Produced by Richard Tonsing and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive) OBSTETRICAL NURSING [Illustration] THE MACMILLAN COMPANY NEW YORK · BOSTON · CHICAGO · DALLAS · ATLANTA · SAN FRANCISCO MACMILLAN & CO., LIMITED LONDON · BOMBAY · CALCUTTA · MELBOURNE THE MACMILLAN CO. OF CANADA, LTD. TORONTO [Illustration: THE CARESS _From the painting by Gari Melchers_ ] I hold you close: and I could cry Because you seem so new and dear; And such a helpless warder I To keep your candle burning clear: The curious candle of your breath, Body’s and spirit’s throbbing breath. FANNY STEARNS GIFFORD. OBSTETRICAL NURSING A TEXT-BOOK ON THE NURSING CARE OF THE EXPECTANT MOTHER, THE WOMAN IN LABOR, THE YOUNG MOTHER AND HER BABY BY CAROLYN CONANT VAN BLARCOM, R.N. FORMERLY, ASSISTANT SUPERINTENDENT AND INSTRUCTOR IN OBSTETRICAL NURSING AND THE CARE OF INFANTS AND CHILDREN AT THE JOHNS HOPKINS HOSPITAL TRAINING SCHOOL FOR NURSES Author of “The Midwife in England” WITH 200 ILLUSTRATIONS AND 8 CHARTS New York THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 1922 _All rights reserved_ PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA COPYRIGHT, 1922, BY THE MACMILLAN COMPANY. Set up and electrotyped. Published May, 1922. Press of J. J. Little & Ives Company New York, U. S. A. THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED TO THE SPIRIT OF HELPFULNESS WHICH HAS MADE ITS PREPARATION POSSIBLE WITH THE HOPE THAT IT MAY BE OF HELP TO THOSE NURSES WHO TAKE YOUNG MOTHERS AND BABIES INTO THEIR CARE. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ PREFACE