seven or eight Ounces of Blood from the Arm If she be weak I would recommend to her the following Prescription which I value as a Jewel and have always found very successful in such Cases Take a Quart of fine Caraway Water two Ounces of fine Rhubarb an Ounce of the Syrop of Clove-Gilliflowers Mix altogether in a bottle and shake it three or four times a Day for one Week then strain it off as ye make use of it take two or three Spoonfuls Some that are very weak may take it once in two Days all the time of their being with Child I value it as an incomparable Medicine If ye please ye may distil the following Water Take of fresh Eringo Roots one Pound Dates half a Pound Sweet Almonds four Ounces bruise and pound 'em all to a Pulp Then add Nutmegs three Ounces Mace half an Ounce Barly and Cinnamon water of each a Quart Canary and Balm-water of each a Quart mix and distil adding to every Quart when drawn off four Ounces of fine powder'd Sugar This daily taken nourishes the Child in the VVomb and prevents Miscarriages The following Decoction of Rhubarb is very good in such cases Take two Ounces of Rhubarb four Ounces of Corants bruis'd three Ounces of the Roots of Sorrel half an Ounce of sweet Fennel-seed three Pound of Fountain-water boyl all to two Pound then strain and add of white Sugar clarified three Ounces You may take from two Spoonfuls to three in Milk Water or White-wine or Ale If in case of a sudden Indisposition ye prove Feaverish and Bound and cannot get the abovementioned things made ye may send to the Apothecaries for one Ounce of Diaprunum Lenitive and ten Grains of Sal Prunellae and take the one half of it going to Bed and the other half next Morning drink warm Ale after it 'T is a delicate thing to cool and loosen the Belly to quench Thirst and refresh the Body in Consumptions Hectick Feavers c. if taken often On the other hand 't is as bad to have too great a Looseness as to be Bound too long For once or twice a Day is sufficient If therefore ye be subject to be over loose you may at Night take half an Ounce of Conserve of Red Roses with half a Dram of Diascordium and qualify your Drink with a piece of Steel made red hot I would recommend the following Electuary for stopping of Vomiting expelling Wind removing the Cholick and in general against all cold Diseases in the Head which is also very effectual in stopping a Looseness and strengthening the Child in the Mothers Womb. Take Conserve of Red Roses Green Ginger preserved of each two Ounces Spirit of Vitriol two Drams Work 'em very well in a Mortar then add half an Ounce of the Powder of Cinnamon one Dram of the Powder of Cloves and as much of the Syrup of Violets as is necessary for the Consistency of an Electuary Take one Dram of it as often as ye have occasion now and then a Draught of Cinnamon-water upon it is extraordinary good If the Woman with Child be troubled with a Singultus or Hickup Take three Grains of Musk powder'd in a Glass Mortar Add to it two Ounces of strong Cinnamon-water and ten or fifteen Grains of the Oyl of Cloves and take a Spoonful of it at a time till it be stop'd The Sugar of Tormentil is extraordinary good for strengthening and fastening the Foetus in the Womb if taken twice or thrice a Day in half an Ounce or more of Distill'd Milk-water 'T is made after this manner Take of Tormentil Roots powder'd one Ounce and a half Cinnamon Powder half an Ounce of white Sugar-candy one Pound Cinnamon-water one Pint add all together put 'em in an Earthen Pan over the Fire stirring it gently with a Silver Spoon till it become dry Keep it for use in a Gallypot ty'd down close If you will you may take a Dram of Confectio Alkermes with it or the Syrup of the Juice of Alkermes The following is also very useful 't is call'd Pulvis Griseus or the Gray Powder Take Crabs-Eyes Sage of each two Ounces finely powder'd white Chalk one Ounce Nutmegs powder'd two Drams Mix all very well in a Mortar and tie it down in a Glass 'T is an admirable thing against Looseness pains of the Stomach tho never so vehement and Heart-burning You may take half a Dram or a Dram in Barly Cream or Milk twice a Day Ye may give to a Child as much as will lie upon a Six-pence If she be troubled with Swooning or Fainting Fits the following Corallated Powder is admirable good Take of Red Coral finely powder'd Sugar treble refin'd of each two Ounces Oyl of Cinnamon ten Drops or Powder of Cinnamon two Drams finely powder'd and mix'd in a Mortar very well Then take half a Dram or a Dram in any Cordial Water If she be troubled with Coughs Asthma's Obstructions of the Lungs c. which are all very apt to procure Abortion she may make use of the following Powder Take fine Benjamin an Ounce and an half Sulphur Vive three Ounces Anniseeâ—s one Ounce Sugar of Roses two Ounces powder all very finely then mix 'em The Dose is half a Dram twice a Day in a soft boil'd Egg Morning and Night Or ye may take it three times a Day in Syrup of Hyssop or Liquorice Or Take Spanish Juice of Liquorice slic'd thin three Ounces put it in two Pound of Canary let it be shak'd three or four times a day then add Elecampain-Roots slic'd one Ounce After one Week ye may take from three to four Spoonfuls often If ye please ye may add to it some Syrup of Hyssop or some Syrup of Jujubes I have seen wonderful success with it Sometimes Women with Child are very subject to Pains in the Stomach and loathing of Meat I use to give on such occasions the following Electuary Take Conserve of Clovegilliflowers and Conserve of Red Roses of each two Ounces Syrup of Citron one Ounce Cloves in gross Powder one Ounce mix it in a Mortar for an Electuary You may take the quantity of a Nutmeg in a morning and as much at Night As to the Fluxes of whatever sort that may occasion Abortion or Miscarriage I advise you to take fifteen or thirty drops of Laudanum Liquidum Cydoniatum in a Glass of Canary going to Bed and repeat it often It wonderfully eases all Pains procures Sleep stops all Fluxes in a short time removes Colick Pains or any sort of Disturbance in the Body and comforts the Spirits Or she may take two or three Spoonfuls of a Pearl Cordial or the same quantity of the Syrup of Corals which I choose to prepare after this manner Take of Juice of Limons or Lime-Juice or extraordinary good Vinegar one Pint white Sugar-candy finely powdered one Pound gently melt it over the Fire and add of the Powder of Red Corals finely powder'd two Ounces then continue still to keep it
more they are so plaguy troublesome that tho' taken away they commonly return again After Delivery indeed they use to vanish of their own accord But this Patient was so extreamly afflicted that I never saw a Woman in the like Condition I directed her to the following Ointment Take one Dram of Sperma Ceti half an Ounce of Ointment of Roses two Drams of the Spirit of Vinegar Melt all over the Fire and use it Night and Morning after the Skin is well cleansed CHAP. VIII Of the Cesarean Section or Cutting the Child out of the Mother 's Womb. WHen the Woman dies and the Child is alive in her Belly we sometimes open her up and take out the Child Some foolish People talk of performing this Operation upon living Women in a dangerous Labour to save the Child's Life and therefore would call it Cesarean Section in imitation of Cesar's Birth 't is true there would be some pretext of excuse to make Martyrs of poor Women to bring a second Cesar or some great and new Prophet into our Western World but 't is not known that ever there was any Law Christian or Civil which countenanc'd the Martyrdom of the Mother to save the Child Some Country Gossips will tell you they know such yet living whose Sides have been opened to make way for the Child But such Stories as these are only fit Entertainment for Fools and Children A Surgeon must never practise this cruel Operation whilst the Mother is alive but when she is dead he ought not to neglect it and what he does he must do it quickly because delay will certainly be the Death of the Child The Greeks were acquainted with this Operation and call'd it Embriulie Most Authors would have it made on the left side of the Belly it being more free from the Liver which is on the right Some are for opening just in the middle of the Belly between the two right Muscles because in this place there is only the covering and the white Line to cut To dispatch then with more ease and speed the Surgeon having plac'd himself the dead Body may be a little rais'd Let him take a good sharp Incision-Knife make one or two stroaks into the Peritonaeum and then gently take out the Child CHAP. IX Of the Various Symptoms happening to Women in Childbed and the Methods of Cure THE Womb may be fitly compared to a rough Sea in which the Child floats for the space of nine Months The Labour of Delivery is the only Port but full of dangerous Rocks The Woman after she has arriv'd at the desired Port of Delivery and has disengag'd her self of her Loading has yet much need of help to defend her self against a great many Inconveniencies which may ensue upon her Travel In the first place she must keep a Temperate Diet having a great care not to over-fill her self after so great an Evacuation Indeed her Diet must be like that of Wounded Persons Neither are Nurses Tales to be believed who exhort 'em to fill after so great an emptiness telling them that the loss of Blood must be restor'd These are mere Fooleries for that Blood which she has lost is but unnecessary and useless Blood dam'd up in the Womb for the space of nine Months the Efflux of which must needs be conducive to Health Her Nourishment therefore for the first Days must be but slender for fear of falling into a Feaver and hastening the Milk too fast into the Breasts where 't is in danger of Curding or Apostematising Upon this account she ought to confine her self for some time to Panada's Broths Gellies Potch'd Eggs c. If she be very strong and hearty and can Nurse her Child she may feed a little more plentifully and drink often Barly Water wherein some Coriander or Caraway or Fennel Seeds may be boil'd This will partly add to the Childs Health keeping it free of Gripes Throws and sowre Belchings Some Women after Delivery are troubled with a Tentigo when the Clitoris encreases to an over great measure 't is a Nervous piece of Flesh which the Lips or Wings of the Privities do embrace and which undergoes Erection in the Act of Venery In some 't is as big as the Neck of a Goose and hangs below the Orifice of the Privities Sometimes this may be occasion'd by the Midwife's hurting the part Or it may become loose and porous by often handling which may cause a great concourse of Humours and so the Nervous Body is enlarged to an extraordinary bigness I have oftentimes cur'd this Symptom by cutting it away but so as to avoid Inflammation Some are troubled with Hemorrhoids of the Womb which are little Protuberancies like those of the Fundament produced in the Neck of the VVomb by the abundance of Feculent Blood that resorts thither where the Veins end They are cur'd by revulsion of Humours by mitigating asswaging Insessions and Purging if other Circumstances do not forbid Oftentimes the VVoman receives prejudice from the Bruises and Rents of the outward parts of the VVomb occasion'd by hard Labour The Childs Head in passing makes a violent Distention and Separation of the four Caruncles And those parts having once given way to an Infant are ever after easily relax'd and extended and so every Travel comes with less pain than the preceding Sometimes it happens that the Midwife's Nails have scratch'd and rent the parts through Carelesness and Inadvertency But whenever such Contusions or Rents happen they must not be neglected lest they degenerate into malignant Ulcers After pains are the common Bane of the Welfare of Women in Childbed They say they are not so much troubled with 'em of their first Child as of the following But that is no certain Rule Experience confirms that they happen indifferently after first or last Labours according as their various Dispositions are Let the Nurse lay on a Galbanum Plaister and keep the Belly very hot and then give her some Cinnamon Water with Mithridate and a few drops of the Spirit of Hartshorn or liquid Laudanum This will very often carry off their Gripings Collicks and other After-pains Commonly they go away of themselves in 2 or 3 Days time If they be sharp and obstinate and threaten to continue longer you must give frome one Ounce to two or three of Aqua Bryoniae Composita with some drops of the Spirit of Hartshorn and a Dram of Confectio Alkermes Some give this same Draught to hasten and facilitate the Birth or to bring away the After-birth and cleanse the Womb. As to the Lochia which flow from the Womb in Childbed Galen says They are only Vicious Humours and the residue of the Blood with which the Child was nourished in the Womb which flows out when the Womb is open'd by the Birth Perhaps 't is the same Blood as us'd to be purg'd out every Month before Conception It may proceed from a Wound made by loosening the Burthen from the Womb for when it comes
Bound give it a Clyster of Milk with half an Ounce of Maâ—â—â—s dissolv'd in it Ye may give it inwardly some Mint-water dissolving in it five or 〈◊〉 Grains of Mithridate with some drops of Spirit of Hartshorn This is good also against all kind of Worms if ye add a sufficient quantity of the Spirit Outwardly ye may anoint the Back-bone with Oyl of Amber from the Head quite down to the Hips every Night If the Fits continue ye may give two or three drops inwardly elder Persons can take more Let the Nurse boil Water and Bread very well then add Milk to it and give it to the Child sometimes she may add a little Câ—â—â—ry and at Night if the Child prove very froward add a little Diascordium every other Night Now and then if the Child prove Restless the Nurse that gives Suck may drink a good Draught of White-wine Posset with a Dram of Diascordium mix'd with it She ought to keep her self stirring and bustling up and down that the Milk may be the steâ—r A moderate Exercise and a temperate way of Living are very useful Companions for a good Nurse We see that Persons of Quality and Honour generally Bury two or three out of four Children whilst the Country Labourer sayes seven out of eight The reason of the Dâ—â—â—â—â—ence is too evident Whâ—â— the Child is New Born it is sometimes extreamly afflicted with Throws and Violent Pains To remove so dangerous a Symptom I counsel you immediately upon its coming into the World to rub 〈◊〉 all over with hot Canary or White-wine and fresh Butter or Lard and dry the Child with hot Flannel To some â—hildren if their Circumstances require ye must presently give a Clyster of 〈◊〉 Milk with a Spoonful of the Syrup of Cowslips and a Spoonful or two to the Mother as soon as she is in Bed After that she may take in her Mouth a Spoonful of Sugar with some Nutmegs And sometimes a little of the Tincture of Saffron 'T is made thus Take Saffron two Drams Cochineil powder'd a Dram Treacle-water half a Pint shaking it three or four times a Day at first then let it stand in your Closet as the best of Cordials It chears the Heart resists Melancholy expels Poyson and carries off a Feaver if ye take two or three Ounces of it It may be given also to such Children as are troubled with Phlegm You ought to have Syrup of Violets by you and put up a Violet Comfit for the Child 's Gripes or a Suppository of a Marshmallow Root dipt in Oyl or fresh Butter or Lard stroaking the Stomach Sometimes Infants are troubled with a Sore mouth or as some will have it a Cancer in their mouths In this case take of Borax finely powdered a little in a Quill and blow it into the Child's mouth Let it take often of the Syrup of Mulberries Barberries or Slows or of the Syrup of Woodsorrel If the child be troubled with Fits as it frequently happens take Syrup of single Piony one Ounce Spirit of Castor a Dram Treacle Water two Ounces mix all very well and let the child take it often And ye may add sometimes five drops of liquid Laudanum If the child be afflicted with Worms or be Pot-belly'd let it take 3 of the following Powders every change of the Moon The Pouder is to be kept in a Glass and is to be taken in Broth in the morning 'T is as follows Take Crabs Eyes Scammony finely pouder'd of each an Ounce of Sweet Mercury half an Ounce They must be first well levigated and then mix'd The child may take according to its strength from ten Grains to fifteen or sixteen Sometimes children are born with their Cods full of Wind then ye must bathe them with hot White Wine and Fresh Butter then truss up the child with hot Flannel and give it a spoonful as often as ye will of this Infusion Take one Ounce of Anniseeds one Ounce of Ginger steep 'em in one pint of good Canary and keep it for use If the Infant be troubled with the Fall of the Fundament ye must take the upper Leather of an Old Shooe cut it small and lay it upon the coals in a chafing dish in a close stool and set the child right over the smoak of it and keep the part warm with hot Flannel This will certainly cure it Sometimes the Thighs and Legs of children are so weak and feeble that they ought to be artificially strengthned I can be very positive in commending the following Ointment on such occasions Take Neatsfoot Oyl one Gallon fine Brandy two Pound Fresh Butter eight Pound Green Wheat in Iune twenty Pound Bay Leaves one Pound Bruise all in a Mortar very well then put it into a large well-glaz'd Pot and stir it very well then cover it with Paste very close all round the top put it into an Oven to bake as long as a good big Loaf then draw it out before it be cold strain it out into a good Pot and if ye will add one pound of the Marrow of Oxe Bones it will be the better You must rub the hinder parts of the Thighs and Legs by a fire morning and night 'T is a wonderful strengthener of the Legs I have cured a child in three months with the bare using of it after it had been given over by an Eminent Physician that had it in hand three years and at last said it would never be able to go in this world This Ointment has a wonderful Vertue in asswaging the hardness of Breasts or curdling of the Milk if ye add to every ounce of it two Drams of Sperma Coeti I anoint 'em with it twice a day and draw the Nipple very well and meet with extraordinary success in it For sore Nipples it is incomparable Dry the Nipple with a Rag before ye anoint and after anointing keep the Rag close to the Nipple Whilst I am discoursing of Young Children I 'll take occasion to communicate to you the Composition of another Ointment that is of extraordinary Service in healing all manner of out-breakings in childrens Faces or Heads The Composition is this Take the Fat End of the best Breast of Mutton you can get spit it and roast it all the while it is at the fire baste it extraordinary well with Tar and put one ounce of Cinamon and half an ounce of Cloves grossly pouder'd into the Dripping-Pan so let it drop on the Pouders while it roasts Let it stand all night the next day strain it out into a Pot for use And withal give the child every day of the Syrup of Rhubarb in Drink or Broth with Syrup of Violets The Woman that observes these Rules and manages her Infants neatly is in a fair way of having Lusty Children Some Women are over-careless in not giving the child to suck when it needs it though by the bye 't is as great a Fault to over-suckle a child and choak it with crude raw