The Prospective Mother (A Handbook for Women During Pregnancy)
The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Prospective Mother, by J. Morris Slemons Copyright laws are changing all over the world. Be sure to check the copyright laws for your country before downloading or redistributing this or any other Project Gutenberg eBook.
This header should be the first thing seen when viewing this Project Gutenberg file. Please do not remove it. Do not change or edit the header without written permission.
Please read the "legal small print," and other information about the eBook and Project Gutenberg at the bottom of this file. Included is important information about your specific rights and restrictions in how the file may be used. You can also find out about how to make a donation to Project Gutenberg, and how to get involved.
**Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla Electronic Texts**
**eBooks Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since 1971**
*****These eBooks Were Prepared By Thousands of Volunteers!*****
Title: The Prospective Mother A Handbook for Women During Pregnancy
Author: J. Morris Slemons
Release Date: December, 2004 [EBook #7129] [Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule] [This file was first posted on March 13, 2003]
Edition: 10
Language: English
Character set encoding: ASCII
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE PROSPECTIVE MOTHER ***
Produced by Tricia Gilbert, Tiffany Vergon, Charles Aldarondo, Charles Franks and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team.
THE PROSPECTIVE MOTHER
A Handbook for Women During Pregnancy
by
J. MORRIS SLEMONS
Associate Professor of Obstetrics, The Johns Hopkins University.
* * * * *
PREFACE
This book, written for women who have no special knowledge of medicine, aims to answer the questions which occur to them in the course of pregnancy. Directions for safeguarding their health have been given in detail, and emphasis has been placed upon such measures as may serve to prevent serious complications. Treatment of such conditions has not been discussed, as it can be judiciously carried out only by a physician who has the opportunity to observe and study the individual patient. Furthermore, if there is to be notable improvement in the management of cases of childbirth, the appearance of untoward symptoms should not be awaited before consulting a physician; on the contrary, prospective mothers must be taught that they should be under competent medical supervision throughout pregnancy.
At present intelligent women demand some knowledge of the anatomical and physiological changes incident to the development of the embryo and the birth of the child. These subjects do not readily lend themselves to popular description, but I have told the story as simply as possible, following in a general way the text-book of my teacher and friend, Professor J. Whitridge Williams; indeed, my main purpose has been to reproduce his book "in words of one syllable." The use of a number of technical words has been unavoidable, and, though their meaning has been given in the context, it has not been feasible to repeat the definition every time an unfamiliar term was used. On that account a glossary has been provided.
It is with pleasure that I avail myself of this opportunity to acknowledge the cheerfully given assistance of many friends. In particular I wish to thank Doctor Henry M. Hurd, until recently Superintendent of the Johns Hopkins Hospital, for his interest and advice. I am also under deep obligation to my friend John C. French, of the English Department of the Johns Hopkins University, for helpful criticism of the manuscript, and to my colleagues, Doctors Rupert Norton and Thomas R. Boggs, for valuable assistance. To many others--doctors, nurses, and patients--I am indebted for numerous suggestions which have been made either consciously or unconsciously.
J. MORRIS SLEMONS.
* * * * *
INTRODUCTION
In all branches of medicine the master word is _prophylaxis_, or prevention, and its benefits are nowhere more strikingly illustrated than in the practice of obstetrics. In former times every woman who gave birth to a child or passed through a miscarriage was exposed to grave danger of infection or child-bed fever; but at present--thanks to the recognition of the bacterial origin of the disease and of its identity with wound infection--this danger can be practically eliminated by the rigid observance of surgical cleanliness and aseptic technique. Physicians have also learned that the most effective method of coping with other serious complications of pregnancy and labor is by preventing their occurrence, or at least by subjecting them to treatment in their earliest stages; for, if they be allowed to go on to full development, the results are little better than in times past. Furthermore, a careful examination some weeks before the expected date of confinement enables us to recognize the existence of abnormal presentations and of disproportion between the size of the mother's pelvis and that of the child's head. Timely recognition of such conditions makes appropriate treatment possible and practically insures a successful outcome; while tardy recognition is frequently followed by
![](qr/32589/1.png)
Continue reading on your phone by scaning this QR Code
Tip: The current page has been bookmarked automatically. If you wish to continue reading later, just open the
Dertz Homepage, and click on the 'continue reading' link at the bottom of the page.