The maternal management of children, in health and diseaseBull, Thomas
Science
The maternal management of children, in health and disease
Bull, Thomas
Child care
The child, wrapped in flannel, is to be laid on its back upon a table
placed near the fire. Its head is to be slightly extended, and the
nostrils held between the fingers and thumb of one hand, whilst with
the fingers of the other slight pressure is to be made upon the pit of
the stomach, so as to prevent the air from passing into that organ. The
lungs of the child are now to be filled with air, by the operator
applying his own lips--with a fold of silk or muslin intervening, for
the sake of cleanliness--to those of the child, and then simply blowing
in its mouth, he is to propel the air from his own chest into that of
the infant. Previously, however, to his doing this, he should make
several deep and rapid inspirations, and, finally, a full inspiration,
in order to obtain greater purity of air in his own lungs.
When the chest of the child has been thus distended, it is to be
compressed gently with the hand, so as to empty the lungs; and then the
inflation, with the alternately compressing the chest, must be repeated
again and again, until either the commencement of natural respiration
is announced by a sneeze or deep sigh, or until after long-continued,
steady, persevering, but unavailing, efforts to effect this object
shall have removed all ground of hope for a successful issue.
Whilst these efforts are being made, some other individual must
endeavour to maintain or restore the warmth of the infant's body, by
gently but constantly pressing and rubbing its limbs between his warm
hands. And after respiration is established, the face must still be
freely exposed to the air, whilst the warmth of the limbs and body is
carefully sustained.
It will sometimes happen--and to this circumstance the operator should
be fully alive--that when the child begins to manifest symptoms of
returning animation, its tongue will be drawn backwards and upwards
against the roof of the mouth, filling up the passage to the throat,
and preventing further inflation of the lungs. This is to be remedied
by the introduction of the fore-finger to the upper and back part of
the child's tongue, and gently pressing it downwards and forwards, by
which the difficulty will be removed, and the air again passes.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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