ry; and it is astonishing how
much concentrated mischief a willful, unreasonable woman can do in the same
time. She will not try to rest, but cries and moans and pleads for
chloroform, until she succeeds in giving everyone except the physician and
nurse the impression that she is suffering unnecessarily. Her husband or
her mother, whichever is present, gets nervous; they begin to wonder [100]
if the physician is really trying to help; assume a long, sad, serious
face! forget their promise to look cheerful, and mayhap offer sympathy to
the woman. It is a trying moment and needs infinite patience and tact. The
physician attends strictly to his duty, which will now be to guard the
woman against exerting too great a force during the last few pains. About
this time, or before it in many instances, the "waters will break." This
means simply that the bag or membrane in the contents of which the child
floated burst because of the pressure of a pain. This is a perfectly
natural procedure and should not cause any worry: simply ignore it as if it
had no bearing on the labor in any way. As soon as the oncoming head has
dilated the passage sufficiently, so that the edges of the entrance to the
vagina will slip over the head without tearing, the physician allows the
head to be born. It takes some time to do this, and he must hold the head
back until just the right moment. It is best not to let the head slip
through at the height of a pain, or rupture is sure to occur. Wait till it
will slip through as a pain is dying out, and if you have waited long
enough and handled the head skillfully, the conditions will be just right
at a certain moment to permit this without tearing the parts. There are
some cases where a tear, and a good tear, is impossible to guard against.
It is not a question of patience, or tact, or skill; it is a combination of
conditions which patience, tact, and skill are powerless against.

POSITION OF WOMAN DURING BIRTH OF CHILD.--The position of the woman is a
matter of choice and is not contributory to the results at all. She can lie
on her back, which is the ordinary way, or on her side, as the physician or
the patient prefer. As soon as the head is born the physician should see
that the cord is not round the child's neck; if it is, release it. The
shoulders will most likely be born with the next or succeeding pain. The
physician will permit the lower shoulder to slip over the soft parts first;
this is done by retar