SECONDLY, The _WOMB_ being in Form of a PEAR, much larger _above_ than _below_ the _Ligaments_, and that _superiour Bulk_ being only sustain’d at the _lower Part_ by subtile _Ligaments_ apt to extend, as well as supported near the _Orifice_ by the _Bladder_ and RECTUM, which are soft, loose, and _extensive Parts_: Hence, I say, we may easily conceive, that as _These_ are not sufficient to hinder a large WOMB from ascending above the Borders of the PELVIS into the _Cavity_ of the BELLY; so neither are _they_ able to keep it from leaning or inclining _this_ or _that way_, by reason of its _Weight_ in the _Bottom_, which is always the farther distant from the _Ligaments_, the more it is _extended_: And the _extended_ WOMB being not of the same _Firmness_ and _Solidity_ with THAT in a _natural State_, is the more apt and ready to move _aside_, either on the Right or the Left Hand. NOW this various _Motion_ of the WOMB, in short, will appear more manifestly _Probable_, when we consider how variously _Women_ with CHILD move their _Bodies_, bending them every way for _Relief_, when oppress’d with _Pain_; both _sitting_ and _lying_ in different _Postures_: All which may easily give the WOMB a _Tendency_ this or that way, sliding either _Forwards_ or _Backwards_, to the right or the left _Side_ of the Person. [Illustration] CHAP. XIII. _Of the Oblique Situation of the WOMB._ I Doubt not in the least but among the _Many_, some will reject _this_ THESIS as _False_ or _New-fangled_; but _They_ who are _Ignorant_ of it, are meer blind _Novices_ in the _Art_ of MIDWIFERY: For repeated _Experience_ has taught _Myself_ and many _Others_ the Certainty of this _Truth_; as will more amply appear from the following Discourse. THE _Womb_ having then ascended into the _Cavity_ of the BELLY, if its _pointed Parts_ tend perpendicularly into the PELVIS, so as that its _Orifice_ may be easily touch’d on every _Side_ with the Fingers, its _Bottom_ is placed about the NAVEL; and _This_ I call a right or _natural Situation_: But when otherways, the _Posture_ is changed, inclining _this_ or _that way_, and the _Orifice_ suspended so _High_, that it can scarce or not at all be touch’d, I call _That_ a wrong and _preternatural Position_, or _oblique Situation_ of the WOMB; which may not only be occasion’d (as is said) by the _Weight_ and _Bulk_ of its _Bottom_, above the extended and relaxed _Ligaments_, but also by many other different _Causes_; such as an obdurated _Gland_, a _Cicatrix_, an _Ulcer_, an _Obstruction_ of the _Vessels_ in the _Ligaments_ or adjacent _Parts_, &c.