Transcriber's Note: Italic text is denoted by _underscores_ and bold text by =equal signs=. [Illustration: And Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived, and bare Cain. _Chapter IV_ GENESIS. _1st verse_] THE MATRON'S MANUAL OF MIDWIFERY, AND THE DISEASES OF WOMEN DURING PREGNANCY AND IN CHILDBED, BEING A FAMILIAR AND PRACTICAL TREATISE, MORE ESPECIALLY INTENDED FOR THE INSTRUCTION OF FEMALES THEMSELVES, BUT ADAPTED ALSO FOR POPULAR USE AMONG STUDENTS AND PRACTITIONERS OF MEDICINE. By FREDERICK HOLLICK, M. D., LECTURER ON PHYSIOLOGY AND FEMALE DISEASES,--AND AUTHOR OF THE DISEASES OF WOMAN,--OUTLINES OF ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY FOR POPULAR USE,--NEUROPATHY,--AND THE ORIGIN OF LIFE. ILLUSTRATED BY OVER 50 SPLENDID ENGRAVINGS. NEW YORK: PUBLISHED BY T. W. STRONG, NO. 98 NASSAU STREET. BOSTON:--NO. 64 CORNHILL. 1849. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1848, By FREDERICK HOLLICK, M. D., in the Clerk's office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern District of New York. The price of this Book is One Dollar.--It may be obtained of all Booksellers, or of T. W. STRONG, 98 Nassau-st., N. Y., who will also send it by Post to any part of the country, on receiving One Dollar and the Address.--N. B. All Dr. Hollick's other Books will be sent by T. W. Strong in the same way. PREFACE. A short time ago I published a popular treatise on _The Diseases of Woman_, in the non pregnant state, and in that work I announced my intention of shortly publishing a similar one on _Pregnancy and its diseases_. This book is the fulfilment of that promise. Being the first _popular_, and yet strictly _scientific_ and _practical_ book on Midwifery ever published, its preparation has necessarily been a work of great labour and difficulty. Everything had to be simplified; familiar explanations had to be given of complicated processes, and illustrations had to be designed that could be understood by my readers. Little or no assistance could be obtained from other works on the subject, because they were either designed for professional men; and therefore too technical, or else were too general in their explanations, and too unsystematical, to be of any practical use. I therefore had to write every part afresh myself, and plan a new arrangement; and so difficult was this to do, satisfactorily, that I have _twice before_ completed the whole work, and then commenced at the beginning again, before I was satisfied with my own production.