Chapter VIII: The Management of Labor

When to send for the physician in confinement cases--The preparation of the patient--The beginning of labor--The first pains--The meaning of the term "labor"--Length of the first stage of labor--What the first stage of [xvii] labor means--What the second stage of labor means--Length of the second stage--Duration of the first confinement--Duration of subsequent confinements--Conduct of patient during second stage of labor--What a labor pain means--How a willful woman can prolong labor--Management of actual birth of child--Position of woman during birth of child--Duty of nurse immediately following birth of child--Expulsion of after-birth--How to expel after-birth--Cutting the cord--Washing the baby's eyes immediately after birth--What to do with baby immediately after birth--Conduct immediately after labor--After pains--Rest and quiet after labor--Position of patient after labor--The Lochia--The events of the following day--The first breakfast after confinement--The importance of emptying the bladder after labor--How to effect a movement of the bowels after labor--Instructing the nurse in details--Douching after labor--How to give a douche--"Colostrum," its uses--Advantages of putting baby to breast early after labor--The first lunch--The first dinner--Diet after third day ... PAGE 93

CHAPTER IX

CONFINEMENT INCIDENTS

Regarding the dread and fear of childbirth--The woman who dreads childbirth--Regarding the use of anesthetics in confinements--The presence of friends and relatives in the confinement chamber--How long should a woman stay in bed after confinement--Why do physicians permit women to get out of bed before the womb is back in its proper place?--Lacerations, their meaning, and their significance--The advantage of an examination six weeks after the confinement--The physician who does not tell all of the truth ... PAGE 111

CHAPTER X

NURSING MOTHERS

The diet of nursing mothers--Care of the nipples--Cracked nipples--Tender nipples--Mastitis in nursing mothers--Inflammation of the breasts--When should a child be weaned?--Method of weaning--Nursing while menstruating--Care of breasts while weaning child--Nervous nursing mothers--Birthmarks--Qualifications of a nursery maid ... PAGE 121