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-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
stirring with a Silver Spoon till quite cold Give a Spoonful or two Morning and Evening It stops Fluxes of all sorts as the Bloody-Flux the Running call'd Gonorrhoea spitting of Blood c. In a word it may be call'd a general Syrup for all Weaknesses and may be taken in soft Ale or Small-Beer Upon Flooding or even in Women with Child I have let Blood very often with good success and have given this Syrup of Corals with some drops of Laudanam Liquidam and so set 'em to Bed to lie as still as they can In some Constitutions eight Grains of Pilulae de Styrace or the Pills of Storax are very successful they stop Coughs or Fluxes and may be given every Night or every other Night 'T is to be had at most Apothecaries ready prepar'd so I shall not give my self the trouble to transcribe its Composition I could easily give a thousand Recipe's but I mention nothing but what I have often prov'd to be successful For the Whites and all sorts of Weaknesses that may occasion Miscarriage you may purge once or twice as the Condition of the Patient requires and then give the following Receipt Take of the whitest and best Isinglass cut into bits and well bruis'd two Ounces and a Pint or two of Water put all over the Fire let it simmer then take it off cover it close all Night The next Day boil it gently till it be all dissolv'd Then strain it and add one Pint of New Milk and an Ounce or two of white Sugar-candy powder'd and melted in the Milk over the Fire gently then mix all together This makes an excellent Gelly Ye may take half a Pint or a Pint Night and Morning in distill'd milk-Milk-water for a Fortnight together or longer If ye will ye may every time add Powder of Cinnamon as much as a Six-pence will hold SECT III. The Character and Duty of a Nurse with reference to the Child from the Time of its Birth to its removal from her Conduct Together with an Essay upon what Influence Moral Abuses may have upon its Health I Hope none will deny that the Health and Welfare of Children depends much upon the Condition of the Nurse therefore I thought it not amiss to assist you a little in the choice of one First Let her be Young and Healthy for if ye give very stale Milk and from an infirm Woman the Child for ever may suffer Let her feed upon such Food as she was accustom'd to before If ye follow the way of our City Dames in taking her into the House and feeding her high this makes the Milk rampant the Child Humoursom and Fanciful always crying for Slops and such like corrupting Food Hippocrates affirms That the Nurse ought to take the Child from its Mothers Womb and inure it to eat such like course Food as she gives to her own at Home this makes the Child brisk and hardy and fit for launching into an ill World In the next place choose one Lively Witty and of a meek Temper Galen and other Greek Physicians were very curious in this particular to make choice of a Nurse of good Education and Wit Some Nurses are Humoursom still complaining Peevish and Fretful crying perhaps to have their Wages rais'd to be better Entertain'd c. Others are better Condition'd easie in their Humour and not so difficult to please Now since the Child partakes much of a Nurses Complexion and Humour by sucking her Milk we ought to be very cautious in choosing a Nurse endow'd with the same Qualities as we wish to our Children If they are Immoral Debauch'd Cursing Swearing c. their very Example and Company is influencive upon Children who are generally more led by the Eye than the Ear and retain those Impressions fastest which are stamp'd upon 'em in their Young and Tender Years For the Moisture and pliableness of their tender Brains makes way for deeper Furrows than when of a firmer and compacter consistency Besides they are liable to be infected not only by their external Words and Actions but by the internal Byass and Inclinations of their Minds be what they will by reason of the Affinity intercedes betwixt the Qualities of the Milk and the Disposition of the Person that gives it A Nurse also ought to be diligent and careful some are huffing and bouncing about and do not mind the poor Child but let it sit or lie half a Day in a wet Condition starving and cripling 't is a great abuse too frequent and common among 'em Mothers ought to take care to surprize Nurses at their own Houses when they are not aware and find out the Miscarriage of these She Murderers that they may not go unpunish'd In the beginning the Child must not Suck too much nor too often that his Stomach not yet accustom'd to concoct the Milk may be brought on by degrees and so enabled to digest it afterwards Let its Portions be augmented every Day by little and little till it be in a capacity to take its Belly full Some when they find a Nurses Milk very good do allow the Child nothing for the first two Months but what it sucks from the Breasts after that the Child must have stronger Nourishment as Pap Fine Gruels Milk-Water and Oatmeal with Canary or what else the Child's Friends or the Nurse thinks fit When the Child's Belly is full it must be put into the Cradle and turn'd towards the Fire The Nurse may sing with a soft Voice to lull it asleep rocking gently all the while If the Nurse be cleanly and mind her Business she will shift the Child three or four times a Day or oftener Every thing about it ought to be clean and sweet clean soft Rags behind the Child's Ears and under the Armpits every time she opens it The Nurse must be very careful the Navel-String fall not off too soon before the Vessels be quite closed She ought always to keep a Bolster on the top of it with a Cloath wet in Vinegar and Water till it be wholly depress'd and as it were sunk inwards She ought to put upon the Mould of the Head under the Biggin another Compress to keep the Brain warm Above all let her be very careful not to suffer the Child to â—ry too much at first lest the Navel be forc'd outwards or a Rupture happen in the Groyn she may prevent it â—rying as much as possible by often turning it clean and dry and removing what may fright or grieve it which very often occasions fits of Convulsions in Children These Fits are so common among Children that no Nurse ought to be ignorant of their Symptoms and Method of Cure perhaps the following Account thâ—â—rief may be of use to those that are willing to learn The Signs of Convulsion-Fits are the hanging backward of the Head insomuch that the hinder part of the Head seemeth to touch the Shoulders sometimes the Child's Head bends forward all of a sudden If the Child be
both but before I proceed any further there are some accessory qualities besides that of Knowledge and Dexterity which are very graceful and desireable in a Midwife which I cannot well pass by She ought to be neither too young nor too Old of a good habit of Body her Hands small and gentile with her Nails pared close and without Rings in the time of her Duty She must be chearful pleasant strong laborious and inur'd to Fatigue it being required that she should be â—tirring at all hours and abiding a long time together with her Patient She ought to be Courteous Sober Chaste of an even patient Temper not apt to repine or quarrel she ought to be Wise and Silent not apt to talk foolishly of what she sees in the Houses where she hath to do to observe the Humour of her Patient and endeavour to divert her with what she finds most agreeable She ought to be a Woman of Understanding capable to counsel advise and Comfort the Person in Labour to bear her up under despondency to fortify her against Fear or Immoderate Repining Lastly she ought to be a Religious Pious Woman as the fittest Person to be about People in that Extremity of Danger Women of no Principle are generally biass'd by Interest or an imaginary Reputation They love to engross all the Credit and Honour of an Operation to themselves rather than any body should share with them in a Creditable Performance they 'll endanger the Life both of Mother and Child But such Women who are either tender of their own own Souls or of their Patients Lives will be more willing to yield to any thing that may contribute to their Benefit If the assistance of a Man-Surgeon be necessary to accomplish the work they 'll give 'em timely notice to send for him One would think that it would justifie a Midwife's Knowledge and Honesty to send for an Assistant in case of danger more than if she confided too much in her own Capacity To suffer either Woman or Child to die under her Hand is a tarnish upon her Reputation But to advise or counsel a poor Woman in case of Extremity to be Laid by a Man and so save her Life is a Laudable Action Suppose she wav'd her imaginary Reputation to save their Lives she 'll be valued and esteem'd the more amongst all the good and Wise. The cases in which they ought to call for Assistance are when the Child presents amiss or the Birth comes wrong either with or without Pain When Floodings happen with Blood tho' there be little or no Pain When the Waters are broken and the Child does not follow whether at full time or not In this last Case 't is absolutely necessary for Convulsions and many other dismal accidents may happen upon retarding the Delivery There are some froward and self-conceited Midwives that stand not to perswade the poor Women that whenever a Man comes one or both must necessarily die By this means it sometimes comes to pass that a Man is not sent for till the last Gasp till the Woman be just a dying or the Child dead already But such as have ever experienc'd the benefit of being Laid by a Skillful Man-Midwife won't be so easily scar'd by such inconsiderable Bugbears A Man expert in his Galling if timely sent for will deliver the Woman in a Moment save her a great deal of Trouble and Pain and by successful Operations justifie the Merits of his Profession We have some Instances of publick Punishment inflicted on such Midwives in the Neighbouring Kingdom of France for being accessory to the murther both of the Mother and Child I remember a particular Example when the King of France called a Midwife in Question for not calling for a Man's Assistance in a case of extream danger the Crime was lookt upon as but one remove from murther and the barbarous Woman forbid publick Practice for ever CHAP. II. What preparatory offices are incumbent on the Midwife when the Woman is near the time of her Delivery WHen a Woman with Child is apprehensive of her approaching Labour she ought to have her House and Family in Order lest any occasional Disorder should disturb her in the time of her Lying-in she ought to have hâ—r own Room clean and sweet the Linnen about her Body clean and what Linnen is necessary for other occasions got ready and in its proper place that when her Pains come they may not be hurrying and shuffling about from Room to Room crying Where is this or Where is that When all things within doors are put to rights they ought to be quick in calling the Midwife rather sooner than later Some Women have a trick of putting it off as long as ever they can before they send for the midwife but the safer way is to send for her as soon as they find the least motion to a Delivery for fear of a Surprisal Her midwife being call'd the next thing is to send for the Assistance of some sober wise Women among her Neighbours such as have gone through the like hazard before but above all take care there be no frightful whimsical resolute head-strong drunken whispering talkative sluttish Women amongst them Any of these Extreams is not not only unsuitable and unbecoming but highly pernicious One of such Women may do more harm than three modest wise Women can do good CHAP. III Explaining a Midwife's Duty in time of Travel First know if she is in her full time by asking her and when you find her Pains growing let her walk leisurely up and down the Chamber for some time afterwards she may lye down keeping herself warm then give her the following Draught which may be repeated every hour or two Take three or four Spoonfuls of Cinnamon-water twenty drops of Spirit of Hartshorn and half a dram of Borax finely powder'd mix all together and give it her to drink when lying upon the Bed After that she may rise and walk again expecting the coming down of her Waters and the opening of the Womb and after a hour or two take the like quantity again if her Pains don't prevent it As to the Posture of her Body 't is certain all Women are not alike easie in the same Posture Some are best Deliver'd lying in their Beds others sitting on a Chair or Stool or on the side of the Bed others on their Knees being supported by People under their Arms. But if she be Delivered in her Bed which I take to be the best way let her be laid upon her Back her Head lifted up a little higher with a Pillow her Thighs and Knees must be a good way separated the one from the other with her Legs bowed and drawn up towards her Buttocks the Soles of her Feet and her Heels being held by two strong Women Her own Personal Duty is to be of good Courage to force her Pains down as much as she can by stopping her Mouth and keeping her Breath And when