MISCARRIAGE.
Miscarriage is a fruitful source of disease, and often of danger, to wives. It also causes a frightful waste of human life. Unborn thousands annually die in this manner.
Frequency.—Miscarriage is by no means a rare occurrence. Statistics show that thirty-seven out of one hundred mothers miscarry before they attain the age of thirty years. But this accident is much more apt to occur during the latter than during the first half of the child-bearing period; and therefore it is estimated that ninety out of one hundred of all women who continue in matrimony until the change of life, miscarry.
Influence of age of mother.—A woman who marries at forty is very much disposed to miscarry; whereas, had she married at thirty, she might have borne children when older than forty. As a mother approaches the end of her child-bearing period, it is likely that she will terminate her career of fertility with a premature birth. The last pregnancies are not only most commonly unsuccessful, but there is also reason to believe that the occurrence of idiocy in a child may be associated with the circumstance of its being the last-born of its mother. It has been asserted, in this connection, that men of genius are frequently the first-born. First pregnancies are also fraught with the danger of miscarriage, which occurs more often in them than in others, excepting the latest. A woman is particularly apt to miscarry with her first child, if she be either exceedingly nervous or full-blooded.
Influence of period of pregnancy.—Miscarriage is most frequent in the earlier months of pregnancy—from the first to the third. It is also very prone to happen about the sixth month. Habit makes itself felt here; for women who have many times experienced this sad accident, encounter it nearly always at the same epoch of their pregnancy.
How early can the child live?—The infant is incapable, as a rule, of an independent existence, if brought into the world before the end of the sixth month. The law of France regards a child born one hundred and eighty days after wedlock as not only capable of living, but as legitimate and worthy of all legal and civil rights. There are many cases mentioned, by the older medical writers, of children born previous to this period living. One of the most curious is that recorded by Van Swieten. The boy Fortunio Liceti was brought into the world before the sixth month, in consequence of a fright his mother had at sea. When born, it is said, he was the size of a hand, and his father placed him in an oven, for the purpose, probably, it has been suggested, of making him rise. Although born prematurely, he died late, for we are told that he attained his seventy-ninth year. Professor Gunning S. Bedford of New York records the case of a woman in her fourth confinement, who, before she had completed her sixth month, was delivered of a female infant weighing two pounds nine ounces. The surface of the body was of a scarlet hue. It breathed, and in a short time after birth cried freely. After being wrapped in soft cotton, well lubricated with warm sweet-oil, it was fed with the mother's milk, by having a few drops at a time put into its mouth. At first it had great difficulty in swallowing, but gradually it succeeded in taking sufficient nourishment, and is now a vigorous, healthy young woman.
Dangers to mother.—Wives are too much in the habit of making light of miscarriages. They are much more frequently followed by disease of the womb than are confinements at full terms. There is a greater amount of injury done to the parts than in natural labor. While after confinement ample time is afforded by a long period of repose for the bruised and lacerated parts to heal, after a miscarriage no such rest is obtained. Menstruation soon returns; conception may quickly follow. Unhappily, there is no custom requiring husband and wife to sleep apart for a month after a miscarriage, as there is after a confinement. Hence, especially if there be any pre-existing uterine disease, or a predisposition thereto, miscarriage is a serious thing.
Causes.—The irritation of hemorrhoids or straining at stool will sometimes provoke an early expulsion of a child. Excessive intercourse by the newly married is a very frequent cause. Bathing in the ocean has been known to produce it. Nursing is exceedingly apt to do so. It has been shown by a distinguished medical writer, that, in a given number of instances, miscarriage occurred in seventeen per cent. of cases in which the woman conceived while nursing, and in only ten per cent. where conception occurred at some other time. A wife, therefore, who suspects herself to be pregnant, should wean her child. The extraction of a tooth, over-exertion and over-excitement, a fall, a blow, any violent emotion, such as anger, sudden and excessive joy, or fright, running, dancing, horseback exercise, or riding in a badly-built carriage over a rough road, great fatigue, lifting heavy weights, the abuse of purgative medicines, disease or displacement of the womb, small-pox, or a general condition of ill-health, are all fruitful and well-known exciting causes of this unfortunate mishap, in addition to those which have been before mentioned.
Prevention.—The eminent practitioner, Dr. Tilt, says, 'The way to prevent miscarriage is to lead a quiet life, particularly during those days of each successive month when, under other circumstances, the woman would menstruate; and to abstain during those days not only from long walks and parties, but also from sexual intercourse.'
It is especially desirable to avoid a miscarriage in the first pregnancy, for fear that the habit of miscarrying shall then be set up, which it will be very difficult to eradicate. Therefore newly-married women should carefully avoid all causes which are known to induce the premature expulsion of the child. If it should take place in spite of all precautions, extraordinary care should be exercised in the subsequent pregnancy, to prevent its recurrence. Professor Bedford of New York has said he has found that an excellent expedient in such cases is, as soon as pregnancy is known to exist, 'to interdict sexual intercourse until after the fifth month; for if the pregnancy pass beyond this period, the chances of miscarriage will be much diminished.'