Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1915-04-29
NO Ill EFFECTS IN
TWILIGHT SLEEP
DR.. Jacob Heller Gives Result of
$50 Treatments in New York
Jewish Hospital.
GREAT BENEFIT IN THE SYSTEM

Palm Incident to Birth Serves No Pur-
pose in Nature and Is Unneces-
sary, His Belief.
New Worthwhile criticism has been
made of the advisability of twilight
sleep for women in maternity and
some have been driven insane through
the administration of the drugs neces.
sary, DR.. Jacob Heller gives a report
of $50 cases of twilight sleep in the
Jewish Maternity Hospital, and says
that none have suffered any perma-
nent ill effects. DR.. Heller is support.
ed by DR.. George O'IIanlon, superin
tendent of Bellevue and allied hos.
pitfalls, who says that of half hundred
cases with which he is familiar there
have been only good results, and that
the only danger involved, is in the ad-
ministration of The drugs, just us there
is danger in the use Of any powerful
drug.
DR.. Heller had precedent in more
than 500 successful cases of twilight
sleep through DR.. Gauss of Kronig's
Clinic, in Freihurg, who brought the
use of copoleine-morphine anesthe-
sia in labor prominently before the
world. He used it in $50 cases drawn
from private and charity patients, and
In his report, which is published in
the Medical Record, lie concludes:
"Our small series proves that, judicial
ly used and with proper precaution.
the method is capable of relieving pain
in 80 per cent of cases. and tl-at it is
free from any danger to life or health
of mother or child"
Concerning the objection raised
against any attempt to relieve child
birth of pain and suffering, DR.. Heller
says: 1T is argued that since nature,
that encourages propagation in every
possible way and manner, could not
have been so cruel and inconsistent as
to inflict untold suffering on half Of
the human race, or perhaps on half of
living creation, and thus handicap her
own work, If she had no distinct pur-
pose in that pain and suffering; and
that any interference with that pur-
pose will be resented by her in some
manner. Kronig tries to meet that
argument by stating that very great
number of our present day women to
whom twilight sleep is particularly
beneficial, are so far removed from
nature as to make their labor border
on the pathological, and therefore, he
says, interference is not only justified
but clearly indicated.
"In our opinion, subjective pain Incl
dent to childbirth serves no purpose
in nature, but is rather an unnecessary
result of an Interchangeable natural law,
that all severe muscular effort is {; c.
companied by pain"
In all of the treatments at the jew
fish Maternity Hospital the technique
followed at Freiburg was practiced
without deviation. DR.. Heller de.
scribes the work, in part, as follows:
When it was determined by the ef-
feet of the contractions on the cervix
and membranes that the patient was
in active labor, she was removed to a
dimly lighted room, away from the
general noise Of the hospital After
her pulse ard respiration, the fetal
heart, as we'll as the frequency and
duration Of the contractions, were OBJ
served and noted down on record, she
was given an initial injection of l C. C.
of a 3 per cent Jolution of morphine
narcotine meconate, which is equal to
half of the powdered drug. Through
the same needle and without removing
It she was injected with 15 C. C. of a
$1,000 Of / per cent solution of scopal
anime hydrobromide, equivalent to
1-133 of grain. One hour later sec
ond injection of scopolamine alone
one-third of the original dose-that e
one-half C. C. of the same solution
was given. Half an hour after the sec
ond injection the memory test was ap
piled. If her answer was ready and
clear she was given another half C. c
of scopolamine at once; If not, we
waited with the third injection for the
hour. She was then constantly watch
ed and the injection of 1.5 C. C. ol
scopolamine repeated on the slightest
sign uf temperance of memory unit
she was relieved.
In 1872 cases, or S1.3 per cent, We
succeeded in obtaining complete am
nesia and an almost equal degree o.
analgesia. All that occurred during
the time the patient was under the In
fluence of the drugs was wiped out o
her memory.
.In Is cases, or 10 per cent, we failed
to obtain any marked results"