The preliminary signs of labor pains that make themselves felt by the pregnant female, are of considerable interest to her and I believe, that if she will familiarize herself with their character she will have less anxiety and more confidence in a happy termination of her condition. For some days, and occasionally for two or three weeks prior to the commencement of actual labor, a sense of uneasiness about the uterus will be felt by the female; this uneasiness will be observed several times during the day and night. When the patient complains of this local disturbance, she may feel, by placing her hands over the region of the womb, that the organ becomes hard for the time being, and as soon as the sense of uneasiness passes away, the womb becomes soft again. These symptoms are called the “independent contractions of the uterus” and in the first pregnancy they are felt earlier than afterwards. This is simply a muscular irritability of the womb and is not accompanied by “bearing down” which is the true characteristic of labor. These preliminary skirmishes must not be mistaken for the commencement of labor, otherwise great mischief may be done by harassing the case into a premature delivery which might sacrifice the child. The pregnant female will often become very anxious when she first experiences these independent pains and she may imagine that something is wrong; for this apprehension there is no reason, because experience has taught that the greater this local disturbance before the beginning of labor, the more favorable the progress of labor will be when true labor pains set in. “The righting of the organ” will be observed for some days previous to the confinement, by a change of the position of the pregnant womb. The womb places itself, as it were, in readiness for the expulsion of the child, which is shortly to begin. This is done by the body of the uterus inclining forwards and sinking downwards, and correspondingly relieving from pressure the organs of the chest; this makes breathing easier, and in proportion as the body of the womb comes down, so will the lower portion of the organ descend, and this may give rise to irritation of the bladder and frequent desire to pass water; sometimes the passage of urine may be entirely obstructed, so that the water must be drawn off by means of a catheter. Some women become very nervous just before the commencement of labor; this is generally due to fear or anxiety, for which there is no reason, and agreeable companionship will generally dispel all evil forebodings and restore her to self-confidence.