Postpartum Haemorrhage
‘The dangerous efflux is occasioned by everything that hinders the emptied uterus from contracting … in these cases such things must be used as will assist the contractile power of…
Assisted Vaginal Delivery
There is no chapter in the history of obstetrics that is more central to the development of the clinical art of obstetrics than the invention and evolution of the obstetric…
Breech Delivery
‘If the feet of the child come foremost, you must take care to baptize them immediately …’ Paul Portal The Compleat Practice of Men and Women Midwives. London: J. Johnson,…
Twin and Triplet Delivery
On Twins: ‘It is a constant rule, to keep patients, who have born one child, ignorant of there being another, as long as it can possibly be done’. Thomas Denman…
Caesarean Section
Caesarean section represents the most significant operative intervention in all of obstetrics. Its development and application has saved the lives of countless mothers and infants. On the other hand, its…
Uterine Rupture
Uterine rupture is an uncommon but serious obstetric emergency associated with an increase in fetal and maternal mortality and morbidity. There are, however, wide variations in its incidence, its aetiology…
Shoulder Dystocia
‘The delivery of the head with or without forceps may have been quite easy … time passes. The child’s face becomes suffused. It endeavours unsuccessfully to breathe. Abdominal efforts by…
Vaginal Birth after Caesarean Section
One of the most common dictums in obstetrics was put forward almost a century ago by Edwin Craigin: ‘once a caesarean always a caesarean’. The main purpose of Craigin’s presentation…
Malpresentations
Fetal malpresentation exists when the presenting part is other than the normal vertex of the fetal head. This includes two malpresentations that are covered in other chapters: breech ( Chapter…
Preterm Labour
‘The usual period of a woman’s going with child is nine calendar months; but there is very commonly a difference of one, two or three weeks. A child may be…
