The Washington times., 1914-10-22

little. We are a conservative set,
and perhaps the memory of Frefd-
mann and his turtle serum Is fresh
in the minds of many. ] am glad to
see that there has been little hysteria
oyer this departure. and feel that
the best results will be obtained ul-
timately. 49,. .'..- ~. f.-..-r ..
"Manifestly the use of hyocine in
obstetrics Is in it's infancy-much is
to be learned. but it is a step In the
right direction. Anesthesia in OBJ
stetrics is still rather new, but with
each year there is much gained in
experience. .....
entering the twilight sleep, and a
careful consideration OF her physi-
cal condition and her temperament Is
a necessary forerunner Of the
method. For this reason she must
be under the eye Of the physician for
some time previous to the birth Of
her child
DIR. Lemon then voiced the senti-
ment which seems to be the general
stumbling block upon which the gen.
eral practitioner falls when the
question of twilight sleep Is put up
to him. 49,. .-.
He said: Since the scopolomin-
morphine injection prolongs the
labor, and necessitates the super
vision Of the physician and trained
assistants for many hours. 1t is
hardly fair to expect II OF the regu-
lar practitioner. Obstetrics Is one of
the profession, and takes enough
time, with small enough pay, as 1t
is. With labor prolonged and un-
usual demands made upon the
services Of the nurse and physician,
other practice must fall entirely by
the wayside.
although I do not see why the
twilight sleep might not be tried In
any well-ordered home, it is pri-
marily intended for use In hospi-
tai, where nurses trained in that
line of work, can alternate with tne
physician in charge
DR.. Lemon then brought out the
fact. that success or failure Of the
method depended largely upon the
temperament of the physician him
self. An unquestionable ability to
diagnose not only the physical but
mental .peculiarities Of the patient
is a requisite for the physician.
since the dosage of the drug Is regu-
lated largely by the Individual lido
syncracies Of the patient.
What Authorities Say.
For the benefit of those interested
in the twilight sleep" and its his
tory the following excerpts are made
from two medical journals, of un-
questionable authority.
The medical profession was first
told of the twilight sleep methods
at Freiburg. by Doctor Kronig HIM
self, in q lecture delivered before
North America, held November, 1918.
The lecture is reproduced from
Surgery, Gynecology. and Obstet-
RIGS" an International medical peri
odical.
Il will discuss an obstetrical pro-
cedure in which we at Freiburser
Clinic have taken an especial in
terest / mean the securing of pain
less delivery by the use of scopolo-
min-morphine semi-narcosls.
This special phase Of narcosis we
have named 'Dammerschalaf,' which
translated in English. means twi-
light sleep Our clinic has experience
covering 5000 births, effected under
the influence of this drug. In
our clinic my assistant. DR.. Gauss,
has worked out a method for use in
narcotic injections of scopolomin
and the observance Of quite definite
measures which we have found TO
answer excellently in a series OF
method rests upon the administration
of semi-narcosis, a state OF
dammerschalaf; that is, state dur
ing which the woman concerned has
indeed a perception Of pain, but not
an appreciation.
She still reacts to the labor pains
with an expression of pain, but
afterward she had no recollection OF
the pain experienced. Inc
r.. hN
a psychological index, namely, by
frequently repeated tests Of the
memory, for it is a peculiar quality
of the alkaloid of scopolomin that
effects the memory, in such an IN
tensive and peculiar way. We
believe, on a basis Of our expert
ence, that over three thousand cases.
in which no detrimental results ever
occurred, for the mother. that we
are safe in recommending this drug
as not dangerous to mothers.
History of Interest.
From the Journal of the American
Medical Association of June. 1914. the
following history is obtained:
THE history of the method is Of
interest in showing it's development
Steinbuchel, of Graz, began with
small doses of morphine and scopolo-
min. and had no unfavorable results;
that is. no dangerous results. Those
who followed him used repeated
doses of morphine as we'll as scopolo-
min. sometimes excessively large
doses, with the result that there
were serious consequences, particu-
larly the death of the infant. In
1907 a special technique was elab-
GRATED by Gauss III the clinic of
kronig. in FreiburS, Baden.