Compendious system of midwifery : chiefly designed to facilitate the inquiries.

  • Dewees, William P. (William Potts), 1768-1841.
Date:
1824
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Compendious system of midwifery : chiefly designed to facilitate the inquiries. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the University of Massachusetts Medical School, Lamar Soutter Library, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the Lamar Soutter Library at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.

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    INTRODUCTION. lo is perhaps still worse, absolutely destroy her by ill-judged and rude mancEuvres, under the specious pretence of relieving her ? Besides, the peculiar situation of our country imposes a ne- cessity upon every medical student, to become well acquainted with the theory of midwifery; for every one almost must become a practitioner of it, if he pursue the object for which he was edu- cated. A change of manners, within a few years, has resulted in the almost exclusive employment of the male practitioner ; this was mainly effected from a conviction, that the well-in- structed physician was best calculated to avert danger, and sur- mount difficulties ; but how ill is that confidence repaid ! a con- fidence which costs females so severe a struggle ! Should they submit their future welfare, nay, their lives, to an ignorant pre- tender, what security can they have in such hands, that they shall escape, without having entailed on them a permanent de- rangement of organ, or perpetuation of a harassing and loath- some disease ? In whatever point of view we regard this subject, it must be highly' interesting to the philosopher and the philanthropist; shall it be less so then to the physician, who is more immedi- ately concerned in its influence ? Shall it be a matter of indif- ference to him, who has almost the controul of the future com- fort and happiness of perhaps an extensive population, and who shall become, as it were, the arbiter of the lives of thousands of individuals ? A very loose morality shudders at the idea of a single murder ; yet an ignorant practitioner of midwifery may feel no compunctious visitations of conscience for a hundred. We trust we shall be credited when we declare, that our pre- sent work was not undertaken without due deliberation upon the responsibility attached to such an enterprise ; and that our aim most honestly is, to be useful—we have endeavoured to make our experience available to the best interests of humanity; and, should we fail to instruct, we feel a confidence we shall not grossly mislead. In the arrangement of onr materials, we have ventured tg depart from common usage in the treating of the various ob-