“The woman I delivered was a primipara (one who had never had a child before, and who therefore, because of the rigidity of the bones and tissues, has a more difficult labor), small in stature. “When severe contractions began, and the mother was beginning to be very nervous and complained of pain, at which time I generally administer chloroform, I began pressing on the soles of the feet with the edge of a big file, as I could find nothing else. I pressed on the top of the foot with the thumbs of both hands at the metatarsal-phalangeal joint, (where the toes join the foot). I exerted this pressure over each foot for about three minutes at a time. The mother told me that the pressure on the feet gave her no pain whatsoever. “As she did not have any uterine pain, I was afraid there was no advancement. To my great surprise, when I examined her about ten or fifteen minutes later, I found the head within two inches of the outlet. I then waited about fifteen minutes, and on examination found the head at the vulva. I then pressed again for about one or two minutes on each foot, the edge of the file being on the sole of the foot, and my thumbs over the tarsal-metatarsal joints as before. In this way I exerted pressure on the sole of the foot with the file, and pressure on the dorsum of the foot with my thumbs, doing each foot separately. The last pressure lasted about one and a half minutes to each foot. Within five or ten minutes the head was appearing, and I held it back to preserve the perineum (the tissue joining the vagina and the rectum). It made steady progress, the head and shoulders coming out in a normal manner. Within three minutes the child--which “weighed in” at 9-1/2 pounds--was born, crying lustily. The mother told me she did not experience any pain whatever, and could not believe the child was born. She laughed and said, ‘This is not so bad.’ “Another point that is very remarkable is that after the child was born, the woman did not experience the fatigue that is generally felt, and the child was more active than usual. I account for this on the principle that pain inhibits (prevents) progress of the birth, and tires the child. But as the pain was inhibited, the progress was more steady, and thus fatigue to both mother and child was avoided.” A Massachusetts doctor supplements this case with several others--equally ridiculous or revolutionary--depending upon our viewpoint. To insure brevity and accuracy I quote the Doctor’s own words. “Case 1. Multipara (a woman who has had previous confinements)--mother of four. Shortest previous labor eight hours. Had had a laceration of cervix (neck of the womb) with her first child. Also one forceps delivery.