2^6 OF THE GROWTH, &c. 



born in the loth month. When infants come 

 into the world before the 9th month, they are 

 neither fo large nor fo well formed as tiiofe who 

 appear not till a later period. Thofe, on the 

 contrary, who remain in the womb till the loth 

 n>onth, are larger and better made ; their hair 

 is longer ; the growth of the teeth, though ftill 

 concealed within the gums, is more advanced ; 

 and the tone of their voice is deeper and more 

 diftina. 



With regard to the occafional caufes of deli- 

 very, there is much uncertainty. It is imagined 

 by fome writers, that, when the foetus has ac- 

 quired a certain fize, the capacity of the uterus 

 becomes too fmall for its retention, and that the 

 reftraint felt by the child obliges it to exert every 

 effort to break its prifon. Others alledge, which 

 amounts nearly to the fame thing, that the foe- 

 , tus becomes too heavy to be fupported by the 

 uterus, which, therefore, opens to be difcharged 

 of its load. Neither of thefe rcalbns appear to 

 be fatisfadory : T he uterus has always fufficient 

 capacity and (Irength to contain and lupport the 

 weight of a child of nine months ; for it is often 

 loaded with two, during the Tame period ; and it 

 is certain, that the weight and fize of two chil- 

 dren of eight months, for example, exceed thofe 

 of a fmgle infant of the fame age. Befides, it 

 is not unfrcquent that a child of nine months is 

 lefs than another at eight months, though it ftill 

 remains in the womb. 



Galpn 



