CONFINEMENT INCIDENTS
REGARDING THE DREAD AND FEAR OF CHILDBIRTH--THE WOMAN WHO DREADS
CHILDBIRTH--REGARDING THE USE OF ANESTHETICS IN CONFINEMENTS--THE
PRESENCE OF FRIENDS AND RELATIVES IN THE CONFINEMENT CHAMBER--HOW LONG
SHOULD A WOMAN STAY IN BED AFTER A CONFINEMENT?--WHY DO PHYSICIANS
PERMIT WOMEN TO GET OUT OF BED BEFORE THE WOMB IS BACK IN ITS PROPER
PLACE?--LACERATIONS, THEIR MEANING AND THEIR SIGNIFICANCE--THE
ADVANTAGE OF AN EXAMINATION SIX WEEKS AFTER THE CONFINEMENT--THE
PHYSICIAN WHO DOES NOT TELL ALL OF THE TRUTH
REGARDING THE MORE OR LESS PREVALENT DREAD OR FEAR OF CHILDBIRTH.--Much has
been written, and much more could be written upon this subject. Inasmuch as
this book is largely intended for prospective mothers to read and profit
thereby, and is not for physicians and nurses whose actual acquaintance
with confinement work would render such comments superfluous, it will not
be out of place to consider this phase of the subject briefly, from a
medical standpoint. When one considers that "a child is born every minute"
as the saying goes, and which is approximately true, and at the same time
remembers that statistics prove, as near as can be estimated, that there is
only one death of a mother in twenty thousand confinements, it would really
seem as though we were "looking for trouble" to even regard the subject as
worthy of the smallest consideration. It is much more dangerous to ride
five miles on a railroad, or on a street car, or even take a two-mile
walk,--the percentage possibility of accident is decidedly in your favor to
stay at home and have a baby. Almost any disease you can mention has a
higher, a much higher fatality percentage than the risks run by a [112]
pregnant woman. The real justification for actual fear of serious trouble
is so small that it barely exists. These are facts that cannot be argued
away by any specious if or and. Why, therefore, should there be any real
fear?
Did you ever hear of the remarks made by a famous philosopher who was given
a dinner by his friends in celebration of his 85th birthday? In replying to
the eulogisms of his friends he said in part:
"As I look back into those blessed years that have faded away, I can recall
a lot of troubles and many worries as well as much happiness and pleasure,
and thinking of it all this evening I can truthfully say my worst troubles
and worries never happened."
So it is with the woman who for weeks or months has made her own life
wretched, and possibly the life of her husband and friends, the same in
imagining all kinds of dreadful things that never take place. It is
undoubtedly an exhibition of weakness, an evidence of failure in the
development of self-control. Childbirth is a natural process,--there is
nothing mysterious about it. If you do your part you have no cause to
fear,--the very fact, however, that you entertain a dread of it, shows that
you are not doing your part. One of the saddest parts of life, one of the
real tragedies of living, is the fact that most of us have to live so long
before we really begin to profit by our experiences. Could we only be
taught to learn the lesson of experience earlier, when life is younger and
hope stronger, we would have so much more to live for and so many more
satisfied moments to profit by. One of the most valuable lessons experience
can teach any human being is not to worry and fret about the future. You
can plant ahead of yourself a path of roses and be cheerful, or you can
plant a bed of thorns and reap a thorny reward. Cultivate the spirit of
contentment, devote all your energy to making the actual present
comfortable. Don't fret about what is going to bother you next week,
because, as the philosopher said, most of the troubles we anticipate and
worry about never occur, but the worry kills.
REGARDING THE USE OF ANESTHETICS IN CONFINEMENTS.--Anesthetics are as a
rule given in all confinements that are not normal. To make this [113]
statement more plain it may be said, that, when it is necessary to use
instruments, or to perform any operation of a painful character, it is the
invariable rule to give anesthetics. As to the wisdom of giving an
anesthetic when labor is progressing in a normal and satisfactory manner,
there is a difference of opinion. Much depends upon the disposition of the
patient and the viewpoint of the physician in charge of the case. It is a
fact that a large number of confinements are easy and are admitted to be
so, by the patients themselves, and in which it would be medically wrong to
give an anesthetic. In a normal confinement, however, when the pains are
particularly severe and the progress slow, there is no medical reason why
an anesthetic could not be given to ease the pain. In these cases it is not
necessary to render the patient completely unconscious. Sufficient
anesthetic to dull each pain is all that is necessary, and as this can be
accomplished with absolute safety by the use of an anesthetic mixture of
alcohol, ether and chloroform, there can be no possible objection to it.
The use of an anesthetic, however, is a matter that must be left entirely
to the judgment of the physician as there are frequently good reasons why
it should not be given under any circumstances.
THE PRESENCE OF FRIENDS AND RELATIVES IN THE CONFINEMENT CHAMBER.--It is a
safe rule to exclude every one from the confinement room during the later
stages of labor. Sometimes it is desirable to make an exception to this
rule in the interest of the patient, by permitting the mother or husband to
remain. If this exception is made, however, they must be told to conduct
themselves in a way that will tend to keep the patient in cheerful spirits.
They must not sympathize, or go around with solemn, gloomy faces.
Cheerfulness and an encouraging word will tide over a trying moment when
the reverse might prove disastrous.
Practically the same rule applies to the entire period of convalescence
during which time the patient is confined to bed. This is a very important
episode in a woman's life and the consequences may be serious if it is
misused in any way. Friends and relatives do not appreciate the [114]
absolute necessity of guarding the patient from small talk and gossip, and
an unwitting remark may cause grave mental distress, which may retard the
patient's convalescence and disastrously affect the quality and quantity of
her milk, thereby injuring the child.
HOW LONG SHOULD A WOMAN STAY IN BED AFTER A CONFINEMENT?--To answer this
question by stating a specific number of days would be wrong, because, few
women understand the need for staying in bed after they feel well enough to
get up. If any answer was given, it should be at least fourteen days, and
it would be nearer the truth medically to double that time. Let us consider
what is going on at this period. The natural size of the unimpregnated womb
is three by one and three-quarter inches, and its weight is one to two
ounces. The average size of the pregnant womb just previous to labor is
twenty by fourteen inches, and its weight about sixteen ounces. We have,
therefore, an increase of about 600% to be got rid of before it assumes
again its normal condition. This decrease cannot be accomplished quickly by
any known medical miracle. Nature takes time and she will not be hurried:
she will do it in an orderly, perfect manner if she is allowed to. The womb
will again find its proper location and will resume its work, in a
painless, natural way, in due time, if all goes well. The uterus or womb is
held in its place by two bands or ligaments, one on either side, and is
supported in front and back by the structures next to it. These bands keep
the womb in place in much the same way as a clothes pin sits on a clothes
line, and it will retain its proper place provided everything is just
right. After labor, it is large and top heavy. If you put a weight on the
top of a clothes pin as it sits on a clothes line, what will take place? It
will tilt one way or the other, and if the weight is heavy, it will turn
completely over. So long as the woman lies in bed the womb will gradually
shrink back to its proper size and place; if she sits up or gets out of bed
too soon, the weight of the womb, being top heavy, will cause it to tilt
and sag out of its true position. As soon as it does this the weight of the
bowels and other structures above will push and crowd it further out [115]
of place. This crowding and tilting interferes with the circulation in the
womb and its proper contraction is interfered with, and thus is laid the
foundation for the multitude of womb troubles that exist.
It is a mechanical as well as a medical problem. Being partly mechanical,
it is subject to the rules that govern mechanical problems. The importance
of this dual process will be appreciated by considering the following fact.
Many medical conditions tend to cure or rectify themselves because nature
is always working in our behalf if we give her a chance. Take for example
an ordinary cold. You can have a very severe cold and you can neglect it,
and in spite of your neglect you will get well. It is not wise to neglect
colds, nevertheless, it is true that nature will cure, unaided, a great
many diseased conditions, if she has half a chance. This, to a very large
extent, is the secret of Christian Science, yet the principle is known to
everyone. A mechanical condition, on the other hand, has absolutely no
tendency to get well of its own accord, or without mechanical aid. This is
why Christian Science cannot cure a broken leg. It is this principle that
makes diseases of the womb so persistent, and so stubborn of cure. When a
womb once becomes slightly displaced, the tendency always is for it to grow
worse and never to cure itself. The longer it lasts the worse it gets. Its
cure depends upon mechanically putting it back in place and holding it long
enough there to permit nature to reëstablish its circulation, and by toning
and strengthening it so that when the mechanical support is taken away it
will retain its position. There is no other possible way of doing it. Now
since it has been proved that nature takes many days to contract a pregnant
womb, a woman is taking a risk, and inviting trouble by getting out of bed
before that time.
WHY DO PHYSICIANS PERMIT WOMEN TO GET UP BEFORE THE WOMB IS BACK IN ITS
PROPER PLACE?--Without offering the excuse that a woman will not stay in
bed as long as a physician knows she should, there is, however, a large
degree of truth in this excuse. And we are of the opinion that, if a
physician made it a rule to keep all his confinement cases in bed for one
month, [Page 116] he would very soon find himself without these patients.
Experience has taught us, however, that it is safe, under proper
restrictions, and in uncomplicated confinements, to allow patients to sit
up in bed on the 12th and in certain cases on the 10th day, and to get out
of bed on the 12th or 14th day. When the patient is allowed to sit up, out
of bed, it should not be for longer than one or two hours, and during that
time she should sit in a comfortable rocking or Morris chair, which should
be placed by the side of the bed. Each day the time can be lengthened, and
the distance of the chair from the bed increased. This procedure gives her
the opportunity to walk a little further each day, thereby to test her
strength and ability to use her limbs. On the fourth day, if all has gone
well, she may stay up all day and she may walk more freely about the room.
She should be just to herself, however. As soon as she is fatigued she
should not make any effort to try to "work it off." When a feeling of
fatigue appears she should rest completely. If she has any pain or distress
she should acquaint the physician with it at once. She should not try to
hide anything on the mistaken idea that "it isn't much." She does not know,
and she is not supposed to know what the pain may mean; it may be
exceedingly significant. Many women have saved themselves needless
suffering, and their husbands unnecessary expenditure of money, by calling
the physician's attention to conditions, which in time would have been
serious, and would have necessitated long, expensive treatment.
LACERATIONS DURING CONFINEMENT, THEIR MEANING AND THEIR SIGNIFICANCE.--The
only interest a laceration or a tear has to a physician, is whether the
laceration or tear is of sufficient importance to need surgical
interference. The laceration can take place at the mouth of the womb, or on
the outside, between the vagina and rectum.
Those of the mouth of the womb always take place, in every confinement, to
some degree. They are never given any attention at the time of the
confinement, unless under extraordinary circumstances, such as a more or
less complete rupture of the womb, and this is such a rare accident [117]
that most physicians practice a lifetime and never see or hear of one
single case. Those on the outside are always attended to immediately after
labor, or should be, unless they are very extensive and the patient is not
in condition to permit of any immediate operative work. In such a case it
is best to leave it alone until the patient is in condition to have it
operated on at a later date.
It is distinctly preferable to have it attended to immediately after labor
when it is possible, and it is possible in a very large percentage of the
cases. The explanation of this is because it is practically painless then,
owing to the parts having been so stretched and bruised that they have
little or no feeling. If it is left for a day or two and then repaired, it
will be more painful, because the parts will have regained their
sensitiveness. Another good reason in favor of immediate repair is that a
much better and quicker union will take place than if postponed.
When a patient is torn, but not to the degree necessary to stitch, it is to
her advantage to be told to lie on her back and keep her knees together for
twelve hours, thus keeping the torn edges together and at rest, thereby
favoring quick and healthy repair of the tear. Some physicians go as far as
to bind the patient's knees together so she cannot separate them during
sleep.
It is the custom of every conscientious physician to request every woman he
confines to report at his office six or eight weeks after labor. The reason
for this is to find out by examination the character and extent of the
lacerations of the mouth of the womb. No physician can tell at the time of
labor just how much damage has been done, because the mouth of the womb, at
the time of labor, is so stretched and thinned out, that it is impossible
to tell. After the womb has contracted to about its normal size, it is a
very simple matter for any physician to tell exactly the character and
extent of the lacerations. Most of these tears need absolutely no
attention; there are a few however that do. This is a very important matter
for two very good reasons.
1st. Every woman should know, and is entitled to know, just what [118]
condition she is in, because if she has been torn to an extent that needs
attention, and is left in ignorance of it, her physical health may be
slowly and seriously undermined and the cause of it may not be understood
or even guessed at. A woman who becomes nervous and irritable, loses vim
and vitality, has headaches, backaches and anemia, and no symptoms, or few,
that point to disease of the womb, will suffer a long time before she seeks
relief of the right kind, and will be astonished and outraged when she is
told that it all results from a bad tear of her womb that she knew nothing
about.
2nd. A physician should in justice to himself insist on this late
examination, because if a woman is told, at some subsequent time, by
another physician that she is badly torn, and she was not told of it by the
physician who confined her, she is very apt to form an unjust opinion of
his work and to entertain an unfriendly feeling toward him as a man.
Some physicians also, to their discredit, are not slow in permitting an
unjust opinion of a colleague to be spread around, by preserving a silence,
when an explanation would result in an entirely different opinion by the
patient. They permit it to be inferred that the physician was responsible
for the tear, when such is not the case. No physician on earth can prevent
a tear of the mouth of the womb and this should be explained to the
patient. Where the physician is at fault is in the failure to examine his
patients when it is possible to tell that a tear of any consequence exists.
If such an examination is made, he is in a position to state that a tear
exists of sufficient extent to justify careful attention. Immediate
operation is seldom necessary, and if the patient is comparatively young,
it may not be wise to operate, because if pregnancy takes place within a
reasonable time the womb will again tear. She should be told, however, that
should she not become pregnant during the next three years she should be
examined from time to time, and if the condition of her womb, or her health
suggest it, she should have the tear attended to. If after this explanation
she neglects herself she must blame herself, she will at least have no[119]
cause to harbor any resentment against her physician who has done all any
physician is called upon to do under the circumstances. Another important
reason for finding out the character of the laceration is because these
lacerations of the mouth of the womb frequently cause sterility.
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