfections_, if it undergoes no worse Fate, than what is common to
BOOKS; especially considering that it is no ways set off with a great
_Figure_, under the splendid appearance and modish Trappings of
flourishing _Hypotheses_, so common among our _Modern Writers_.
THERE are many Things altogether New in our _Midwifery_, which I would
have none rashly to stumble at, tho’ I know that _New Opinions_ are
always suspected and generally opposed, merely because they are not
already _Common_: But as I am not in any respect to press my _Notion_ of
Things upon the Belief of _others_, so I desire not to establish any
_Maxims_ of mine in other Peoples _Opinions_, farther than they think
fit. I know the Relish of the _Understanding_, is often as different as
that of the _Palate_; Hence it is that _some_ Men condemn, what _others_
approve; and _some_ despise what _others_ admire: Yea such is the
Uncertainty of Men’s _Judgments_, concerning the Excellency of Things,
that no _Nut_ of Learning was ever yet open’d, whose _Contents_ were
allowed by all to be pure _Kernel_: And no more has any _Truth_ been yet
discover’d, either in _Physick_ or _Midwifery_, which has not been
question’d, and the _Detector_ exclaim’d against as a pedantick
_Innovator_: But all that I shall say to these _Things_ is, that, as
_Antiquity_ will never protect an _Error_ in Judgment, so _Novelty_
shall never prejudice me against TRUTH, whether of my own or other
People’s _Invention_.
UPON the whole, I would in fine recommend my self to the candid
_Reader_’s Benevolent and Charitable Opinion, and if in any particular
Point or Respect (because we are but MEN) I may not have had the
Happiness to please, or to give Satisfaction, Pray impute it not to
_Sloth_ or _Idleness_, but to _Peregrination_ and _Travelling_; in which
it may be well suppos’d that _Studies_ are too often interrupted.
Remember also _that_ of _Pliny_, “_haud ullo in genere veniam Justiorem
esse, si modò mirum non est, Hominem Genitum non omnia Humana novisse_.”
For as none of us can do all Things, nor is sufficient for All; so it is
Natural for _Man_ to fall, to err, and to be deceiv’d: And as we see
some _Blemishes_ in the most beautiful _Bodies_, so there is nothing
altogether _Perfect_, among the Works of Men.
_Farewell._
_From my House, in_
New-Bond-street, _over
against_ Benn’s-Coffee-House,
_near_ Hannover-Square. 1724.
_J. M._
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
THE
CONTENTS.
[Illustration]
SECT. I.
Chap. 1. _Of God._ Page 1
2. _Of Nature._ 4
3. _Of Man._ 6
4. _Of the Soul._ 8
5. _Of the Faculties of the Soul._ 13
6. _Of the Humane Body._ 16
7. _Of the Formation of the Embryo._ 20
8. _Of the Animation of the Fœtus._ 24
9. _Of the Maturation of the Infant._ 29
10. _Of the Nutrition and Posture of the Infant._ 30
11. _Of the Membranes and Waters._ 32
12. _Of the Secundine or After-Birth._ 33
13. _Of the Umbilical Vessels, or Navel-String._ 34
SECT. II.
Chap. 1. _Of the Symptoms peculiar to the State of
Maiden-Hood._ Page 37
2. _Of Virginity._ 38
3. _Of the Virgin-Disease, commonly call’d the
Green-Sickness._ 42
4. _Of Love._ 49
5. _Of Copulation._ 53
6. _Remarks upon Copulation._ 55
7. _Of the Power of the Imaginative Faculty._ 57
8. _Of the Similitude of Children._ 63
SECT. III.
Chap. 1. _Of Conception._ Page 70
2. _Of the Signs of Conception._ 72
3. _Of the Diet and Regimen of the Pregnant Woman._ 74
4. _Of the Symptoms of the first three Months._ 77
5. _Of Vomitings, or Nauseating._ 79
6. _Of Fastidy, or Loathing._ 80
7. _Of the Pica or Longing._ 81
8. _Of Cholicks and Gripes._ 84
9. _Of a Diarrhea, or Looseness._ 86
10. _Of the Tooth-Ach._ 85
11. _Of the Head-Ach._ 87
12. _Of the Megrim, or Vertigo._ 88
13. _Of the Symptoms of the Middle Three Months._ 92
14. _Of Coughs._ 93
15. _Of Heart-Beatings and Swooning-Fits._ 94
16. _Of Watchings._ 95
17. _Of Pains in the Hips, Loins, &c._ 96
18. _Of Hæmorrhagies, or Bleedings._ 97
19. _Of Fluxes of Blood._ 98
20. _Of the Symptoms of the last three Months._ 101
21. _Of Dysuries, Ischuries, and Stranguries._ 102
22. _Of Costiveness._ 103
23. _Of Tenesms._ 105
24. _Of the Varices, or Vein-Tumours._ 106
25. _Of the Inflations and Tumours of the Legs._ 107
26. _Of Fissures, or Chops of the Belly._ 108
27. _Of Water-Fluxes._ 109
28. _Of Acute Diseases incident to the Child-Bearing
Woman._ 110
29. _Of the Debility and Weakness of the Fœtus._ 115
30. _Of Abortion._ 116
31. _Of a Legitimate Birth._ 131
32. _Of an Illegitimate Birth._ 134
33. _Of a Seven-Months Birth._ 135
34. _Of an Eight-Months Birth._ 140
35. _Of a Nine-Months Birth._ 142
36. _Of a Ten-Months Birth._ 144
37. _Of an Eleven-Months, and all posterior Births._ 147
38. _Of the Reasons why one Number of Months, Weeks and
Days, is more Auspicious to Birth than another._ 150
39. _Of the Diet and Regimen of the Woman, before and
about the Time of Birth._ 159
40. _Of the Natural Causes of Birth, and Pains of Labour._ 161
41. _Of the Causes of a sooner, or later Birth._ 163
SECT. IV.
Chap. 1. _Of Midwifery._ 167
2. _Of the Qualifications of the ordinary Midwife._ 171
3. _Of the Theoretical and Practical Knowledge of the
Midwife._ 174
4. _Of the Qualifications of the Extraordinary Midwife._ 178
5. _Of the External Parts of Generation._ 183
6. _Of the Internal Parts of Generation._ 186
7. _Of the Pelvis._ 190
8. _Of the Bones of the Pelvis._ 191
9. _Of the Womb._ 196
10. _Of the Extensive Faculty of the Womb._ 199
11. _Of the Substantial Density of the Womb._ 200
12. _Of the various Local Motion of the Womb._ 203
13. _Of the oblique Situation of the Womb._ 204
14. _Of Touching or Handling the Woman._ 207
15. _Of the various Uses and Advantages of the Touch._ 208
16. _Of the Genuine and Spurious Labour-Pains._ 213
17. _Of the True Method of Laying the Woman._ 216
18. _Of the Method of Extracting the Secundine, &c._ 220
SECT. V.
Chap. 1. _Of Birth._ 227
2. _Of Natural Births._ 230
3. _Of Natural Difficult Births._ 231
4. _Of Difficult Births, proceeding from External
Causes._ 233
5. _Of Difficult Births, proceeding from Causes of the
Mother._ 235
6. _Of Difficult Births, proceeding from Causes of the
Infant._ 239
7. _Of Difficult Births, proceeding from Causes of the
Membranes._ 241
8. _Of Difficult Births, proceeding from the Causes of
the Pelvis._ 242
9. _Of Difficult Births, proceeding from Causes of the
Bones of the Pelvis._ 245
10. _Of Difficult Births, proceeding from Causes of the
Bladder and Rectum._ 250
11. _Of Difficult Births, proceeding from the Causes of
the Vagina._ 252
12. _Of Preternatural Births._ 253
13. _Of Preternatural Births, by the Face’s being turn’d
upwards; or bent forwards, and the Crown backwards._ 257
14. _Of Preternatural Births, by the Hand, Elbow,
Shoulder, Knees, or Buttocks, presenting first._ 259
15. _Of Preternatural Births, by the Breast, Belly, or
Back presenting first; and the Infants, lying
transverse._ 261
16. _Of Preternatural Births, by the Feet presenting
first._ 264
17. _Of Preternatural Births, by Two, or more Infants
presenting themselves ill-turn’d._ 266
18. _Of Preternatural Births, proceeding from Causes of
the Womb._ 268
19. _Of Preternatural Births, from the Womb’s inclining
Forwards._ 270
20. _Of Preternatural Births, from the Womb’s inclining
backwards._ 282
21. _Of Preternatural Births, from the Womb’s inclining to
either Side._ 287
22. _Of Preternatural Births, proceeding from the Median
oblique Situations of the Womb._ 291
23. _Of Preternatural Births, proceeding from complicated
Causes, of both the Infant and the Womb._ 294
24. _Of Preternatural Births, proceeding from the
Navel-String’s coming first, and that either alone,
or with some other Member._ 300
25. _Of Preternatural Births, from the After-Birth’s
coming first into the Passage._ 303
26. _Of Preternatural Births, proceeding from the Death of
the Infant._ 305
SECT. VI.
Chap. 1. _Of the Diet and Regimen of the Puerperial or
Child-Bed Woman._ 309
2. _Of the After-Pains._ 313
3. _Of the Suppression of the Lochia, or
Child-Bed-Purgations._ 314
4. _Of the immoderate Flux of the Lochia._ 317
5. _Of the Acute Distempers incident to Child-Bed-Women._ 319
6. _Of the various other Accidents, incident to the
Child-Bed-Woman._ 323
7. _Of the Constriction of the Navel-String, and the
Swaddling of the Infant._ 325
8. _Of the Nurse and her Regimen, together with the
requisite Qualities of her Milk._ 329
9. _Of the Diet and Ablactation, together with the
farther Regimen of the Child._ 333
10. _Of the various Symptoms and Indispositions, wherewith
the Child may be Born._ 341
11. _Of the Sundry Symptoms, and Diseases, peculiarly
incident to the Infant after Birth._ 346
12. _Of the Acute Diseases of Infants._ 351
SECT. VII.
Chap. 1. _Of Preternatural Conceptions._ 355
2. _Of Superfœtations._ 356
3. _Of a Numerous Conception._ 358
4. _Of False Conceptions._ 360
5. _Of Moles._ 361
6. _Of Monsters._ 366
7. _Of various deformed Conceptions._ 373
8. _Of Imaginary Conceptions._ 378
9. _Of Sterility or Barrenness._ 381
SECT. VIII.
Chap. 1. _Of the Symptoms incident to the State of Widow-hood._ 391
2. _Of the Hysterick Passion._ 393
3. _Of the Strangulation of the Womb._ 398
With a conclusive Application of the whole Work.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
THE
FEMALE PHYSICIAN.
SECT. I.
CHAP. I.
_Of GOD._
REASON, and the mere Contemplation of _Nature_ (abstracted from the
Light and Assistance of _Revelation_ or _Faith_) afford us sufficient
convincing Arguments, for the _Existence_ of this great and
incomprehensible BEING; as _Heathens_ themselves do testify.
ACCORDING to _Plato_ (that most excellent Heathenish _Divine_)
Philosophical Demonstrations are the only _Catharticks_ (_i. e._
Purgers) of the _Soul_; being the most proper means to cleanse it from
_Error_, and give us an exact Relish of Sacred _Truths_. Wherefore I
shall strictly confine myself to _These_, in proving the BEING of this
_Existence_, from the _Maxims_ of all the four principal _Sects_ of
Heathen Philosophers; which I shall discuss in the briefest _Terms_, by
only touching upon a few of their respective _Proofs_; _viz._
THE _Naturalist_ insists chiefly upon three Heads; That of _Motion_, the
_Final_, and the _Efficient Cause_.
UPON the Axiom of _Motion_, that _Sect_ could not exceed, or go beyond
the _Primum Mobile_ among _created Beings_; and therefore allows, that
there is something _above_ it, which moves _itself_ and is not moved by
_Another_.
UPON that of the _Final Cause_, they could find no _created Being_
capable of directing that _Nature_, which directs and appoints all
_Creatures_ to aim at some peculiar END; and thence conclude, that this
_Nature_ is directed by something _superior_ to itself.
UPON that of the _Efficient Cause_, they confess, from the many
Vicissitudes of _created Beings_, that they’ve all had a _Beginning_:
and (because no _Beginning_ can be without an _Efficient_) acknowledge,
that _something_ more excellent than all _created Beings_, hath created
them.
THE _Metaphysician_ useth a vast Variety of sublime _Arguments_; whereof
I shall only give a few Instances: _viz._
I. THAT every _finite Being_ must needs proceed from _something_ else,
limiting it in that _Finiteness_, in which its _Nature_ conflicts.
II. THAT all _Multitude_ must proceed from _Unity_, as the _Motions_ of
the _lower Orbs_ proceed from that of the _one highest_; or as the many
particular distinct _Actions_ and different _Motions_ of the Man,
proceed from (their _Superior_) the SOUL.
III. THAT the _Subordination_ of the _Creatures_, one serving another,
and all concurring to the _Common Good_, must needs proceed from the
_Disposal_ of some most wise GOVERNOUR.
IV. THAT the wonderful and incomparable ART, observable in the _Make_
and _Form_ of every the minutest Part of the least and most despicable
_Creature_, must necessarily proceed from some very great and omnipotent
ARTIFICER.
V. THIS _Sect_ acknowledges also the _Immortality_ of the SOUL, as
_Cicero_ witnesses; because it is an _immaterial Substance_, and
independent of the _Body_: And consequently they allow it to proceed
from an _immortal Author_, and to return to the _same_, after a
_Dissolution_ from the Body.
AS to the _Moralist_, his way of _Reasoning_ is plainer to our common
Capacities.
I. HE proves this _Argument_ from the _natural Disposition_ and
_Propensity_ of the worst of Men, even _Atheists_ themselves, upon the
Approach of Death or any heavy _Calamity_, to acknowledge some superior
divine Power; as _Seneca_ witnesseth of _Caligula_, &c.
II. FROM the _ultimate End_ and chief _Good_ of Man; which (according to
_Plato_) is nothing _Terrestrial_: Our _Souls_ being _insatiable_ in
this Life, have a constant _Tendency_ to that particular END, for which
we are _created_; which (in his Words) consists only in being
_inseparably_ united to GOD.
III. FROM _Virtue_ and _Vice_, the _Rewards_ and _Punishments_ due to
these from _Nature_ and _Reason_; which agree with _Equity_ and
_Justice_, that they, who _live well_, should be _rewarded_ with this
their _ultimate End_ and _final Felicity_: And those who live
_otherwise_, should be _punished_ by the LOSS thereof forever. Thence
they (of consequence) acknowledge, that there must be a just and
powerful JUDGE, above all _created Beings_, to inflict this impartial
SENTENCE.
THE _Mathematician_ acknowledges _That_ to be some _Being superior_ to
all others; whose _Center_ he finds every where, and whose
_Circumference_ he can limit or discover no where. But because this
_Sect_ borrows the better Part of their _Proofs_ from the other _three_
mentioned, I shall go no farther; designing nothing but _Brevity_
thro’out this Work, especially upon a THESIS so manifest as _This_:
Which indeed I should not so much as have touched upon, considering how
elegantly and copiously many very _learned Divines_, and other eminent
_Writers_, have treated that _Subject_; were it not that some subsequent
_Hypotheses_ depend immediately upon it. Wherefore I proceed to
[Illustration]
CHAP. II.
_Of NATURE._
HOWEVER _extensive_ this Word NATURE may be, and whatever secundary
_Definitions_ it may admit of; it is (in effect) nothing else than the
_Denouncer_ of the Divine Will and Pleasure, the _Efficient_ CAUSE of
natural _Works_, and the _Conservant_ of real _Existences_: Or, the
_Order_ and _Series_ of Sacred Works, obeying the Divine Will, Power,
and Commands. At least I think all other _Definitions_ of this Word,
taken in whatsoever Sense, may be _reduced_ to _These_ following; _viz._
_NATURE_ is the implanted and _innate Quality_ of Things.
_NATURE_ is the _Faculty_ and _Propensity_ of every Mind.
_NATURE_ is the _Mixture_ and _Temperature_ of the four Elements.
_NATURE_ is the Philosopher’s _Axiom_ of Motion and Rest.
_NATURE_ is _that_ which giveth _Form_, by a specifick Difference, to
every thing.
WHICH _Power_ (in either Definition) can only be ascribed to that Great
GOD, whose _infinite Existence_ I’ve been hinting upon: Who is the
_Author_ of Nature and _Framer_ of the Universe; who by his own _Breath_
and _Word_, without any _material Help_, and at his own _Will_ and
_Pleasure_, created all Things. In whom all Things _live_, _move_, and
have their _Being_. By whom a vivacious _Faculty_ is infused through all
Things; so as that (by and through HIM) all Things subsist of their own
_peculiar Natures_ and _natural Qualities_; and by these _implanted
Qualities_ increase, maintain, and defend themselves: And _that_ so,
that in such an immense _University_, and such a vast _Variety_ of
Things, nothing is indeed _idle_, _useless_, or _unprofitable_. Nothing
is made _rashly_, _fortuitously_, or _in vain_; but every Thing appears
appointed to some certain _Use_ and _Purpose_, and determined to some
settled _Course_ and _Sphere_ of ACTION: Every _Being_ answering the END
of its _Design_, and the _Design_ of its CREATION.
AS _Man_ was set on the _Theatre_ of this World, to the _End_ that he
might admire, delight, and confide in GOD his great _Creator_; so was
the _Humane Body_ made for the _Divine Soul_, and the _respective
Members_ for the _Body_: which all voluntarily concur in the Discharge
of their _peculiar Functions_, for the Benefit and Use of the WHOLE.
AND so was every _Stem_ endued with its own _Faculty_, and every
_Creature_ with its own _Nature_; which made _Aristotle_[1] most
pertinently say, “_That there’s nothing so minute in the Nature of
Things, nothing so abject or despicable, but may reasonably afford Men
something of Admiration._”
NOW, I think, we may be soon brought to this _Admiration_, when we only
_view_ those Things which are so evidently exposed to our Eyes: such as
the _Elements_, the _Heavens_, the _Rising_ and _Setting_ of the _Sun_,
_Moon_, and _Stars_, the _Diurnal_ and _Nocturnal Vicissitudes_, the
_four Seasons_ of the Year, comprehending the two _Æquinoctials_ of
Spring and Fall, and the two _Solstices_ of Summer and Winter; by whose
_Decourse_ or Descent _Grass_ fades, and _Herbs_ decay; and again, by
their Ascent or _Influence_, spring up and revive.
AND again, when we consider the _Animals_, the _Faculties_ and
_Propension_ of their respective _Natures_, how they are endued with
peculiar _Sense_, because denied particular _Reason_; and how wisely
they are all dispos’d, some inhabiting the _Waters_, some enjoying the
free _Air_, and others possessing the _Desarts_; some _reptile_ and
creeping, some _gradient_ and walking, some _solivagant_ and wandering,
some _wild_ and fierce, and others innocent and _tame_: I say the
marvellous and inimitable _Artifice_ of _Nature_ in these, and all other
_natural Works_, is not only to be admir’d; but also the _Majesty_,
_Glory_, _Fullness_, and _Magnificence_ of the Great CREATOR and
Institutor of this Nature is to be most highly ador’d; in whom all
things originally _center_, as their common _Source_ and Divine
_Fountain_, and to whom all things are finally _reduced_, as the
Primigenious _Essence_ and _Archetype_ of NATURE.
[Illustration]
CHAP. III.
_Of MAN._
MAN, to whom all _sublunary Beings_ were subjected, is most excellently
qualified, far above all other _Creatures_ of this World: In him is not
only the vegetative Life of _Plants_, and the sensitive Life of
_Animals_, but also the _Angelical Reason_, the Divine _Understanding_,
the true _Conjunction_ and glorious _Possession_ of all Things: He is
not only endued with _Reason_ and the _Gift of Speaking_, but also with
a _Mind_ and a SOUL, which participates of a _Celestial Nature_ and
_Divinity_ itself; which can relate to the Nature of nothing else, and
be compared to none but GOD himself: In and thro’ _whom_ he has a
_Similitude_ with all things, an _Operation_ with all, and
_Conversation_ with all: He symbolizeth with all Matters in proper
_Subjects_; with the _Elements_ in a fourfold Body; with _Plants_ in a
vegetative Virtue; with _Animals_ in a sensitive Faculty; with the
_Heavens_ in an Etherial Spirit; with _Angels_ in Wisdom and
Understanding, and with GOD himself (as it were) in containing and
comprehending all things, except the Divine Being. Hence nothing can so
expresly represent GOD as the _Soul_ of Man, by which he is dignified
and railed to the very _Image_ and _Similitude_ of himself. And in _MAN_
the mirificent _Wisdom_ shines the more conspicuously; in that the whole
_World_, and the _Fabrick_ of all its Contents, however concise and
artificial, can in no respect compare with the noble Structure of this
_Microcosm_, MAN. It is so marvellously concise, and so wonderfully
artificial, that it seems no otherways, than as if the MAKER (designing
_this_ for his _Master-piece_) would have his chief Glory, Esteem, and
Reputation to depend upon it, and derive itself from _Hence_; or, as if
the _Maker_ (designing this for one signal Instance of his _Divinity_ to
Men) would have us brought, merely by the Understanding and Knowledge of
ourselves, to the true _Knowledge_ and due _Reverence_ of HIMSELF, our
great _ARTIFICER_.
THAT we may be the more duly and sensibly affected towards _him_, and
the more admire and reverence the _Wisdom_ of his Nature, as he
bountifully produced all things for the Use and Utility of _MAN_; so he
most appositely disposed the _Herbs_ of the Field, some to our
_Nourishment_, some to our _Remedies_, and some to _both Necessities_:
assimilating and assigning them to our singular _Members_, so that their
_Powers_ and _Virtues_ are _physically_ convey’d to such _Parts_ of our
_Bodies_, as they are adapted to by _Nature_.
AND in the same manner he imbued the _Roots_ of the Ground with such
_natural Qualities_, that they by their respective innate _Faculties_,
succour and relieve those _Members_, to which they are _specifically_
destinated; and such _Members_ sensibly attract and imbibe from them,
not only wholesome _Nutriment_, but also healthful _Remedies_ peculiarly
appropriated to themselves by _Nature_.
BUT the immortal _SOUL_, which is only peculiar to _MAN_, whereby he so
perfectly assimilates and resembles GOD; and its _Gifts_ and _Graces_,
whereby he excels and out-shines all other sublunary _Creatures_; is
more properly the SUBJECT of the _Divine_, than the _Physician_;
wherefore I shall but touch it transiently.
[Illustration]
CHAP. IV.
_Of the SOUL._
THE _SOUL_ is a certain _divine Light_, created after the Image of GOD;
figured by a _Seal_, whose Character is the _eternal Word_.
THE _SOUL_ is a certain _divine Substance_, individual, and entirely
present in _every Part_ of the Body, depending only upon the Power of
_Him_, who is the ultimate END, and efficient _Cause_ of all things;
whose _Body_ (according to _Plato_) is _Truth_, whose _Shadow_ is
_Light_, and whose _Name_ is GOD.
AND this divine Substance of _Light_, the _SOUL_, immediately proceeding
from that divine Fountain of all Things, GOD, (according to the Opinion
of the _Platonists_) is join’d, by competent _Means_, to the grosser
Matter of the _Body_. Which _Means_ these _Heathens_ account for in
manner following: _viz._
THE _SOUL_, in its Descent, is involved in an _etherial Body_, which
they call the _celestial Vehicle_, or _Chariot_ of the SOUL; thro’ which
_Medium_, by the Command of GOD, (who is the _Center_ of the World) it
is first _infus’d_ into the middle _Punct_ of the _Heart_, which is the
_Center_ of the _Body_; whence it is _diffus’d_ thro’ all the Parts and
Members of the _Body_, joining itself to the _natural Heat_. As a
_Spirit_, generated by _Heat_ from the _Heart_, it plungeth itself into
the _Humours_; and thus inhering in all the respective _Parts_, it
becomes equal in degree of _Proximity_ to all the _Members_.
THUS the immortal _SOUL_ is, by an immortal _Engine_, convey’d to, and
included in the mortal _Body_: But when by _Diseases_, or otherways,
these _Mediums_ (the _Heat_ and _Humours_) begin to dissolve, the _Soul_
recollects itself, and flies back betimes to its first _Receptacle_, the
_Heart_: When the _Spirit_ of the _Heart_ also fails, the _Heat_
extinguishes, and the _Spirit_ leaves the _Man_; He dies, and the _SOUL_
flies away in its _original Vehicle_: When the _Body_ returns to Earth,
whence it came, and the _Spirit_ to GOD, who gave it a _sacred Nature_
and _divine Offspring_: which _Spirit_ judging the _SOUL_, if it has
liv’d ill, subjects it to some general and some particular _Torments of
Hell_, abandoning it also to the Pleasure of the _Devil_: Whereas, if it
has _done well_, it mounts its _celestial Chariot_, rejoicing together
with the _Spirit_, and passes freely to the Choirs of _Heaven_; where it
enjoys all its pure _Senses_ and _Faculties_, the perfect _Knowledge_ of
all things, a perpetual blessed _Felicity_; and at last, the divine
_Vision_, the _Possession_ of the eternal Kingdom, _&c._
THUS far I have prosecuted the _Platonick Doctrine_ of the _SOUL_; so
that even by _This_, the gross Opinion of such as deny the _Existence_
of so _divine_ a SPARK in Man, may be confuted.
AND _this_ being sufficient for that purpose, I need not introduce any
_Christian Arguments_ to second it; which, however important, are
commonly deem’d light by an obstinate _Sett_ of Men. Wherefore I shall
only add, that from the Disparity of _Manners_, _Affections_,
_Dispositions_, _Capacities_, _Judgments_, _Opinions_, and _Passions_ of
Men, it appears most probable and evident, that every _one of us_ is
individually indued with a SOUL, and that with a proper SOUL, peculiar
to our respective _Bodies_, according to the wise _Proverb; So many Men,
so many Minds_: as well as _Horace_’s[2] Saying,
_“Millia, Quot Capitum vivunt, totidem Studiorum._
——And _Persius_[3] says,
_“Mille hominum Species, & rerum discolor Usus;
“Velle suum cuique est, nec voto vivitur uno._
TO which Assertion the great Prophet _David_ assents, in that GOD
fashioned and made the _Hearts_ and _Minds_ of Men one by one, enduing
them with peculiar _Dispositions_, and assigning every SOUL its proper
natural _Conditions_. Hence _Solomon_[4] says, _I was a witty Child, and
had a good Spirit; yea, rather being good, I came into a Body
undefiled_: That is, adapted to the _Disposition_ of his _SOUL_. As we
see some _Torches_ or _Candles_ burn brighter, and some _Fuel_ cast more
_Heat_ and _Light_ than others; so the _Splendour_ of every _SOUL_
shines in a different way, and produces different _Distinctions_ of
_Minds_: as is evident in _Youths_, who (however accurately taught, and
painfully instructed) are not equally capable of learning _Arts_,
_Discipline_, or any sort of _Erudition_.
BUT notwithstanding that some curious _Physicians_ (who have strictly
scrutiniz’d the Works of Nature) would have the _SOUL_ to center in the
BRAIN, whence all its _Senses_, _Faculties_, and _Actions_ proceed; yet
some _Philosophers_ have justly assign’d the _Center_ of the HEART to
its Residence: which Doctrine is also approved by the wise _Solomon_[5],
saying; _Keep thy Heart with all Diligence, for out of it are the Issues
of Life_.
HOWEVER yet, if any should still obstinately persist in denying the
BEING of the _SOUL_, I advise such to go no farther, but look into
_themselves_, and call their own _Minds_ to Counsel; for even there they
will have a full _View_, not only of its BEING, but also of its
supernatural _Excellency_; If they but seriously weigh the eximious
_Gifts_, and unlimited _Faculties_ of _Nature_, together with the
egregious _Ornaments_ of _Reason_, _Understanding_, _Judgment_,
_Memory_, and many other Accomplishments, with which every _Mind_ is
abundantly endued; they will clearly perceive something of a
superexcellent _Nature_, and Supernatural _Quality_ in themselves; which
is nothing else but what I call the SOUL, and which is also of a more
noble and excelling _Substance_, than any _corporeal Matter_ liable to
_Corruption_ can be.
THIS _Being_, only and alone, vivifies, rules, and governs the _Body_;
furnishing it with innumerable _Actions_, and exercising it with as many
curious _Offices_. Hence, from its manifold _Effects_, and different
_Operations_, it has various _Appellations_, according to St.
_Augustine_’s Saying: “_Cùm Corpus animat, Vitâq; imbuit, Anima dicitur:
Dum vult, Animus: dum Scientiâ ornata est, ac Judicandi peritiam
exercet, Mens: dum recolit ac reminiscitur, Memoria: dum ratiocinatur,
ac singula discernit, Ratio: dum Contemplationi insistit, Spiritus: dum
Sentiendi vim obtinet, Sensus._” Which are all the principal _Functions_
of the SOUL, whereby it demonstrates its _Power_, and performs its
relative _Offices_. In the Execution whereof, St. _Cyprian_ asserts,
that the _SOUL_ makes use of the _Body_, as the _Workman_ does of the
_Mallet_, _Hatchet_, or _Anvil_: tho’ (I think) the _Simile_ may be
drawn much nearer, the _SOUL_ being inclosed and dwelling in the _Body_,
as the _Fish_ or the _Snail_ in the _Shell_; without which _Receptacle_,
or _Rampart_ of Defence, it cannot subsist: Which is evident in that, as
soon as the _Body_ labours under any _Grief_, the _SOUL_ is also
affected; not with a primary _Affection_ (as some would have it) but by
a _Law_ of the most strict _Alliance_, and nearest _Affinity_; and hence
it is, that the _Vices_ and _Virtues_ of the _one_ are transfus’d, and
flow into the _other_.
THIS is the only reason why, when the _corporeal Organs_ or
_Instruments_ are vitiated or impeded, the _SOUL_ cannot explicate its
own _Faculties_, according to the Words of _Solomon_[6]; _The
corruptible Body presseth down the Soul, and the earthly Tabernacle
weigheth down the Mind_. Which _Truth_ may serve to obviate two
Objections; _viz._ _That_ of _Childrens_ being destitute of the _SOUL_,
and _that_ of the _SOUL_’s growing up with _Youth_, and declining with
_Age_, or _Sickness_: Since, tho’ it less displays itself in _Infancy_,
_Sickness_, and _Dotage_, yet it still is, and continues furnished with
its proper _Faculties_, and that from the _Beginning_ of Life, until its
_End_; neither does the _SOUL_ in its _Substance_ ever suffer the least
_Diminution_, but only by the _Ineptitude_ of the Instrument or _Organ_,
it may be hindered in the _Discharge_ of its Functions, and _Execution_
of its Offices.
AND tho this _divine Substance_ can contract nothing of _Vice_, _Spot_,
or _Contagion_ from the _Concretion_ of the corruptible _Body_: yet as a
thick _Cloud_ obscures the _Sun-Beams_, and overcasts its _Light_; or,
as by holding a _versicolour Glass_ to our Eyes, Matters appear
_different_ from what they really are: So the _Intemperature_ of the
_Body_ obscures the _Light_ of _Reason_, and overshadows the
_Intellects_ of the _Mind_, which of course obstructs the _Functions_ of
the SOUL. Hence it is, that a _delirious_ or _drunken_ Man thinks he
sees double, or _two things_, tho’ _one_ be the only _Object_ of his
Eyes: And as, for this reason, _melancholick_ Persons imagine
_Absurdities_, and feign _Dreams_ to themselves; so _cholerick_ Persons
grow insensibly _hot_, and are suddenly _incensed_ by the Fumes of
_noxious Humours_ oppressing the _Brain_.