Omaha daily bee., 1914-09-18

scopalamin and narkophin. as specialists
administer gas and ether; men who will
do nothing else
| For fee Of perhaps SIS or a tl0O. this
man will dosage as needed. There will be
required besides him only the usual physi-
/ clan and nurse. The woman who wishes
| to remain at home for the experience,
need not be rich TO secure e.
What the adoption of the twilight
sleep will do among hospitals is to bring
about better hospital organization. In
Australia, for instance. every woman
lives within six miles OF hospital.
That is not practicable in this large
country. but II is an ideal 20 be ap-
preached. | hope IT may lead to the es-
Enlistment OF government hospitals
And il Will do away with the chief menace
to motherhood. the ignorant and incom-
petent midwife.
Il am willing TO go so far as to say
that all midwlves IN this country are
ignorant or Incompetent You cannot
doubt 1t when | tell you that woman
who has assisted at six cases can get a
license. Fifty per cent of all the births
In the city of New York are attended by
mdwives. And to that is chiefly at
tributable the fact that 1900 babies die
needlessly in New York every year.
In Vienna and Berlin midwife must
take a hospital course of two and one
half years before she is allowed to take
charge Of a case.
Ten per cent of all births present
! abnormalities. The midwife cannot cope
with these. BY the time she secures re-
liable medical aid II is too late.
DR.. Sleicher, returning from his visit
to patient, said his patient was sinking
into a satisfactory sleep. He had given
her the first dose, one two-hundredth Of
grain of scopolamin and one sixth of a
grain Of aarkophin.
scopolamin, as I have before told you
on this page. is an extract Of snakeroot,
Narkophin is a derivative Of morphine.
Shortly and according to her state,
whether it be one of restlessness or relax
alton. there may be four or six or ten
successive doses of lesser amounts. this
time one four-hundredth of grain of
scopolamin, untn the patient has sunk
into such state of lesser consciousness that
If you hold two fingers before her she
will say she sees but one, or three or
more, yet be able to and will exert all
necessary muscular power. -
The American woman need not fear
that the twilight sleep is not for her"
said DR.. Sleieher. THE more highly or
gained and intelligent the woman the
better subject she Is for the treatment.
She takes It readily and her constitution
makes quick response to It, Her suscep-
tibility to pain is so great that unless she
is spared II she may become q chronic
invalid. But she requires different dosage
than the women of Bavaria Their cases
must be studied, nationally, and individ-
ually."
For that reason our, first ten, cases
were failures" said DR.. Rongy, We had
not mastered our technique, BY which ]
mean that we did not know what doses
were required. bed
When. 1 say failures I do not mean
that either mother or child was the worse
for the treatment, but that not having
our technique we were not able to pre-
vent 1restIessness. After these ten cases
all patients have responded to the treat
ment There has been no mortality. The
patients have retained their muscular
power but they have sunk into a state
Of forgetfulness OF what occurred mo-
ment before II they have suffered pain
they forget the next moment and when
they return to consciousness they have
no memory of IT, The twilight sleep Is
a misnomer. 1t is a subconscious state
Most women will prefer the poetic Ger
man title. Its sound is soothing and the
woman who has set her feet upon that
path which has heretofore been the way
of agony, needs soothing.
The name suggests q peaceful dream
Such a dream as that young woman had
who when her mother called at the Jew
ish Maternity hospital to see her said:
what day IL II, mother7" 1T Is Friday,
my child" replied the mother, who had Just
been exalted to the rank OF a grand
mother. But II can't be. I came to the
hospital yesterday. and that was Wednes-
day" For twenty hours that young wo.
man had wrestled in what might other
wise have been mortal agony.
When the doctor verified her mothers
statement the young mother lifted happy
eyes from the round, pink head that
nestled on her shoulder.
Il have lost from life day she said.
To which mother and doctor answered
together: "such days were better lost"
That is what science seems TO have done
for womankind. 1t has lost the days of
physical torture that were better lost.
Yes. there is scarcely a doubt that the
Edenic curse has been lifted. Many doc
tors are going to the hospital TO learn of
the mi-slumber that Is a boon to 20
other doctors are preparing to
go, and others should be induced, BY soft
words or sharp of their patienta 10 learn
the process of the twilight
sleep.
A few Of them may top their arguments
with the ancient one: But It is the nat
uEal process, and one should not inter
tere with natural process"
To them make the answer that DR..
Rongy made to me; That was true
while we lived in a savage state. but not
since women have liked In steam-heated
houses and worn corsets and eaten rich