Handbook of obstetric nursing / by Francis W.N. Haultain and James Haig Ferguson.

  • Haultain, Francis W. N. (Francis William Nicol)
Date:
1898
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Handbook of obstetric nursing / by Francis W.N. Haultain and James Haig Ferguson. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    197/304 (page 177)
    foetus is rapidly born, the passages having been thoroughly dilated by the birth of the first foetus. Frequently there is a long interval between the delivery of the children, cases being cited where even days have intervened. Labour is occasionally seriously impeded when both foetuses are forced into the pelvis at the same time. Another serious complication arises when, in a breech and vertex presentation, the chins become caught on one another (locked twins). The management differs little from that of ordinary labour. After the birth of the first child, carefully tie the cord, taking care that the end of the portion which passes into the uterus is firmly secured, as there may be an in- timate connection between it and the remaining foetus. It is well, on recognition of the presence of another foetus, to inform the friends; the mother, however, is better to be kept ignorant of the fact, as delayed labour from mental shock may be occasioned by the knowledge. An interval of half an hour should be allowed, for the return of uterine contractions, before any attempt to stimulate their recurrence be made. Gentle rubbing of the fundus uteri will now, as a rule, be found sufficient to start the pains; if this prove unavailing, an attempt to express the foetus by suprapubic pressure should be made. The second foetus being generally within a separate bag of membranes, artificial rupture of the latter may be required. The greatest caution must be observed, after the birth of the second foetus, to keep the uterus well contracted, as the