the _Conception_ to the BIRTH, is always, at least, of one _Thickness_
with the _unconceiv’d_ WOMB: Which the _Divine Wisdom_ (no doubt) has so
ordered for the _Preservation_ of the MOTHER and INFANT; for if the
_WOMB_ in Time of _Pregnancy_ did grow _Thinner_, according to its
_Extension_, it must of Consequence grow _Weaker_, and, in that _Case_
the INFANT would be liable to perforate it with _Foot_ or _Hand_, which
would infallibly terminate in the _Loss_ of both their LIVES.
BUT besides, if the _WOMB_ was so _Thin_ and _Weak_ as Mr. _Mauriceau_
imagines; as the _Pregnant Woman_ would be liable to imminent _Danger_
every Moment _Before_, as well as _In Time_ of LABOUR; so the MIDWIFE
would be expos’d to the greatest of _Difficulties_: For who then durst,
without _Horror_, offer to turn the INFANT, so closely compress’d in
those _thin Membranes_ of the _WOMB_? Or who could have _Resolution_
enough to separate and pull away the AFTER-BIRTH?
HOWEVER, I could produce innumerable _Instances_ of most Learned and
Ingenious _Men_ to support my above-mentioned _Opinion_; but I shall
content myself now with ONE, who (I think) is of sufficient Authority:
For hearing lately that Mr. _Mauriceau_’s mention’d Book (which I had
only read before in its _Original French_) was translated by Dr.
_Chamberlain_, I doubted not but I should fully discover that Eminent
TRANSLATOR’S _Sentiment_ upon this single _Point_; whereupon this most
famous _Physician_ and _Boethogynist_ marks by way of Observation or a
_Bene Notandum_, that his _Charity_ for his _Author_ makes him believe
that _French-Women_ differ in this _Point_ from _Our English_, with whom
it is apparently otherwise order’d. And in the farther Explication of
his _Author’s Opinion_ on this _Head_, he adds, That _Experience_ will
convince any inquisitive Person of the _Contrary_.
TO which I reply, in short, with all due Submission, that the
_French-Women_ do not differ one Jot in this respect from _Ours_, nor
_Ours_ from any _Others_: Which (no doubt) the worthy _Doctor_ was very
sensible of, notwithstanding his great _Complaisance_ to his _Author_.
[Illustration]
CHAP. XII.
_Of the various Local Motion of the WOMB._
ALTHOUGH the _Ligaments_ are fixed to the _WOMB_ on each side, under the
_Tubes_, near the _Bottom_, on purpose to keep it duly in the _Middle_,
from falling to either _Side_; yet we may easily perceive, FIRST, That
the _Pregnant WOMB_, as it dilates and extends itself most (in the
_Bottom_) above the _Ligaments_, so it rises _Highest_ and becomes
_Heaviest_ in that Part; by which means it cannot always be contained in
the _narrow Compass_ of the PELVIS, and the _Larger_ the _INFANT_ is,
the _Higher_ the _WOMB_ rises (above the _Ligaments_) in the BELLY.
Insomuch that when the _Cavity_ of the PELVIS is not sufficient to
contain a large _WOMB_, fill’d with _One_ or _more_ well-grown
_INFANTS_, together with the _Secundines_ and _Humours_, it must (of
necessity) ascend into the _Cavity_ of the BELLY; as is evident from
_Chap. 10_.
SECONDLY, The _WOMB_ being in Form of a PEAR, much larger _above_ than
_below_ the _Ligaments_, and that _superiour Bulk_ being only sustain’d
at the _lower Part_ by subtile _Ligaments_ apt to extend, as well as
supported near the _Orifice_ by the _Bladder_ and RECTUM, which are
soft, loose, and _extensive Parts_: Hence, I say, we may easily
conceive, that as _These_ are not sufficient to hinder a large WOMB from
ascending above the Borders of the PELVIS into the _Cavity_ of the
BELLY; so neither are _they_ able to keep it from leaning or inclining
_this_ or _that way_, by reason of its _Weight_ in the _Bottom_, which
is always the farther distant from the _Ligaments_, the more it is
_extended_: And the _extended_ WOMB being not of the same _Firmness_ and
_Solidity_ with THAT in a _natural State_, is the more apt and ready to
move _aside_, either on the Right or the Left Hand.
NOW this various _Motion_ of the WOMB, in short, will appear more
manifestly _Probable_, when we consider how variously _Women_ with CHILD
move their _Bodies_, bending them every way for _Relief_, when oppress’d
with _Pain_; both _sitting_ and _lying_ in different _Postures_: All
which may easily give the WOMB a _Tendency_ this or that way, sliding
either _Forwards_ or _Backwards_, to the right or the left _Side_ of the
Person.
[Illustration]
CHAP. XIII.
_Of the Oblique Situation of the WOMB._
I Doubt not in the least but among the _Many_, some will reject _this_
THESIS as _False_ or _New-fangled_; but _They_ who are _Ignorant_ of it,
are meer blind _Novices_ in the _Art_ of MIDWIFERY: For repeated
_Experience_ has taught _Myself_ and many _Others_ the Certainty of this
_Truth_; as will more amply appear from the following Discourse.
THE _Womb_ having then ascended into the _Cavity_ of the BELLY, if its
_pointed Parts_ tend perpendicularly into the PELVIS, so as that its
_Orifice_ may be easily touch’d on every _Side_ with the Fingers, its
_Bottom_ is placed about the NAVEL; and _This_ I call a right or
_natural Situation_: But when otherways, the _Posture_ is changed,
inclining _this_ or _that way_, and the _Orifice_ suspended so _High_,
that it can scarce or not at all be touch’d, I call _That_ a wrong and
_preternatural Position_, or _oblique Situation_ of the WOMB; which may
not only be occasion’d (as is said) by the _Weight_ and _Bulk_ of its
_Bottom_, above the extended and relaxed _Ligaments_, but also by many
other different _Causes_; such as an obdurated _Gland_, a _Cicatrix_, an
_Ulcer_, an _Obstruction_ of the _Vessels_ in the _Ligaments_ or
adjacent _Parts_, &c.
HENCE it is that the _wrong Positions_ of the _WOMB_ are manifold, which
would be very tedious to enumerate exactly here; but only, that I may
not pass by what is so _material_, I shall reduce them to a _Four-fold
Difference_; as the _Ancients_ did the _Winds_, because of the _Four
Regions_ or _Limits_ of the Heavens. And _Those Four_ will (I hope)
comprehend all other _wrong Situations_ of the _WOMB_, not very
improperly or _mal-à-propos_, as _Ovid_[156] has comprehended _These_ in
the following elegant _Verses_, viz.
_“Eurus ad Auroram Nabathæáq; regna recessit,
“Persidáq; & radiis Juga subdita matutinis.
“Vesper & Occiduo quæ littora sole tepescunt,
“Proxima sunt Zephyro, Scythiam septémque triones
“Horrifer invasit Boreas. Contraria Tellus
“Nubibus assiduis, pluvióq; madescit ab Austro._
THE _first_ bad _Position_ of which is, when the _Bottom_ of the _WOMB_
is placed on the _left Side_ of the Woman, a little raised or depress’d;
the _Orifice_ being turn’d towards the SPINE of the right OS ILIUM or OS
PUBIS, against which the INFANT in time of BIRTH commonly pushes its
_Head_, beats out its Brains, and sticks there to Death: Or else passing
the said SPINE, it lies _a-thwart_ the PELVIS.
THE _Second_ ill _Position_ of the _WOMB_ is, when the _Bottom_ is
seated on the _right Side_; the _Orifice_ being turn’d towards the _left
Part_ of the PELVIS, directly opposite to the _other Position_, and
attended with the same _Inconveniencies_.
THE _Third_ is, when, in _Women_ having large _Bellies_, the _WOMB_
hangs too much _Forwards_; the _Orifice_ being turn’d towards the OS
SACRUM: So that the INFANT falls down by the _Head_ into the Bent, or
crooked _Cavity_ of the OS COCCYGIS, where it fatally sticks fast.
THE _fourth Oblique Situation_ of the _WOMB_ is, when its _Bottom_ is
press’d too near the DIAPHRAGMA, and its _Body_ too near the VERTEBRÆ of
the _Loins_; the _Orifice_ being elevated, is thereby turned too near
the _OS PUBIS_, where the INFANT striking its _Head_ against these
_Bones_, remains immoveable and perishes: Or, (which is worse) sliding
with its _Head_ upon the _OSSA PUBIS_, it is turn’d on one or other
_Side_ or _Backwards_; when (commonly with _Hand_ or _Arm_ out of the
Body) it lies _a-thwart_ the Passage, and infallibly occasions its OWN
or its MOTHER’S _Death_, or _Both_; unless (as in the _three_ preceding
_Cases_) it be in due time prevented by the _Assistance_ of some very
skilful HAND.
THOSE are the _Four_ most difficult and principal wrong, or chief
_preternatural Situations_, of the _WOMB_; from whence we may easily
frame a competent Conjecture of the _Rest_; to wit, when the _Bottom_ of
the _WOMB_ is more or less turn’d to the _right_, or the _left Side_, or
_forwards_, or _backwards_: Since as _that_ differs more or less from
the _natural Position_, so the BIRTH in like manner is (of consequence)
the more or less _Difficult_, as will hereafter manifestly appear.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
CHAP. XIV.
_Of TOUCHING or HANDLING the Woman._
THE _Midwife_ ought to have a special _Knowledge_ in _This_ Matter,
since a Thing of so much Moment as LIFE itself often depends upon it;
yea, and _this Knowledge_ is of absolute Necessity to all Persons
practising MIDWIFERY, because many different Points of the greatest
_Importance_, are thereby plainly discover’d: But before I enter upon
these Things, I would have it rightly understood, that nothing else is
meant here by the _Performance_ of the TOUCH, than (upon having first
pared the _Nails_ short, equal, and smooth) _passing the two
Fore-fingers of either Hand, (previously well anointed with Fat or
Butter, when proper Oils are not to be had) through the_ VULVA _into
the_ VAGINA, _in order to reach the Orifice of the WOMB_, and to discern
its FORM, by feeling it on each Side.
AND it is not only requisite that the Woman in LABOUR be _touched_,
before her _Pains_ come on, because then the _Membrane_ containing the
_Humours_ being loose, the INFANT’s _Posture_ may be the better
distinguish’d; but the same TOUCH also is to be continued during the
_Force_ of the _Pains_, the better to know their _Nature_ and _Effects_;
whether the INFANT continues still at the _Passage_ or not; and whether
the _Humours_ are contracted _length-ways_, or press’d into a _Flat
Form_, and the like. For after the _Pains_ are over, it is easily to be
perceiv’d, whether they have _promoted_ the BIRTH or _Not_.
BUT during this _Performance_ of the TOUCH, great Care must be taken not
to handle the _Membranes_ containing the _Humours_ too roughly, lest
they should break in the Action.
NOW that the MIDWIFE may the more readily perform her TOUCH, she must
take good Heed to what is said of the _Cavity_ of the[157] PELVIS: for
as it rises from the _Bottom_ obliquely, ascending forwards; so, upon
this Occasion, in seeking for the _Orifice_ of the WOMB, she must not
thrust her _Fingers_ streight along according to the _Length_ of the
Body, towards the bending of the OS SACRUM; but guide them _upwards_
from the _Bottom_, as if thro’ the VAGINA, she would touch the _Navel_:
For Thus her _Hand_ being turn’d inward, and her _Fingers_ tending
towards the _Navel_, the _Orifice_ of the WOMB lying directly in the
way, she meets with it readily at first. Whereas they who go otherways
to work, seek it in vain, and find it with Difficulty.
THIS Observation I thought the more requisite in this Place, because
_MIDWIVES_ not accurately understanding the _Situation_ of the _Bones_
of the PELVIS, think that the WOMB and its _Neck_ or VAGINA reach
according to the _Length_ of the Woman, and make use of their _Hands_
accordingly: First hurting the VAGINA and RECTUM in the Bending of the
SACRUM; and then finding no farther _Passage_ for their _Fingers_; but
being altogether ignorant of the above-mentioned Method of finding the
said _Orifice_, they are very often surpriz’d, fall into great
_Confusion_ for want of better _Instruction_. Whence I proceed to——
[Illustration]
CHAP. XV.
_Of the various Uses and Advantages of the TOUCH._
BY the TOUCH then, to be brief, the _MIDWIFE_ gains the certain
_Knowledge_ of the following important _Heads_: viz.
FIRST, Whether a _Woman_ be with _CHILD_ or not: For I must needs own,
that some of the most certain _Signs_ of _Pregnancy_ are discover’d by
the _TOUCH_; since the WOMB shuts itself close up, immediately after
CONCEPTION, and its _Orifice_ becomes more _pointed_, _hard_, and
_solid_, resembling (according to _Mauriceau’s_ just Comparison) the
_Mouth_ of a _Puppy_ newly pupp’d.
BUT in time of the _INFANT_’s ripening, this _Orifice_ begins to
_swell_, and becomes _softer_, _smoother_, and _thinner_ than it was
Before.
SECONDLY, The _MIDWIFE_ discovers by the _TOUCH_, whether the Time of
BIRTH is near at hand, and how near it is. However, in speaking to this
Point, I desire to be rightly understood, not meaning _Miscarriages_, or
_Illegitimate BIRTHS_, but only such as are intirely _Legitimate_.
AS then the _INFANT_ advances in _Maturation_, so the _Orifice_ of the
WOMB from the _Third Month_, grows _smoother_, _thinner_, and _softer_;
and consequently the more _smooth_, _thin_, and _soft_ it appears at any
time afterwards to the _TOUCH_, so much the _nearer_ draws on the _Time_
of BIRTH.
IN _some Women_, this _ORIFICE_ begins to open two or three _Months_
before BIRTH; and this _Aperture_ enlarging itself by degrees, becomes
soon as wide as a _Shilling-Piece_, when the _Motion_ of the _INFANT_
may be distinctly perceiv’d: And in _others_ it is so much more
enlarged, that one single _Pain_ or two accomplishes the BIRTH.
BUT as all _Women_ are not _alike_, so this _RULE_ will admit of sundry
_Exceptions_; for _strong-body’d_ Women, Women of their _First Child_,
and those somewhat in Years, their WOMBS continue generally shut up to
the last, and open not without the severest _Pains_: And not only so,
but the _Orifice_ of the WOMB differs also, in all difficult and
_Preternatural Cases_, as well by reason of its own _oblique Situation_,
as of the _INFANT_’s ill Posture. For this Reason it is, that an
Experienced and Judicious _Hand_ is most requisite upon such Occasions;
since such an _One_ can clearly distinguish, what _Another_ cannot so
much as guess at.
THIRDLY, The _MIDWIFE_ immediately knows by the _TOUCH_, whether the
Woman be taken with the real and genuine LABOUR-PAINS or _Not_. Which is
a Point of the _greatest Moment_; since as it is of bad Consequence to
_delay_ the BIRTH, when the Woman is so taken, especially if the _WOMB_
and _INFANT_ be _Both_ well situated, lest the _Pains_ should vanish,
and the Opportunity of DELIVERY should thereby be lost: so, on the other
hand, to force a Woman to LABOUR, unseasonably, when but seiz’d with
_Bastard-Pains_, is a most pernicious Thing.
BUT both these _Cases_ too often happen, even to the _Hazard_, if not
the _Loss_ also of both LIVES; especially the _Latter_, when the
_MIDWIFE_ does not know how to distinguish these _False Pains_, either
the _Cholick_, or other _Gripes_, from the _genuine Pains_ by the
_TOUCH_: As will be more fully and amply explain’d in the next following
_Chapter_.
GIVE me Leave to say then, that BIRTH is not to be provok’d by any
Means, until the _MIDWIFE_, by touching the _Orifice_ of the WOMB, is
certain, that the Woman labours under the _True Pains_; which is not to
be judiciously suppos’d to happen before the _Seventh Month_ at soonest.
_BIRTH_ at that Time approaching, the Woman is afflicted with great
PAINS in her _Groin_, _Loins_, and about the _Navel_, tending downwards
with a depressing Force upon the WOMB and other _Private Parts_. But
these PAINS are not continual, for they only go-off and come-on by
_turns_; at which Time, by their violent _Depressure_, the _MIDWIFE_
finds the _Orifice_ of the WOMB _open_, or at least _opening_, and upon
Renewal of the PAIN, she finds it more and more dilated and relaxed:
whereas, on the other hand, when the PAINS are _Spurious_, they disperse
themselves through the whole _Body_, as well as the _Abdomen_; and then
the WOMB (as if it were securing itself) is found more closely
_contracted_.
FOURTHLY, It is likewise well known by the _TOUCH_, whether the BIRTH
will be _Easy_ and _Speedy_, or _Difficult_ and _Lingring_, on several
Occasions: 1. When the _MIDWIFE_ finds the _Head_ of the INFANT and the
lower Part of the WOMB fallen into the _Cavity_ of the PELVIS, so that
_She_ can touch it in the Confines of the VAGINA: 2. When the _Orifice_
of the WOMB is very soft, thin, and wide-open, so that (through it) she
finds the _Head_ of the INFANT foremost, without any Obstruction by the
_Arms_ or _Umbilical Vessels_ in the way, between the _Head_ of the
INFANT, and _Orifice_ of the WOMB; as often happens: And, 3. When the
_Humours_, by the _right Situation_ of the WOMB and the INFANT, are
found compressed into a _Flat Form_. I say, when Matters are found so
(by the _TOUCH_) in this _Natural Posture_, there is no great doubt
(under GOD) of a _Speedy_ and _Easy_ DELIVERY.
WHEREAS, on the contrary, when the _Orifice_ is found by Experience
_higher_, _little_ or not at all _open_; _sharp_, _hard_, and _thick_,
with the _Humours_ pressed up length-ways: _Then_ the _Case_ is quite
revers’d, and the _MIDWIFE_, if she _understands_ her Business, must
resolve to _sweat at her Work_.
NOW the Reason of such _Difficult_ BIRTHS commonly proceeds, either from
the _wrong Situation_ of the INFANT, or _That_ of the WOMB; the _latter_
of which always occasions the greater _Difficulty_, especially when it
is accidentally join’d with the _First_, to a vast Degree of
_Aggravation_: Of which, as follows of course.
FIFTHLY, Another _Advantage_ of the _TOUCH_, is the truly Knowing
whether the INFANT be in a _Natural_, or _Preternatural Posture_. For
the _MIDWIFE_ finding the _Orifice_ of the WOMB so _open_, that it
admits one or two _Fingers_, she may distinctly feel the _Chin_ of the
INFANT in a _Natural Position_, lying forwards on its _Breast_, and the
_Neck_ in the _Middle_ of the _Orifice_, or streight _Before_ it; so
that the _Head_ being foremost and lowest within the Borders of the
_Orifice_, the _Fingers_ cannot pass any _Farther_.
HOWEVER, supposing the _Clunes_, _Knee_, or _Elbow_, to present
themselves _First_ in the _ORIFICE_; It is true, they have their
_Roundness_, but then they are easily distinguished from the _Head_: For
the _Globular Part_ of it is much _broader_ and _smoother_, than either
_Knee_ or _Elbow_, and _harder_ than the _Buttocks_; which _Fleshy Part_
is soon distinguished from the _Bones_, or the _soft Membrane_ betwixt
the _Bones_ of the HEAD.
BUT as a capable _MIDWIFE_ can hereby distinguish all _These_ with
Facility, even before the _Waters_ begin to flow; so I need not mention
the _Hands_, which distinguish themselves by the _Fingers_, as the
_Feet_ do, by the _Toes_ or _Heels_; and the _Navel-string_ discovers
itself by its _Softness_, _Thinness_, and _Roundness_: All which,
however yet, are more easily known when the _Membrane_ is broke, and the
_Waters_ have actually flown. For the _Parts_, which were before covered
with this _Membrane_, lie now naked in the _ORIFICE_: Hence it often
unluckily happens, that _few MIDWIVES_ make an exact _Scrutiny_, about
the _Situation_ of the INFANT, till this Time of FLOODING; erroneously
thinking they are then _soon_ enough, which is an unaccountable Mistake;
as will hereafter abundantly appear.
SIXTHLY, It is perfectly known by the TOUCH, whether the WOMB be in a
_Natural_ or _Preternatural Posture_, as is plainly taught more at large
in the foregoing _Chapter_.
FINALLY, in short, we most assuredly know by the TOUCH, what is proper
to be done in all _Preternatural Cases_, upon giving _Assistance_ both
to the MOTHER and INFANT; as hereafter will fully appear by a more
copious _Dissertation_ to that Purpose.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
CHAP. XVI.
_Of the Genuine and Spurious LABOUR-PAINS._
THE sole Reason I add this _Chapter_, is, because our common _MIDWIVES_
are so often mistaken, and do so frequently err in this _Point_, having
no thorough-pac’d _Knowledge_ of either sort of these _PAINS_: For when
she comes to a Woman, taken ill with severe _PAINS_ in the _Belly_ or
_Loins_, being ignorant of the accurate Nicety of the TOUCH, she
presently concludes _These_ to be the true _labouring PAINS_, because
they indeed often resemble them very much; and she farther finding
perhaps the _ORIFICE_ a little _relax’d_ and _open_, expects it to
enlarge to her Satisfaction. Which, however, not answering her Hopes,
nor the _PAINS_ encreasing; she endeavours by _stimulating Medicines_
and other sinistrous _Means_, conformable to the perverse _Rules_ of her
PRACTICE, to raise and provoke _Them_: So that this, in short, is the
_Cause_, not only of many an _untimely BIRTH_, but also too commonly of
many an _untimely DEATH_.
NOW the _Wind-Cholick_, either in the Lower or Upper Part of the
_Belly_, occasions frequent racking _PAINS_, as do also the HUMOURS by
Virtue of their _Acidity_, corroding the _Intestines_; and these
_Mordacious PAINS_ are generally attended with a subsequent _Looseness_.
In which _Cases_, I always use proper _mitigating_ and _repelling_
MEANS, (such as a _Carminative_ and _Emollient Clyster_, &c: upon
extreme Occasions); which proper _Means_ infallibly answer my Ends in
either Condition. For if the _PAINS_ that afflict the Woman are
_Spurious_, They are thereby suddenly _laid_ and repressed; and if
_Genuine_, These very self-same _Means_ most effectually promote and
advance _them_ to _BIRTH_.
BUT again, _some Women_ are taken with a mix’d Complication of _Genuine_
and _Spurious_, or _Real_ and _False PAINS_, that are properly called
_Tergiversant_; which one Moment seem to _depress_ the _BIRTH_, and
_encourage_ the Woman to LABOUR; and the next convert themselves into
scatter’d CRAMPS, and other contracting _PAINS_: And these dispersed
_Bastard-Pains_ are always more pernicious to the Woman, than the most
severe _natural_ LABOUR-PAINS: _This Case_ is also easily distinguished
by the TOUCH; which done, the _false wandring Pains_ are first to be
assuag’d or carry’d off, before the _BIRTH_ can well succeed.
NOW, as to the real _Natural_ and _Genuine Pains_, They are, (methinks)
in short, easily to be judged of by the _Manner_ in which they always
seize the _Woman_; viz.
I. FROM the _Navel_ downwards to the _Groin_, reflecting towards the
_Loins_, with a depressing and bearing down upon the WOMB and PRIVITIES,
as occasionally mentioned in the preceding _Chapter_: And tho’ _These_
are intermitting (not _continual_) _PAINS_, yet their Severity and
Violence extenuate the _Umbilical_, and protuberate the _Genital Parts_,
opening and distending the _Passages_. But besides, as the _Blood_ is
exagitated and fermented, it excites a Velocity of PULSE, and a _Redness
of Face_; whilst the BELLY waxes _Fiery-hot_, and a _Feverish Shivering_
or _Trembling-Fit_ invades the _whole Woman_, especially the inferiour
LIMBS, but without any _Frigidity_.
II. THE _Membranes_, with their _Contents_, which _MIDWIVES_ commonly
call the _Gathering of the Waters_, now present themselves at the
_Orifice_ before the _Head_ of the INFANT, resembling (to the TOUCH)
_Abortive Eggs_ without any SHELL: upon _These_ breaking, the _Waters_
begin to flow; at first more _Sparingly_, but by and by more
_profusely_, and at last a _waterish Blood_ follows, when a _GIRL_ is to
be born; or a _pure-colour’d Blood_, when a _BOY_: But I also farther
distinguish the _BIRTH_ of an approaching _BOY_ from _that_ of a _GIRL_,
by the _Labour-Pains_; for in the _first Case_, these are far more
severe and penetrating, and accordingly the _BIRTH_ much more
expeditious, than in _Case_ of a _GIRL_: In which (however) the _PAINS_
are more constant and regular.
III. AND now, at last, the _OSSA COCCYGIS_ and _COXENDICIS_ begin to
yield, and give way; while the _Bottom_ contracts, the _Orifice_ of the
WOMB opens, and the VAGINA dilates itself fully: So that _now_, and not
_before_, most of the abovesaid _Signs_ evidently appear, I give my
patient _Woman_ the WORD to _Labour her best_; because if she begins
_sooner_, she too much debilitates both _Herself_ and fatigues the
_CHILD_ before its due Time.