Page:Sexology.djvu/196

 Hand or foot presentation is easily detected by the natural shape of those organs.

Head or breech presentation should give no concern; for the diameter of each is sufficient to expand the womb and the soft parts, so as to render the exit of the other parts of the body comparatively easy.

Foot presentation is liable to render labor long and dangerous to the child, inasmuch as the head may be arrested in the pelvis of the mother after the body is extruded, delaying thus the respiration, and causing, probably fatal compression.

Hand presentation is dangerous in the extreme: no time should be lost in securing the immediate attendance of a skilful physician; for it is evident that the child lies cross-ways, in which case it cannot be born without turning.

During the last fortnight of pregnancy, the abdominal tumor subsides, so that pressure is taken off from the lungs, heart, and stomach, and the woman feels more buoyant, freer, and more comfortable. The pressure, however, is brought downwards by the descent of the womb, causing, often, a desire to void urine, and sometimes, even with an inability of doing so,

Labor may be divided into two stages: the first constituting the process of dilatation of the mouth of the womb; the second, the process of expulsion of the child from the interior of the mother.

During the first stage, the parts become humid: a dis- charge of watery blood, "the show," occurs; intermittent.