Philosophy of Osteopathy

by A. T. Still

When pain comes, gently pull child's head down toward the bed. There is no danger of hurting the perineum now since the head has passed the soft parts. At this time the danger is suffocation of child. Never draw child too far away from mother's birth place by force, as you may tear navel string from the child and cause it to bleed to death. If you value the life of the child, then you must be careful not to place the navel end of the string in any danger of being torn off. Now you have made a good job for both mother and child so far. The child is in the world; and you want to show the mother a living baby for her labor and suffering of the past nine months. The baby is born and the mother is not torn, but the baby has not yet cried. Turn it on its side, face down, run your finger in its mouth and draw out all fluids, thick or thin, to let the breath pass to the lungs. Then blow cold breath on its face and breast to cause its lungs to act.

SEVERING CORD.

Baby cries, all is safe now. Baby is born safely and cries nicely, but still has cord fastened to afterbirth. It has no further use for cord, as life does not depend upon blood from the afterbirth any longer. Take the cord about three inches from the child's belly, between thumb and finger, and strip towards child to push bowels out of the cord if there should be any in it, as a safeguard for bowels, then tie a strong string around cord, first three inches from child's belly, second, four inches; take the cord in your hand and look what you are doing. If baby's hand should fall back to cord, you might cut off one or two fingers, or wound the hand or arm very seriously. Cut cord between the two ties just made on navel string. Look out for your scissors; pass the child over to the nurse to be washed and dressed, while you deliver the afterbirth from pelvis or womb.

PUTTING ON BELLY BAND.

When the child's shirt is on, cut a hole the size of your thumb in a doubled piece of cloth, five inches long by four wide, put the hole two inches from one end, and run the cord through the hole. Lay the cloth across the child's belly, then fold the cloth lengthwise over the cord, which must lie across the child so it will not stretch cord by handling or straightening child out. Now you are ready to finish the delivery of the afterbirth. You have a plug of soft and tender flesh to get out of the womb and vagina.

DELIVERY OF AFTERBIRTH.

As the afterbirth has been grown tight to the womb during all the days of mother's pregnancy, and furnished all the blood to build and keep the child alive in the womb for nine months, it has done all it can do for the child, and is now ready to leave the womb.

You are there to assist it to get out of the place it has occupied so long. You must begin first to rotate or roll the placenta first one way and then another, up, down and across the vagina, by gently pulling the cord. Look out or you will pull the cord loose from the placenta; then you will have made your first blunder,—no cord to pull placenta with, and the mother bleeding and faint from loss of blood. Now is the time and place to save life. Pass your hand forward into the soft parts to get your fingers behind the placenta; now give a rolling pull and bring it out with the hand. You will find it an easy matter to get your hand into the vagina and womb after the birth of the child. Get all the placenta out, then take a wad of cloth or rags as large as the child's head, and press it under the cross bone of the pelvis; push the cloth under and up, so as to completely plug the pelvis. Now pull the hair gently over the symphesis, which will cause the womb to contract by irritation.

PREPARING FOR MOTHER'S COMFORT.

All is now done but to provide for the mother's comfort, which is your next duty. Draw her chemise down her back and legs until it is straight, then with safety pins, pin the chemise on inner side of thighs so that the chemise will go around both thighs separately. Now you have the shirt fast to keep it from sliding upwards, and you are ready to make a band of the chemise to support the womb and abdomen. Bring the chemise tightly together for two or three inches above the pelvis to form a band. Previous to pinning, draw the lump (womb) you feel above symphesis, up, then pin, and the belt you have made of the chemise will support the womb. All is safe now, but you must not leave for two hours. You may have delivered a feeble woman, who may flood to death after delivery of the child, if you do not leave her safe. I have in mind one case who flooded all of two quarts at a single dash. The first symptom was a pain in the head.