MANAGEMENT OF LABOR. 351 



head reaches the inferior strait, that instead of bearing strongly on 

 the pelvis, and pushing downwards, the woman, in spite of herself, 

 draws it upwards as if to avoid the pain. In this she is doubly dis- 

 appointed; in the first place, because nothing can save her from the 

 distress she endures, and because she in this way voluntarily pro- 

 tracts the period of her deliverance; and then, far from being an 

 evil, violent contractions are what she should above all things de- 

 sire, for upon them depends the prompt termination of the labor. The 

 same thing often takes place in women who are too pusillanimous, 

 too nervous or timid; they are restrained by the fear of making 

 the pains too sharp; they are restless, and toss about from place 

 to place, and rather than assist and make the most of their pains, 

 do all they can to hinder or suspend them. 



829. Some of them fall into the opposite kind of excesses, give 

 themselves up to such immoderate efforts, that unless care were 

 taken, very serious consequences might ensue, such as a great con- 

 gestion of the brain, and even an apoplexy, the sudden swelling of 

 the thyroid body, and the rupture of the large veins of the throat, 

 the formation of hernias of all sorts, temporary paralysis of the lower 

 limbs, &c. The dangers to which they expose themselves by 

 inconsiderately bearing down in this manner, ought to be painted 

 in strong colors and exhibited to their view, and all the means of 

 persuasion and control should be skilfully employed in order to 

 oblige them not to give way so completely to their feelings. If 

 reason, intreaty and gentleness do not succeed, a firm and even 

 menacing tone, properly adapted, sometimes becomes necessary. 

 There are a thousand means to be made use of to quiet them, to 

 inspire them with dread, and restrain them. Thus, Baudelocque, 

 after having in vain exhausted all his resources, thought of bringing 

 two lawyers dressed in their robes into the chamber of a woman in 

 labor, by which she was so intimidated that she thenceforth became 

 reasonable, and submitted to the counsels of her accoucheur. 



830. The touch is performed at different periods of labor, for 

 the purpose of ascertaining the position of the fietus, the degree of 

 dilatation of the neck, and to learn how far the head has descended. 

 Rigorously speaking, it would be sufficient to touch three times dur- 

 ing a labor: once at the commencement, to learn certainly whether 

 the womb is contracting; a second time, just as the waters break, 

 to make ourselves positively sure of the position; and a third, when 

 the pains and eflforts have acquired a certain degree of strength, in 

 order to see whether the parts engage properly in the excavation; 

 but, generally speaking, unless the vulva and vagina are very sensible 

 and irritable, we may repeat this operation much more frequently, 



