danger because the Medicines we vse in these dayes as Rubarbe Manna Cassia and Tamarinds are not so violent as those that were vsed by our Ancients which were Hellebor Scammony Turbith Coloquintida or the like and wee must take especiall care of giuing them any opening things which may either prouoke vrine or their naturall courses for as the same Author saith It is impossible for the child to be healthfull if the mother haue her naturall sicknes Bloud-letting is forbid them vnlesse it be very needefull especially if the child be growne any thing big because he hath more neede of foode and nourishment then at the beginning when he was little for take away his sustenance and he will waxe leane and feeble being oftentimes driuen for want thereof to seeke a passage forth Notwithstanding there are some women so sanguine and full of bloud that we are forced to take some of it away least the child be stifled with the ouer-great quantitie thereof or when they fall into diseases where it is necessary to open a veine The fittest time if it be not in case of necessitie is from the fourth to the seuenth moneth I haue seene a woman with child who for a Pleurisie was let bloud eleuen seuerall times and yet stayed her full terme and was well deliuered Now concerning the passions of the minde a woman with child must be pleasant and merrie shunning all melancholike and troublesome things that may vexe or molest her mind for as Aristotle saith A woman with child must haue a setled and quiet mind which Auicen also counselleth that those which haue conceiued ought to be preserued from all feare sadnesse and disquietnes of mind without speaking or doing any thing that may offend or vexe them so that discreet women and such as desire to haue children will not giue eare vnto lamentable and fearefull tales or storyes nor cast their eyes vpon pictures or persons which are vglie or deformed least the imagination imprint on the child the similitude of the said person or picture which doing women shall be sure to be well and happily deliuered and that With the help of God they shall beare their burthen to the full terme which shall be sent into the world without much paine promising them a happie and speedie deliuerie To conclude they must leaue off their Busks as soone as they perceiue themselues with child not lacing themselues too straight or crushing themselues together for feare least the child be mishapen and crooked or haue not his naturall growth and their garments must be rather light and thin then heauie and cumbersome How a woman must gouerne her selfe the nine moneths she goeth with child CHAP. VI. NOw I haue prescribed what manner of life a woman ought to leade while she is with child she may obserue if it please her this that followeth though not so necessary yet commodious and profitable both for the maintaining of her health and preseruation of her beauty To the end then that her breasts after her deliuery be neither too big and pust vp nor yet hanging downe like bags and to preuent the danger that might happen vnto her by the too great quantity of bloud that is turned into milke which may be curdled and so suppurate and putrifie As soone therefore as she knowes her selfe to be with child as in the second or third moneth let her weare a chaine of gold about her necke Some preferre a chaine of steele or else a little gad of steele put betweene the two breasts as likewise to put a piece of corke there and to weare vnder her arme-pits two little pieces more of the same This Fomentation also is very good Take of Periwinckle Sage and ground-Iuy of each a handfull Hemlocke halfe a small handfull boyle them in wine and water and when you haue taken it from the fire put thereto a little rose-vineger And with this decoction warme bath your breasts in the morning with a cloth or spung dipt therein a quarter of an houre wiping and drying them afterwards with reasonable warme clothes The like may be done with the waters of the same hearbs and about the third or fourth moneth when she feeles her selfe quicke about which time her belly begins to swell and grow big she must weare a Swathe made fit for the purpose to support her belly being first annointed with this Liniment or Pomade which she shall continue till the ninth moneth to keepe her belly from being full of knottie and broken vaines furrow'd and wrinckled making it grow deformed vnseemely and hanging downe lower then is fit which hapneth by reason of the great burthen and weight of the child that stretcheth and inlargeth the skinne thereof and causeth them to indure great paine in their belly and groine The Pomade or Liniment approued Take of Kids sewet and the fat of a Sow of each three ounces of Capons and Goose-grease of each an ounce and halfe cut them small and melt them in an earthen pot putting thereto as much water as will suffise then straine them through a cloth and wash them in water till they waxe very white and haue lost their sauour Afterward melt them againe in a double vessell adding thereto anounce of the marrow of a Hart or Stag then wash it againe with Rose-water or other sweet smelling water mingling therewithall if you thinke fit or that it will not be hurtfull to the wombe two or three graines of Muske or Ciuet. Some vse this oyntment Take dogs grease and the fat about a sheepes kidney of each two ounces Spermaceti one ounce oyle of sweet Almonds an ounce and a halfe the fats must be melted prepared and washed as before then melted againe with the rest and washed with rose or sweet water Some take good store of Sheepes-feet well brused and broken in pieces to the number of thirty or forty and boyle them well in water then taking off the fat and marrow that swimmeth on the top which they wash well in common water and take therof two ounces of Ducks-grease as much Spermaceti one ounce white Waxe sixe drams melt them altogether in a double vessel and wash them in the aboue named waters Some Ladyes and Gentlewomen which loue not to rub their bellies euery morning with any of these liniments weare thereon a Dog-skin or some other wel prepared and dressed as followeth and change it euery fifteene dayes or according as it will last and continue not taking it off except it shriuell and grow wrinckled Take a Dog-skin or some other skin ready dressed to make gloues of wash it often in common water afterward in Rose-water and dry it in the shade and being thus drest and dryed lay it in soke in these oyles and fats following Take of Mesues oyntment of Roses an ounce and halfe oyle of Saint Iohns wort and of sweet Alamonds of each an ounce fresh Butter and Spermaceti of each halfe an
ounce melt all these together in a double vessel and let the skin lie and soke in it three or foure daies mouing stirring them together daily then take it foorth and spred it in the aire and let it lie there two or three daies till it haue sok't in all the oile become drie then cut it to the forme bignesse of the belly and so apply it The daintie and curious may vse the former liniments and skin they that haue not the meanes to do either let them Take of fresh Butter well wash't in common water and then in Rose-water three ounces oile of sweet Almonds one ounce Spermaceti halfe an ounce and with these melted together rub their belly These Ointments must be kept in a gally pot and couered with Rose water to keepe them from being mustie When the Woman is come to the ninth Moneth hauing been in good health all the time of her going with child she must continue the vse of the aforesaid Ointments and must begin to vse more exercise then she did before walking gently before meales the first twelue or fifteene daies and then afterward it will be good to vse stronger exercise It will be very profitable for her especially after the ten or twelue first daies of the ninth moneth be past to sit in the decoction following after the maner of a halfe Bath some quarter or halfe an hower in the morning and then being well dried and laid to bed let her be annointed behind all along the lower part of her backe and before from the Nauill downward and chiefly vpon Os Pubis and the groine with the ointment following Take of Mallowes Althaea with their roots Motherwort of each two handfull white Lilly roots three ounces Chamomill and Melilot flowers of each a good handfull Lin-seed Quince-seed and Foenigreeke of each an ounce Boyle them all in sufficient quantitie of running water for the Bath Take of Hensfat three ounces Duckes fat an ounce and a halfe fresh Butter two ounces Linseed oile an ounce and a halfe Melt them all together then wash them verie well in Parietarie and Mugwort water adding thereto two ounces of the Muccilage of Althaea Roots In which space let her take this drinke euery morning fasting Take of Oile of sweet Almonds newly drawen without fire an ounce white Wine halfe an ounce Parietarie water one ounce mingle them together Some haue found good by taking the yelke of an Egge and drinking a draught of Hypocras after it Others take a little Wine and water wherein Lin-seed hath been stieped Let this or the like order and gouernment be obserued for a Woman that is of a good habit of body and who in her going with Child hath not been subiect to any sicknesse or accident of moment bearing her Children well without much paine But because there be many which are troubled with diuers accidents which happen in their Child-bearing I thought good heere to treat thereof briefly before I speake of their Deliuerie Of many infirmities which trouble Women while they are great with Child CHAP. VII IT becomes a Woman well at all times and chiefly in her Child-bearing and after her Deliuerie to haue a care as much as she can possiblie of the preseruation of her Beautie since there is nothing that sooner decaies and spoileth it then the often bearing of Children But as Health is more precious and recommendable then Beautie and seeing that a woman with Child may be troubled and oppressed with many accidents and infirmities during the nine Moneths she beares her child it will be therefore verie necessary and profitable to seeke out the meanes to free and deliuer them thereof For in loosing the Mother the life of the Child is also hazarded Aristotle in his booke De generatione Animalium is of opinion That bruit beastes going with young are not subiect to any diseases and contrariwise that Women are verie often sicke Hippocrates saith That they be pale and wan to shew that they are subiect to many infirmities In times past when men and women were sold like slaues if there were any found that were with child she was not warranted for whole and sound by him that fold her as Vitruuius writes in his second book because they were troubled and subiect to so many diseases In the first three or foure Moneths such infirmities chiefly happen for many causes First because they liue as Aristotle saith for the most part in idlenesse and eate ill meates which are turned into excrements and breed many obstructions the fountaine and beginning of all diseases the second is the great suppression and stopping of bloud whereof they were wont to be purged euery Moneth before their being with Child which runs to the Matrice to be voided find that accustomed passage which it had woont to haue but being not able to get forth and much lesse to be spent and digested by the Child which is as yet but little it returnes backe into the vaines chiefly those which are neere the stomacke and through the long continuance is there corrupted and changed to be of a bad qualitie whereof proceeds this depraued and disordinate appetite which the Latins call Pica or Malacia Loathing of meat Hicket Vomiting Paines of the stomacke Flanckes and Belly Ache of the backe Hips and Groine difficultie of making water Panting and beating of the heart with Sounning the Cough binding and Fluxe of the belly swelling of the Thighs and Feet and sometimes Abortment not being able to beare their Children the full time together with many other accidents whereof we will speake hereafter beginning with the Pica which troubleth them oftnest and longest Of the disordinate longing called Pica CHAP. VIII WEe commonly say the appetite is depraued when beyond measure we couet to eate and drinke too much in respect of what hunger naturally requireth Or when we desire or long after meats which are vnusuall and offend in qualitie and are not drest and prepared as they ought Of this depraued Appetite there be diuers sorts The first is called Boulimos of the Greeks and of the Latins Fames vaccina appetētia immodica When they eate more then is requisite not being able to satisfie themselues And if hunger vrge them farther and grow greater then it is called of the Latins Appetitus caninus or Fames insatiabilis and the partie eates till he be full euen to the throat that he is constrained to vomit his stomacke being so ouercharged But then presently he is driuen to eat againe and then to vomit from whence the Prouerbe is taken He is returned like a Dog to his vomit The like hapneth for drinking as for eating which the Latins call Sitis immodica which is so great that the tongue cleaues to the roofe of the mouth not being able to eate or speake except the mouth be first moistned and the
drops of oile of bitter Almonds with a little Honey of Roses a little warm'd And if there be any fretting or excoriation behind and about the eares then the nurse shal lay on them handsomely fine linnen plasters handsomely fine little plasters made with an ointment composed of white waxe and oyle of Nuts Towards the hinder part of the eares about the bottome of them there happens oftentimes swellings which the Ancients call Parotides and the French Orillons when these happen they must bee rub'd with oyle of sweet Almonds laying vppon it a little quilt made of carden cotten or fatty wooll basted betweene fine linnen clothes And the better to resolue the said swelling you may adde to it a little oyle of Chamomile and Lillies If these swellings come to suppuration they must be dressed as other impostumes be not vsing thereto any repercussiue medicines Of the soares and vlcers which happen in the childs mouth called Aphthae CHAP. XVI MOst commonly in the mouths of children there arise little pustules and vlcers which possesse not only the sides of the mouth the tongue and the gums but euen the very almonds pallet of the mouth and they were called of the Ancients Aphthae Of these vlcers there bee some that are malignant and creeping which spread abroad as the Herpes doth and according to the malignity of the humor which breeds them they are eyther the easier or harder to be cured those which come of some salt flegme which are neither deepe nor painfull nor of an ill colour nor placed at the bottome of the throat But are onely about the gums the tongue and the sides of the mouth which neyther grow bigger nor spread farther they are easie to be healed But those which creep farther are very painful blackish and which possesse the bottome of the throat hauing an Ague ioyned with them they as Hippocrates saith are malignant and hard to be cured I haue seene some that for all the care and diligence that could be vsed to them haue fallen into a Gangrene Which hath happened to diuers and of late to a Cutlers child who was looked vnto by Mons Habigot a Master Barber Chirurgion of Paris although hee had sought and vsed all the meanes both skilfully and faithfully that Art could require For the helping of them that are curable it is fit that the Nurse keepe a good dyet let the vlcers be gently rubbed a little with Hony of Roses and syrup of Violets But if they will not yeeld to this then the Chirurgion shall touch them with a little Aqua fortis but to euery drop of the said water he must adde twelue of Plantaine water according as he would haue it to be in strength then with a little clout tyed to the end of a sticke the vlcers shall be touched gently They may also vse this Gargarisme The vlcers must be dried vp ℞ Hord. integ Pug. j. Agrimon Plantag Rosar rub an m. j. Coquantur perfect in aqua commuri in colat ad ℥ vj. dissolue Mellis Rosat ℥ i s. Piamor ℥ s. Alumni ʒ s. fiat gargarismus vtatur vt dixi After they haue vsed this Gargarisine a while let there be added to it of Berberis flowers of pomgranats and a little of the iuice of the said pomgranates For the vlcers of the mouth require medicines to dry them vp which do their operation speedily But if you perceiue that they spread or creep farther abroad vse this medicine which I my selfe vse very often and find it to be very singular good which is to take halfe an ounce of Rosewater or Plantaine water adding thereto halfe a dragme of oyle of Vitroil and to touch the sores with it And this medicine did neuer deceiue mee but the Chirurgion ought to tast it first with his tongue to see that it be neither too strong nor too sharpe Of the Inflammation swelling and superfluous flesh which happens in the Gums called Paroulis and Epoules CHAP. XVII IT is seene oftentimes that the gummes of little Children are swolne and inflammed though their teeth bee not ready to come foorth which accident the Ancients called Paroulis and Epoulis The Paroulis is a little swelling red and angry which is either bred of a cholericke hot and adust bloud or else of some sharp and salt flegme which falleth out of the brain vpon the gums It may proceede also from some vapor that riseth out of the stomacke which causeth not onely the gums to be swolne and inflammed but oftentimes the iaw the cheeke and the necke to be also affected with it bringing also with it an Ague and paine which is the occasion that these tumors doe often suppurate and chiefly when there is any grosse bloud mingled therewithall otherwise it will resolue and be digested well enough For the Cure of it you must vse at the beginning gentle Lotions and Gargarismes that are cooling and not much repelling adding thereto towards the end some things that may resolue You may vse this Gargarisme ℞ Hord. integ m. j. Plantag Portulac Acetos Agrimon an m. i. Flor. violar p. i. fiat decoctio in colatura ad ℥ vj. dissolue syr violac ℥ j. syrup è Rosis siccis ℥ s. fiat Gargarisma Herewith shall you cause the child to wash and Gargarise his mouth if he be able if not then you must often rub his gummes therewith Or else you shall annoint his gummes with the Mucilage of Psyllium and Quince seeds drawne with Rose and Plantaine water adding thereto a little syrup of Iuiubes If the iaw bone cheekes and necke be inflamed the Ancients counsaile vs to rub them with a little oyle of Roses warmed adding thereto some iuice of Nightshade Mesues Ointment of Roses is also very good for it If the child bee any thing big let him take this drinke ℞ Rasur Eboris in nodulo inclus ʒ ij sem Portulac ℥ ss fiat decoctio ad lb. ij in colatura dissol syr Granat è Limonibus an ℥ j. vtatur If the tumor cannot bee resolued but rather grows to suppuration then you shall make him a Gargarisme with Figs Raisings Iuiubes Licorise and french barley well boyled Let him hold in his mouth a little warm milke and sometimes lay halfe a fat figge hot to the gummes When it is come to suppuration the tumor shal be lanced yet sometimes it breakes of it selfe then let it be mundified with Mil Rosatum syrup of dry Roses or Cherries or the like As for the Epoulis it is a little excrescence of flesh rising like a blister vpon the gums and most commonly betwixt the teeth but chiefly among the hindermost sometimes it is painfull and causeth an Ague The cause therof is almost the same as we haue said of the Paroulis For the cure at the beginning you must vse some such Gargarisme as followeth because it is needfull to vse more astringent medicines in this then in the Paroulis A Drinke A Gargarism for the Epoulis
for her Another Clister â„ž Plantag Bars Pastor Portulac an m.j. flor Chamoemel melilot hord integ an p. 1. sem anisi â„¥ s. Bulliant in iure pulli gallinacei de quo accipe qu. iij. seui caprill â„¥ i. s. olei omphac â„¥ iij. vitell vnius oui cum album sacchar rub â„¥ j. misceantur fiat clyster Clisters that are made onely with oyle of Violets and the broth of a sheepes or calues head bee singular good If the disease doe increase and the paines grow more violent then we must proceed euen to stupifying or Narcoticke medicines as Laudanum or Pilulae de Cynoglossa which may be giuen either by the mouth or in a Clister wherein the Physitians counsell must be asked I haue seene giuen with good successe one or two drams of new Triakle dissolued in a clister It will be very fit to annoint the bottome of her belly and about the ossacrum with this ointment Ointment â„ž Ol. Rosar Mirtil. an â„¥ i.s. olei Mastich â„¥ j. vitell duor ouor croci ℈ s. misce omnia simul fiat litus pro pectine osse sacro They may likewise vse Vnguentum Rosatum Mesues The paine still continuing with pangs throws let there be made for her this Suffumigation SuffumigatioÌ„ â„ž folior matric plantag bursae pastor verbasci Arnoglossae an m. i. rosar rub flor cham melilot balaustiorum an m.s. coquantur in aequis partibus vini austeri aquae chalyb. fiat insessio ibi per dimidiam horam se contineat Then she beeing well dryed annoint all the bottome of her belly and about os sacrum with this ointment Liniment â„ž seui caprilli veruec an â„¥ s. olei rosati mastich an â„¥ ij s. olei cydonior â„¥ i. liques simul addendo pul rosar rubr verbasci mirtill an Ê’ s. pul terrae sigillatae coralli rub Ê’ ji ceraeq s fiat litus Of the swelling of the legs and thighs which happeneth vnto women with child CHAP. XVII IN those women which were woont to haue great quantitie of naturall purgations before they were with child the bloud after they haue conceiued which was vsed to flow beeing stopt and suppressed and not being conuerted into nourishment by the Mother and much lesse by the child most commonly though it doth not breede the former accidents yet is it altered and conuerted into waterish humors Moreouer the liuer through the aboundance of bloud wherwith it doth ouerflow breeds a serous or waterish bloud and beeing not able to digest it it is thrust downward by the expulsiue vertue of the vpper parts and at length rests itselfe vpon the legges feet and thighs the which makes them all swelled and oedematous This swelling oftentimes doth continue both day and night and somtimes it is so resolued in the night that in the morning it is scarce perceiued at all but presently al the day the tumor is renewed at the euening doth much appeare and then againe in the night it is resolued through rest and the heat of the bed Such as are much subiect to the whites before their being with child are commonly troubled with this infirmity which was obserued by Hippocrates in chollericke people and those that abound with serous sharpe and biting humors Beside the said oedematous swelling there happens an inflammation which doth cause the skinne to go off and somtime breedeth filthy vlcers But this must bee remedied before these vlcers happen These accidents continue commonly but the first foure moneths yet with some they stay till their lying in and so soon as they are deliuered the swelling vanisheth of it selfe If this disease doe not much offend the woman with child it shall not be needfull to vse many medicines but it is sufficient that she keep a good dyet and chiefly if it resolue of it selfe in the night But if she be much troubled therewithall let her vse these remedies Let the swollen parts be rubbed with this medicine Liniment â„ž Olei Rosat Omphacin â„¥ iij. Aceti â„¥ ss salis Ê’ ij agitentur omnia simul fiat litus pro parte affecta And if there be any inflammation adde to it a little vng Populeum The swollen parts must be wrapped with clothes and swathed beginning at the bottome and so going vpward Some find good by laying thereon a Cabbage lease and binding it as before Others vse the lye of Vine ashes adding thereto a little Allom Fullers earth then dipping therein a linnen cloth doubled or else a spunge and so applie it I haue made proofe of this fomentation and cataplasme when there hath been no inflmmation Fomentation â„ž Fol. salu Maioran Ebul Rorismarâ— an m. j. flor Chamoemel Melilot Lauand Rosar rub an p. j. Baccar Laur. Iunip. Balaust an â„¥ ss coquantur omnia in lixiuij Cineris sarment â—r lb. xij addendo Alum crudi â„¥ j. fiat fotus cum spongijs deinde admoneatur sequens cataplasma Cataplasma â„ž Farin fabar hord Orobi an â„¥ iij. coquantur perfectè in decocto superiori addendo faecis vini rub â„¥ iij. Terebinth coÌ„is â„¥ j. s vnguent Rosat Mes ol Rutac Chamoemel an â„¥ ij pulu Rosar rub Ireos florent an â„¥ s admoueatur parti calidè praemisso fotu I haue likewise vsed in steed of the foresaid fomentation before the applying of the Pultesse to take a quantitie of Danewort a little Sage with a few Chamomile and Melilot flowers and heat them in a skillet laying it round about the leg and couering it quite with tyles which couer the tops of houses being a little heated to keepe the hearbs gently warme the space of an howre or two Some vse Snayles with their shels beaten together and applie them like a pultesse Beside the former swelling of the legs and feet there hapneth to some a puffing vp or windy swelling in the entrance of the wombe so great and swollen that I haue seen it in some women bigger then halfe a childs head which doth so grieue and trouble them that they are scarse able to bring their legs together but are faine to stand stradling This swelling is verie cleare and shining and to say the truth there is nothing but water contained within it the which must be cured before her lying in There are not any Cataplasmes or the like in this case that can do much good as I my selfe haue oft made triall But onely the manuall practize making many long and deep scarifications of all sides which will cause great store of water to flow and issue from the part the which I haue practized vpon many And it is to be noted that oftentimes this tumor doth returne and is fill'd againe therefore it will be necessarie to make new scarifications And to the end that it may not come so soone againe applie thereto both within and without fine lint moistned in the oyle of sweet Almonds and laying vpon it an emplaster made
nature sucking and as it were snatching the same though it remaine only about the mouth and entrance of the outward orifice thereof Auerrhoes tels a story of a woman that became with child onely by drawing in as she bath'd her selfe the seed of a man that was bathed in the said Bath The yeare 1607. in May Master de la Noue the Kings Chirurgion in Ordinary and sworne in the Chastelet of Paris was called to search a yong Woman the wife of a Gold-smith who had beene cited by her Husband to appeare before the Officiall of Paris alleadging that she was not capable nor fit by nature to be married which was an occasion that Germane Hassart a Midwife and my selfe were sent for to search her Where wee found that in the very entrance of the wombe there was a membrane so strong hard and thicke that a mans finger and much lesse the other part was not able to breake it open he hauing oftentimes made triall to doe it whereby he had incurred a Paraphimosis And therefore it was concluded that her husband had a iust cause to cite her but yet for all this that it was curable Whereupon her Husband thought good to call Master de Levrye and Pietre sworne Chirurgians at Paris then we all there concluded with a generall consent to make an incision of the said Membrane which was done and dressed and healed to her Husbands content onely he was somwhat doubtfull of that which the said de La Noue had obserued and told him that his wiues belly was big and that she was qualmish and distasted vomiting euery morning which made him suspect that she was with child whereupon a Midwife tolde him that there was no likelihood nay it was impossible to thinke that a yong woman of eighteene yeares of age should be with child her husband hauing neuer entred within her maiden cloister and that with threshing onely at the barne doore she could not be full Whereupon Master Pietre was sent for who though at first he could not be induced to beleeue it yet at length hauing well considered therof gaue his iudgement that shee was with childe which proued true for about some foure Moneths after the incision was made shee was happily deliuered at her full time of a faire daughter Mad. Scaron sent for me to helpe a Farmers wife that was great with childe and ready to lye downe who had had the outward orifice of her womb for the space of foure or fiue yeares so perfectly closed glued and ioined together that it was impossible to put a little probe therein the which had happened vnto her by beeing ill deliuered by meanes whereof the entrance of the outward necke of the wombe had beene exulcerated and the vlcers cicatriz'd and the sides of the said necke ioined together and yet for all this she proued with child At the time of her deliuery by the aduise and councell of Master Riolan and Charles the Kings professors in Phisicke and Regent Doctor in the faculty of Phisicke at Paris Brunet Paradis Riollan Fremin Rabigois and Serre Queen Marguerites Chirurgion Mitton and Choffinet Maister Barber Chirurgions at Paris Honore the Kings Chirurgion and my selfe I say by the aduise of all these there was an incision made then presently the Speculum dilatatorium was so wel applied that al the Cicatrizes were inlarged which succeeded so prosperously that within three houres after she was deliuered with much ease 4 The trauaile may likewise proue difficult and painfull when the woman is deliuered before or after her time before her time as when it comes in the sixth seuenth or eighth Moneth which happens when the wombe is too moist and weake or else full and as it were stuft with much slime which doth so moisten the necke therof that it is inlarged and dilated before the limited time As also the vessels to the orifices whereof the after burthen is fastned do begin to be relaxed which causeth that the child cannot be supported nor remaine in his naturall situation By which change finding the inner orifice loosened and inlarged and the membrane wherein the waters are contained and in which the child swimmeth to be very small and thinne it begins to breake which maketh the child out of order and so causeth difficult deliuery As also too much drynesse as it were want of nourishment when the mother is not well nourished hauing not wherewith to sustaine the child which makes the said child not hauing sufficient nourishment to turne and winde himselfe seeking about for it and casts it selfe downe and vnloosneth his bed which is the after-burthen from the sides of the wombe and in the end breakes the membrane wherein the waters are contained and striueth to come foorth for the most part out of order The like hapneth to them that go till the tenth or eleuenth moneth because the child through the length of time that it stayeth in the mothers wombe doth grow and waxe bigger though the parts of the mother wherby the child being thus big is to come forth and passe through are not increased or inlarged at all which causeth the passages being not able to bee sufficiently dilated and widened great anguish and paine to the mother especially shee beeing weakned in all her parts that serue for the expulsion and bringing forth of the child which among the rest are the Matrice and the Muscles of the vpper belly which being stretched beyond measure through the greatnesse and bignesse of the child do inlarge the fibres which cannot afterward be so easily drawen together hauing lost their proper force and strength And this may be manifestly perceiued in those that cannot make water the bladder being too full that although the passage be opened by a probe yet the Chirurgion is constrained to presse the belly so to help the fibres of the bladder to close and fould themselues together Besides the child filling vp all the space that is in the wombe cannot help it selfe so well in thrusting forward being as it were fettred and lock't fast therein 3. The like hindrance of deliuerie may proceed from the child who hauing attained vnto the ninth moneth is not able to come into the world either through weaknesse and feeblenesse or because he is not perfected and ripened as he should and so hath not sufficient strength to dissolue the ligaments and vessels and to break asunder the membranes wherein he is inclosed which causeth that after he hath striued in the ninth moneth and attempting it againe in the tenth he is not able to striue so lustily for his comming foorth hauing been weakned with forcing himselfe the moneth before And it is most certaine that the childs staying in the wombe after the ninth moneth doth proceed onely from want of vitall heat which is in the heart or that he hath it not in sufficient quantitie to desire the Aire which we draw in to coole vs or that all
Gasselin who not hauing help in time dyed euen as it was foretold it would come to passe hauing lost all her bloud before she would giue her consent to be deliuer'd which will be a good occasion to admonish a young Chirurgion neuer to defer this worke when he is called and sees a great euacuation of bloud It is now fiue and twentie yeares since I saw this practized by the late Mr Pareus and Mr Hubert of whom we are bound to acknowledge and willingly confesse that we haue learned both this and many other experiments Mad. de Mommor being about fiue and twentie yeares of age and neere her time of deliuerie one day found her selfe ill about foure or fiue a clocke in the morning neuerthelesse she rose and went to Church which was neere her house her paine by fits began againe and she fell into a continuall flux of bloud At three daies end she was deliuered with great ease without any help of the Midwife and presently after followed the after burthen Neuerthelesse she died the same day at night and was kept a prettie while by her friends who could not perswade themselues that she was dead At last being opened by Mr Pineau the kings sworne Chirurgion at Paris in the presence of Mr Faber and Mr Baillou regent Doctors of the facultie of Physicke at Paris her wombe was found broken and rent right in that place where the veine and arterie hypogastricke ascend toward the mid'st thereof which likewise were dissolued and gaue way to all that issue of bloud As for the convulsions which commonly happen through the childs great striuing when hee desires to come forth and not being turned aright doth so extend the womb that the said convulsions follow thereupon here it is to be feared least all within wil be torne and broken and therefore it is conuenient to deliuer the woman with all possible speed which hath beene practized both by my selfe and of late by Master Binet a sworn Chirurgion of Paris a man of great experience who being sent for by Doctor Bouuart to deliuer Opportune Guerreau the wife of Siluester the Printer which had beene in labour from eight a clock in the morning till nine at night and finding her pulse very weake and small as also the woman depriued of all sence and motion at the first he was somwhat fearefull But being intreated by her Husband and fearing least shee might either die suddenly or else fall into convulsions he putting his hand into her wombe found the childs head the water not being broke which he let out and presently deliuered her with much ease and shee is yet liuing Therefore wee need not expect till the said convulsions grow stronger for fear least the wombe be broken and torne through the great striuing of the child when hee is not able to come foorth as wee may plainely see by the stories following The yeare 1607. the said Master Binet was sent for together with de le Moine and Alton Master Barber Chirurgion at Paris to cut vp the dead body of Ione du Boys and hauing opened her nether belly found the child vpon the guts who had brused broken the wombe and passed quite through it there being store of bloud shed in the capacity of the said belly Master Pineau Guerin and Launay sworne Chirurgians of Paris can beare me witnesse that in opening a poore woman that died in the Hospitall of the Citty we found her child swimming among the guts in her belly the bottome of her Matrice being rent and torne The meanes to helpe a woman when her after-burthen comes for most CHAP. XII IF the after-burthen offer it selfe formost the most sure and ready way to helpe the Woman is to deliuer her speedily because most commonly there follows a continuall fluxe of bloud For that the orifices of the veines are opened which are spread in the sides of the wombe and there meet with the vessels of the afterburthen and when the Matrice doth strain and force it selfe to put forth the child then doth it thrust out both the bloud that is contained therin and that which is drawne thither either by any heat or paine Besides when the child is inclosed in the wombe and the orifice thereof stopt with the after-birth then hee cannot breath any longer by his Mothers Arteryes and so for want of helpe he will be quickly choked and euen swallowed vp in the bloud which is contained in the wombe and which issueth from the veynes that are open therein But before you attempt any thing these two points must be obserued First whether the after-burthen bee come foorth but a little or else very much if it bee but little when the mother is well placed it must be thrust and put backe againe with as much care as may possibly be And if the head of the child come first let it bee placed right in the passage thereby to helpe the naturall deliuery but if you find any difficulty or if you perceiue that the childs head cannot easily bee brought forward or that the child or his mother or both together bee weake foreseeing that the trauaile will bee long then without doubt the best and surest way is to search for the feete as we haue said and to plucke him forth gently by them The other point to bee obserued is that if the said after-birth be much come foorth and that it cannot bee put backe againe as well by reason of the bignes of it as also of the fluxe of bloud that commonly companies it and likewise if the child follow it close staying onely to come into the world then must the after-burthen be puld away quite and when it is come forth it must be laide aside without cutting of the string that cleaues vnto it For by the guiding of the said string you may easily find the child who whether hee bee aliue or dead must be drawn out by the legs with as much dexterity as may be And this must be done onely in great necessity that the child may bee quickly drawne forth as it may be easily iudged by the sentence of Hippocrates who saith that the after-burthen should come forth after the child for if it come first the child cannot liue because he takes his life from it as a plant doth from the earth Sometime it chaunceth that a part of the after-birth as also the membrane which containes the waters doe offer it selfe like a skin and comes forth sometimes the length of halfe a foote which happens to such women as haue the skin wherein the waters are contained swelling out to the bignes of ones fist and more which breaking foorth of themselues leaue the skinnne hanging forth and yet the child not following it which happening it must not be violently puld away because the afterburthen oftentimes is not wholly loosened from the sides of the wombe So that in drawing that you shall likewise
that onely which they call simple but also that which hath a contusion ioyned with it For in that great striuing and passing of the child many membranes are not onely bruised and hurt but also broken and torne as it hapneth in young women and in others that are farre in yeares and neuer had any child before Nay sometimes in these the passage of the Matrice and that of Anus are brought into one yea and some suffer great excoriations and hurts in those parts which beeing neglected in some haue come to putrifaction and Gangrenes And heere I must admonish women in childbed not to regard the words of their nurses or keepers which continually preach to them to make much of themselues saying that they had need to fil their bellies which haue been so much emptyed telling them how much bloud they haue lost and do daily loose and that at last they will grow so weake that they will not be able to helpe themselues But these are friuolous reasons for the greatest part of the bloud which a woman voideth then and all her month is but superfluous bloud and is good for nothing which hath beene kept in the body a long time euen the nine moneths that she hath gone with child it beeing now necessary for her health to haue it voided out of her Matrice that so her belly which is swolne and puft vp with the aboundance of bloud like a sponge that is full of water may be quitted discharged and returne to the naturall proportion and bignesse And therefore for their healths sake they must not feede so plentifully the first daies as the vulgar thinke that by this abstinence may hinder the Ague which may happen vnto them and likewise keepe downe the aboundance of bloud which would flow to their breasts and be conuerted into milke and by reason of the store there of grow clotty and curdle and in the end apostumate Wherefore the fiue first daies let her vse Broths panades new egges and gelly not glutting her selfe as commonly they doe either with flesh or Almonds In the morning let her take a supping or broth and so likewise at dinner with a couple of new laid egges and some panade and again at supper let her haue the like closing her stomacke with a little gelly but yet if she mean to nurse her child herselfe shee must feede more plentifully Let her drinke barley water wherein a little Cinamon and a few coriander seeds haue been boyled The great Ladies of Italy doe vse a water made of Capons which is this Take two Capons ready pul'd and dressed boyle them in an earthen pot with a sufficient quantity of faire water till they bee halfe sodden then take them foorth and cut them into small peeces to be vsed as followeth Take of Buglosse Borage and Balme of each two good handfuls whereof you must make a lay in a glasse Limbicke and vpon that another of the saide Capons flesh and so vppon that a lay of leafe gold with a dramme of the powder of pearle then poure in some of the broth on the top which you shall do vntill all be bestowed in the same manner This being done you must distill it in a double vessel or Balneo Mariae and draw a quart of water or thereabouts which must be reitterated so often till you thinke that you haue enough to serue the woman in child bed for tenne or twelue daies But this Curiosity is for Princesses and great Ladies The saide water must bee drawne sixe weeks or two moneths before it bee vsed and set in the sunne in sommer and ouer an ouen in winter to take away the rawnesse that remaines in it If the woman haue not an ague in my opinion she may drinke a little white or claret wine with twice as much boyled water But there bee some women that cannot endrue wine and therefore let them drink water and hony boiled together or else boiled water if they desire to drink in the day time between their meals or else in the night giue them a little syrop of Maiden haire with boiled water or any other syrop so it be not astringent because of their purgings When her paines the feare of the ague and the burning of her breasts bee past then may she feed more liberally and then she may eat at dinner a little meat with her broth as Capon Pullet Pigeon or a bit of Veale and at supper beside her broth a slise of Veale Mutton Chicken or any other good meate The eight day beeing past about which time commonly the wombe is well purged and cleansed it will not bee amisse to nourish her better giuing her more solide meat and in greater quantity that she may grow strong againe the sooner All the which time she must keepe her selfe very quiet not much mouing or stirring herselfe nor so much as once looking into the Aire Let her speake as little as may be and haue no noise made about her nor suffer her to be much visited but by her friends and kinsfolks excluding all such tatling Gossips as may tell her any thing to trouble her or make her sad Let her sleepe rather in the night then in the day time yet if she haue not rested in the night by reason of some paines then let her sleepe when soeuer it comes vpon her And because most women in that case are Costiue and cannot void their excrements therefore it will bee very fit to giue her some such gentle Glister A Clyster â„ž Fol. Malu Parietar Bismal totius an m. i. flor Chamemel Melilot an p. i. sem Anis foenicul an Ê’ ij Coquant in decoct Capitis veruec de quo accipe quart iij. in quibus dissol sacchar rub Mel. Mercurial an â„¥ ij Butyr recent â„¥ iij. fiat Clister You may also adde thereto sometimes an ounce of Diacatholicon If she dislike Clisters let her take a little broth or decoction of Sene. I am of opinion that the Athenian women while they were in Child-bed did take the broth of Cabbage or Coleworts rather to be loose bellied then to driue away witchcraft as Athenaeus would haue it For heretofore the Cabbage was Catoes Phisick and all his houshold And therefore when the Romanes banisht the Phisitions Cato saide that the Cabbage alone was Phisicke enough to cure all their diseases and besides hee made a little Commentary vpon that subiect Let her banish all griefe and heauinesse hauing regard only of her health and to be merry praising God for her deliuery What must be done to the Womans Breasts Belly and nether parts that is newly deliuered CHAP. II. NOW I haue set downe the manner of dyet a Woman in Child bedde should obserue it will not be amisse to shew what is fit to bee done vnto her before she sit vp or rise endeauouring heerein to bring all the parts of her body which haue beene strayned and as it were quite changed
Carab an Ê’ ss Cinamon Nuc. Mosch an ℈ ij Ambrae chrys gr iiij folia auri nu vj. fiat omnium puluis capiat Ê’ j. cum ouo sorbili vel vino Hippocratico vel iusculo pulli Some in this case take halfe a spoonfull of Cinamon water with the yelke of an egge others with the saide yelke of an egge take two graines of Amber greese If the paines continue vse the Cataplasme following A Pultesse â„ž Vitellos ouor nu xij Pul. sem Anis Fenicul an Ê’ ij Farin sem Lini â„¥ ij Pul flor Chamaemel Meliot an Ê’ j. ss Calamint Ê’ j. ol Aneth q. sa fiat Cataplasma Applicetur ventricalidé auferatur antequam refrigeretur iteretur saepius Of the falling downe of the Fundament and Matrice CHAP. IIII. THere are some Women which are deliuer'd with so much difficultie and are so long in trauaile that to free themues from this miserie and anguish they are constrained to straine and force themselues in such sort that the Fundament or the end of the great gut commeth foorth for a woman in her deliuerie must straine and force her selfe euen as one doth at the stoole It may happen also that the Matrice may follow the child and after-birth which is the precipitation or comming downe of the wombe the ligaments being loosened and sometimes broken either through much striuing or because that the Midwife or Chirurgion in drawing foorth the child or after-birth draw the Matrice together with it which may be done and yet not they in fault When the Fundament commeth foorth it is to be put vp after this manner First the Chirurgion must put vp the gut with a fine linnen cloth warme as gently as possiblie he can But if he find any difficultie herein because of some humour with is come to it by abiding in the Aire all the time of the trauaile or by any fluxe of humours which the paine hath caused then must he bath and foment it with a little Milke wherein Red Roses white Mullen Camomile and Meliot haue been boiled and when he shall see that the swelling is gone and it is come to it selfe then by little and little he shall put it vp not vsing any force or violence at all He may also if the paine be asswaged foment it with red Wine in which Plantaine white Mullen Red Roses and Balausts haue been boiled and then presently he shall gently put it vp The Matrice also being fallen downe shall be put vp after the same manner but we will speake more at large of this and of the causes thereof in an other place Of the hurts and Excoriations which happen in the lower parts by Child-bearing CHAP. V. ALthough neither the Midwife in the naturall birth vse any violence in bringing the child into the world nor the Chirurgion either in turning or drawing foorth the child handle or touch the woman but with all gentlenesse and tendernesse that may be yet oftentimes do some contusions or other hurts happen in the lower parts of the woman yea and excoriations together with chaps and clifts about the part called â—inaeum in respect that so great a morsell hath â—s'd through so narrow a place Besides that some women are verie straight and close either being verie young or verie old or because they haue vsed medicines to make those parts straite and narrow besides that in some women the child proues verie big For all these accidents it is good to vse at first as we haue said before Oile of St Iohns wort and Oile of Roses beaten with whole Egges all together If the sides of those parts be brused you may vse this Fomentation which will resolue it gently A Fomentation for the contusion of the lower parts â„ž Maluae Bismalu an m. j. Matricar m. ss Rosar rub flor Chamaem Melilot an m.j. fiant sacculi duo parui coquantur in aequis partibus vini aquae fontis admoueatur parti This Fomentation must be applied onely to the entrance and orifice of the Matrice lest the ordinarie courses be hindred and the foresaid medicine of Oile of St Iohns wort shall be prepar'd without the whites of Egges and applied vpon fine lint or cotton leauing the passage of the wombe open both to giue way to the purgings and venâ— to such vapors as may proceed out of the Matrice For the excoriations and chaps you may vse this Ointment â„ž Cerae alb â„¥ ss ol Amygd dulc â„¥ j. ss liquefiant simul fiat linimenium Although these kind of vlcers are easilie healed as being but small as Hippocrates noteth notwithstanding they must be carefully handled being in a part of delicate and exquisite sence and full of Nerues Of the medicine last described you shall make small plasters and applie them fitly vpon the excoriations and chaps And because as I haue noted there often happens a rent or breach about the Perinaeum neare to the fundament and that when the woman makes water she feeles there a great pricking and paine it is necessarie that her Nurse or keeper applie to that part two or three little linnen clouts spred with the aforesaid Ointment to keep the vrine from touching and galling there But if the breach or clift be great you shall applie there little boulsters of lint dipt ' and dress'd with this baulme A balme foâ— the lower parts â„ž Ol. Hyperic â„¥ s. Axung porc recent â„¥ ij Ol. é vitellis ouor Ê’ iij. Terebinth venet Ê’ i. fiat Balsamum ad vsum After that you haue applied this Balm you shall lay vpon it the plaster before described of waxe and oyle of sweet Almonds Somtimes it happens that the whole Perinaeum is diuided and rifted euen vnto the fundament and that both the passages are brought into one which accident I haue seene and for want of help the sides of the wound being hardned with a scarre both the passages haue continued as one For remedy wherof I being once called and finding the Woman to bee with child I gaue her counsell to stay till shee were brought a bed and about sixe weekes after she was deliuered being sent for to cure her I proceeded in this manner First with a crooked rasor very sharpe I cut away way the scarre and skinne which was growne on both sides as the common practise is for an hare lip which I haue showne in my workes of Chirurgery which worke I began from the naturall parts and so went on to the fundament not taking away much flesh but onely the skinne which beeing taken off and as it were flead away I suffered the part to bleed well both to shun an inflammation and also to make the stitches with my needle more conueniently About the midst of the clift or diuision I passed my needle through both sides thereof hauing first laid them euen as well aboue and below as in the middle and I tooke good hold of the flesh on both sides there leauing my needle about which I did turne
take away such things as shall offend him playing with him kissing him dancing him gently in her armes and singing withall and she must likewise open him often to lay and keep him drie and cleane Of the conditions which are required in good Milke THe choise of good Milke is that it be of a middle substance that is to say such as shal be neither too watrish nor too thicke For that which is too watrish and thin may cause the child to haue a scowring and besides it yeeldeth no good nutriment And the Milke which is too thicke is easily crudled and not so soone digested and so causeth obstructions from whence the matter of the stone is bred As for the quantitie of Milke a Nurse should rather haue too much then too little because when there is but little it will be hard for the child to draw it when as if there be plentie it will come the easier and euen thrust out it selfe Moreouer if the child should sucke the breast drie then that which shall come in the roome of it cannot be well concocted so soone Besides if the child should chance to haue an Ague then would he sucke and consume a great deale Againe the Nurse besides a sufficient quantitie for the nourisâ—ing of the child must haue some to milâ— to 〈◊〉 eyes if he should chance to haue any iâ—â—feâ— toâ— there as either heat pimples or itchâ— that so it may be cooled As for the colour it must be white according to the common saying As white as Milke for the Milke which is blewish makes shew of Melancholy as the yellow doth of Choller and the reddish that it is not well concocted and signifies either that there is a weaknesse in the breasts or else an ill qualitie of the bloud whereof it is made which hath not been concocted and corrected by the naturall heat of the paps Besides good Milke ought not to haue any strong smell but rather a sweet sent which smelleth neither hote nor sower nor yet adust for such smels shew that the bloud of which it is made is ouerheated or putride And concerning the Tast that Milke which hath a sweet sauour is much commended as contrarywise that which is either sharp sower or bitter is to be refused and therefore not chosen for good Now the triall there of may be made in this sort as to know whether it be of a good substance let the nurse milke some few drops of it vpon a looking glasse or other sleeke thing and if in holding it gently aside it flows and runs presently and keepe not together a little then it is a signe that the milke is watrish and too thinne If it stand still and will not runne at all then it shews that the milke is too thicke and fat But if it runne leasurely not staying eyther too long or flowing too soone vpon the said smooth body it sheweth that the milke is of a middle substance and ought to bee reckoned and chosen for the best The quantity of the milke may be knowne thus if there remaine some in the breast after the childe hath done sucking and againe if in opening the child you find him bepissed But you must haue an eye that your nurse be none of these Cooseners for there be some that giue the child water to drinke in secret and others which wet the childs bed But such Nurses deserue to be whipt and their knauery may be easily descried both by the eye and the sent and likewise discerned by the tast Now the obseruation which is taken from the Nurses child for the choice of a fit Nurse is concerning his age For if her child be aboue seuen or eight months old then her milke will bee too stale afterwards and besides it would be a doubt whether shee would haue milke enough to nurse him that should be put vnto her Againe if the childe be but fifteene daies or a moneth olde that shews that her milke is too new and that it is not as yet well purified because the mother is not wholly purged and clensed So Auicen commands that a child should not be put to sucke a Woman till at least two moneths after her deliuery and at the farthest not after eight And because the sexe of the Nurses child must likewise bee obserued Aegineta wisheth that it should be rather a man child then a maid child because the milke is hotter better concocted and not so excrementitious And he addeth farther that it is fit whether it be a boy or a wench that the mother haue born her burthen the full time For those that are commonly deliuered before their time for the most part are not sound but sickly though there be many healthfull women which goe with their children but seuen Moneths How a Nurse ought to order her selfe concerning her Dyet and manner of life CHAP. II. IT is not enough that a Nurse be indowed with the conditions and qualities aforesaid but it is very fit also that shee maintaine and preserue them wherefore wee will set downe briefely how and in what manner she ought to gouerne her selfe First of all therefore let her shun and auoide all bad ayre and all kind of ill and stinking smels for such sents as are too strong are naught and hurtfull for her because they infect and ouer-heat the spirits and bloud whereof the milke is made Shee must likewise auoide all meats that are eyther too much salted or spiced or of a strong tast as Onions Leekes Garlicke Mustard and all kind of Baked Meates and old cheese Let her eate Veale Mutton Chicken Kid Partridge and such like meates which are of good iuice and of easy digestion and she must vse them in moderate sort without glutting her selfe All sorts of fish are hurtfull for her except it bee in small quantity shee may eate Iacke Sole and Quauluer and if she eat no fish let her vse new laid egges Her meate must be rather boyled then rosted but yet there must be had a respect to the habitude and complexion of the child For if hee bee very moist and flegmaticke then the Nurse shall rather vse rostmeat and so of other complexions Her bread shall be of good wheate well made light and baked as it ought to be Let her put into her pottages Lettuce Sorrell Purcelaine Borage Buglosse and Succory Shee shall refraine from all kind of raw fruits For her drinke let her take Ale or Beere and where that cannot be had Barley water or water sodden or else a small kind of Hydromel or meade which hath but a little Cinamon in it But I would rather counsaile them to drinke Wine and Water together Aristotle forbids wine both to the nurse and the child except it be as they say well christned She must vse moderate exercise and chiefly before meales For moderate exercise doth strengthen the naturall heate and consumeth all superfluities
your farther satisfaction Of the inflammation and swelling of the childs Nauill CHAP. XX. OFtentimes after the childs Nauell is tyed there commeth some inflammation swelling or vlcer and especially this hapneth when that which hath been tyed is diuided and fallen away it being not perfectly suppurated The same Nauell may swell also either through the childes eager crying or when he coughes much the tumor and swelling being full of wind and sometimes also of water The inflammation may be cur'd by the vse of Vnguentum Rosatum or with a little Vnguentum Refrigerans Galeni The bathing it also with Oile of Roses and a little Vnguentum Populeon may do verie much good As for the Vlcer if it be but small you may put vpon it some fine Flower or the powder of a rotten post or else a little plaster of Diapompholigos and Vnguentum desiccatiuum mingled together You may also sometimes touch it with a little Allome water and so cicatrize it As for the swelling you must haue a care that the Nauell stand not foorth too far and swell not more then it ought Now to hinder that you shall lay vpon it a cloth eight or ten times doubled and then swath it gently that the said Nauell stand not foorth too much which ought to be done if there be neither wind nor water contained within it But when either of them are there Auicen vseth this medicine Auicenus medicine ℞ Spicae Nard pul ℥ ss Terebinth ℥ iij. Ol. Amygdal dulc parum fiat vnguentum But mee thinkes to giue it a forme and consistence it were not amisse to adde vnto it a little waxe I vse commonly this plaster whether there be any wind or water which hath power to resolue consume and drie vp the said wind or water An approued medicine ℞ Vnguent Comitiss desiccat rubr an ℥ j. stercor Columb ʒ ij pul Irid. florent ʒ iij. Sulphur viui ʒ j. Ol. Nard ℥ ss Cerae Terebinth q. s. fiat Ceratum But the onely thing is to keep it downe with a boulster and swathing that it swell not or stand foorth the more Some vse Emplastrum contra Rupturum for it Of Gripings and Fretting in the belly which troubleth little Children CHAP. XXI THese gripings do trouble little children verie much the causes are two For either they come because the excrement called Meconium is retained in the guts This humour is black and slimy like melted pitch which pricketh and wringeth their guts and puts them to paine to void it Or else these Gripings are bred of the abundance of milke which the child taketh or of the ill qualitie thereof the which being not digested doth putrifie and corrupt and turnes either into choller or into sharpe and salt fleagme Or else there is bred some wind which causeth a distention of the stomacke and guts The cold aire and the wormes also may cause it which I leaue to be handled in another place Concerning the cure if the said excrement called Meconium be the cause of the said gripings it must be euacuated by little suppositaries made of the rib of a Beete leafe or of Sope and also by Clysters to draw away this humour and make it come foorth If too much milke be the cause then the Nurse shall not giue the child sucke so often nor in such plentie If it proceed from wind and that do cause the child to be thus troubled it shall be discussed with Fomentations applied to the belly and Nauell and with Carminatiue Clisters which shall be giuen him as this A Clister for the wind ℞ Malu Bismal Parietar an M. j. flor Chamaem Melilot summitat Aneth an p. j. semin Anis Foenicul an ij coquantur perfectè in iure pulli vel capitis veruec in colatum ad ℥ vj. dissolue Diacatholic Mellis Anthosat Saccar rubr an ℥ ss Ol. Chamaemel Aneth an ʒ vj. fiat Clyster Of the foresaid decoction you may also make a fomentation with fine spunges and then let his bellie be rub'd and annointed with oyle of Camomile Melilot and Dill mingled together Parietary of the wall with a few Camomile flowers and tops of Dill fryed with Oile of Lillies and Dill and then layd to the belly hot are very good If you perceiue that these gripings proceed of some sharpe biting or chollericke humor that gnaws and gripes the stomack and the guts which may be knowne both by feeling his belly which will be hotter then ordinary and also by the stooles which will be yellow and greenish then shall you giue him little Clisters of milke or else of the broth of Veale Capon or of a sheeps head wherein you shall dissolue two drams of Benedicta Lanatiua and as much Oyle of Violets and red suger Let his belly be rubbed with Oyle of Roses and Violets or else with Mesues Ointment of Roses You may giue him to take inwardly some Oyle of sweet Almonds newly drawne and mingled with Suger candy And if the child be any thing big it will be very fit to giue him an ounce of the compound sirup of Cichory with Rubarbe dissolued into Agrimony water or of Carduus Benedictus you may also mingle amongst his pappe or gruell a little Cassia drawne the better to make him take it Of the Wormes CHAP. XXII THe Wormes doe trouble little children very cruelly and therefore not without good reason did Hippocrates call them Theriodigastros as cruell beasts in the belly There be of them of diuers formes and bignes Some of them are round and long named Elminthes which breed in the small guts they ascend somtimes into the stomacke and come foorth at the mouth There be others that are long and flat called Teniae which are as it were a band couched and placed all along the great guts Some are little and slender as the point of a needle and are called Ascarides by reason of the itching which they cause in the great gut the fundament in which place they are bred and oftentimes they are inclosed as it were with a little purse I haue seene diuers that haue voided a million which haue bene al of them fastned together Touching their generation Hippocrates obserueth that little children doe bring the wormes euen from their Mothers belly but most commonly they are bred of putride corrupted flegm as also of other ill humors which lye in the guts When children are troubled with the wormes they waxe leane they haue no desire to eate their belly aketh swels and grows bigger they start in their sleepe and doe sometimes swoune and haue a little drye Cough the colour of their face is pale and wanne and their eies great they rub their nose commonly and when they are troubled with small wormes their fundament itcheth But the surest signe that a child hath the wormes of what nature soeuer they be is when hee voides them with his excrements by stoole or that they come vp by the mouth or through the
by Aristotle who saith that young infants are not subiect to dreames experience teaching vs that those who as yet haue not discretion to know good from bad are not feared with terrible and fearefull sights but contrariwise doe laugh at them and are well pleased For the Cure of this accident both the Nurse and also the child when he comes to eate must auoide all meates which do corrupt the stomacke and such as are apt to breede grosse and malignant vapors such as Pease Beanes Leekes Onions Coleworts which as Dioscorides reporteth doe procure sadde and Melancholike dreames Let them feede vpon good meates and in a moderate quantity that so the stomacke may not bee ouercharged and that the concoction may bee the more easie Rhasis wisheth the Nurse to drink a cup of good wine After that the child hath sucked and the Nurse hath eaten they must not according to the precept of Auicen go to sleepe presently because the meate can not descend so soone to the bottome of the stomacke there to bee embraced and perfectly concocted And when part thereof stayes at the vpper Orifice of the stomacke then the fumes and vapours thereof doe easily rise and ascend to the braine If there be any bad humors abiding within the stomacke guts or mesentery let them be purged out Auicen giueth to the child a little hony fasting If hee bee somwhat big you may giue him a little Cassia a spoonefull of sirup of Cichory and sirup of Damaske roses or some Manna in broth If his stomacke be weake let it be strengthened with this Liniment A liniment for the stomacke ℞ Olei de absynth et mastich qu. ʒ s. puluer ganophyl gr vj. cerae ʒ s. liquefiant simul et fiat litus But especially let the Nurse and those that come about the child embolden him taking heede that they put him not in feare of any thing by shewing him any picture or beast or other thing which may breed any feare or terror Of the rupture or falling downe of the gut in young Children CHAP. XXVII CHildren and chiefly male-Children are much troubled at this day with the rupture of which though there be many kinds yet will I treat at this present onely of the falling downe of the gut and caule and of the watery and windie rupture for those which are called Camosa and Varicosa doe seldome or neuer happen to young children I haue obserued that many children are born with these ruptures which happen because the child beeing in the Mothers wombe doth often striue in turning and winding himselfe or else doth so straine himselfe that the guts and caule do beare downe vppon the production of the Peritonaeum which beeing inlarged giueth occasion of a rupture As for those which are called Hydrocele and Physocele which is the watery and windy rupture it cannot be denied but that the child before hee be borne if he draw bad humors from the mother breedes these waters and winds which may flow downe into the purses of the cod Neuerthelesse most commonly these kindes of ruptures are bred after the child is borne and come into the World which happens vpon diuers occasions either because the child hath cryed much or through a long Cough or by filling himselfe too full of milke or victualls or by leaping stretching or straining himselfe too much going to ride astride vpon somthing As for the watry and windy ruptures they proceede for the most part of the bad nourishment which the child takes either of his Nurse or else of himselfe after he is wained whereupon grows infinite Crudities and Winds which steale by the production of the Peritonaeum into the cods For the cure of the falling downe of the gut if the child bee very young keepe him quiet and still him from crying and if he eate pap put into it this powder A pouder ℞ Radic consolid maior ʒ ij radic sigilli beatae Mari. et salomonis an ʒ is herniar ʒ ij puluer limacum rubror ʒ i. fiat omnium puluis Euery time that you make him pap put a dram or thereabout into it and when you vnswath him to make him cleane vse this fomentation to the part Afomentatiō ℞ Radic consolid maior osmund regal cortic vlmi fraxini an ℥ s. folior plantag tapsi barbati centinodiae herniariae caudae equinae flor chamom meliloti rosar rubr an m. i. s balaustor nucum cupressi calic gland an ℥ ij fiant sacculi parui coquantur in aequis partibus vini austeri aquae fabrorum pro fotu partis After that you haue vsed this fomentation a quarter of an houre dry the part and then lay vpon it this plaster following An emplaster ℞ Vnguentum de siccat rubr ℥ ij puluer Mastich olibani sarcocollae nucum cupressi an ʒ i. cum tantillo cerae et olei Mastich fiat Emplastrum satis molle Let this Emplaster be laid vpon the part and vpon that a little bolster to keep all fast together that nothing slip of you shall bind it on or else vse a trusse but it will be fitter for the child to haue it bound on and then to be swathed vp This fomentation and plaster must be vsed for the space of thirtie or fortie daies and if the child be somewhat big let him be kept quiet in his bed for fortie daies together taking the powder before discribed with broath or with a little water of Myrtels or else making the said powder into small Lozenges The fomentations must be made for him as is alreadie described wherewith he must be bathed halfe an houre euery morning and then the plaster laide on and fastned with a trusse or cloth bound on it He must forsake all windie meats as Pease Beanes raw fruits Salades and white meats feeding vpon good meats that are rosted and of them but in small quantitie Let him drinke a little Red wine mingled with boyled water if his bellie be bound giue him a little clyster or else some broaths with Sene in it And you must remember that the Fomentation must not be vsed nor the plaster laid on nor the trusse or swathes applied before the gut or caule be put vp if so be that they be fallen downe And especially you must haue a care that his head be laid somewhat low and his buttockes high as he lyeth in his bed that by this meanes nothing may come downe Concerning the watrie and windie ruptures the child must keep the same Diet as hath been alreadie prescribed And as for locall medicines they must be such in both as haue power to attenuate drie vp discusse and resolue the waters and wind which is within the purse of the cod For the watrie rupture I haue often tried this medicine A Plaster ℞ Vnguent comitiss desiccatiui rubr an ℥ ij stercor Columbi ℥ ss Sulphuris viui ʒ iij. puluer baccar Lauri semin Sinapi an ʒ j. olei Aneth
Terebinth Venetae an Ê’ iij. Cerae q. s fiat Emplastrum This Emplaster also is of good vse for a windie rupture vnlesse you can heal it with this fomentation A Fomentation â„ž Rosar rubr flor Chamaemel Meliot Aneth an m. j. semin Foenicul Anis an â„¥ s folior Origani Calamenth an m. j. baccar Lauri Ireos florent pulueris an Ê’ ij fiant sacculi duo Coquantur in aequis partibus vini albi aquae pro fotu But when these watrie ruptures grow so hard that they cannot be dissolued by the medicines aforesaid then must they be opened Which I haue practized vpon young Infants and amongst others vpon a child of Mons de Vilantry being not aboue two moneths old and this I did by the counsaile of Mr Hautin and Mr Duret the Kings Physicions in ordinarie and Physicions of Paris The maner of making this Incision I haue set downe in my booke Of the practizes of Chirurgerie to which I refer the Reader where he may find all the particularities set downe Of the difficultie of making of Water wherewith young Children are troubled CHAP. XXVIII IT happens oftentimes that young Children can not make water and that vpon diuers occasions but chieflie through the fault of vrine which offends either in quantitie or qualitie The ill qualitie of the Vrine is when it is hote sharpe and pricking which makes the child afraid to pisse because of the paine which they feele when their water comes The Vrine offends in quantitie when it is in so great abundance and doth so ouer-charge the bladder that the Fibres being ouer-stretched can not draw themselues together to expect the vrine which happens to them which haue kept their water too long And for this cause children must oft be called vpon to pisse both when they awake and when they are changed to be laid downe to sleep And when they grow bigger let them make water both before and after they eate for since they abound with moistures and haue their bladder but small they must in no wise keep their water long and therefore if some-times they bepisse themselues in their sleep they must not be much chidden or beaten for feare least if they hold their water by force they fall into this difficultie of voiding it If there be any fleagme or slime or bloud mingled with the water or if there breed any sand or stone this may be the cause to hinder the childs vrine And this may happen to young children as Hippocrates noteth because they eat much which procures much cruditie and breeds the matter of the Stone For the Cure heerof you must proceed according to the cause which if it be because the vrine is sharpe and pricking or too hote then if it be a sucking child it will be good to prescribe the Nurse a dyet to temper her bloud which it may be is too hote Let her also be purged let bloud and bathed and let her vse broaths made with coole herbes If the child be somewhat big you may giue him this medicine A medicine for the grauel in the bladder â„ž Ol. Amygdal dulc â„¥ j. ss aquae Parietar â„¥ j. succi Limo Ê’ j. fiat potus Set him also in a little bath Galen and Auicen do much commend the water of Rapes or Turneps which you may giue with a little decoction of Parsley roots Dogs tooth and Dandelion But it happens oftentimes that the child can not pisse by reason of some slime that stickes in the passage of the yard which makes it swell and puffe vp and shew as cleare as a bladder For the help heerof you must bring foorth the stone by the help of a little instrument like to this heere described in the fashion of an eare-picker which you shall vse in this maner You must hold downe the child fast that he stir not and then the Chirurgion must take the yard betweene the fore-finger and the thumbe with his left hand by that part which is next toward the groine that is beyond the stone for feare least in the performance of the worke it slip vp and goe backe againe Then holding the little instrument in his right hand let him put it vp into the passage of the the vrine so far till he meete with the stone which when he hath found let him beare downe the instrument to make it slip vnder the stone for to catch hold of it behind and when he hath hold of it let him draw it foorth in such maner as shall be needfull And it will be necessarie to draw it out somewhat strongly because oftentimes it stickes verie hard Sometimes it happens that the Stone is so big that it cannot be taken away by this meanes and then we are constrained to make an incision in the yard which must be done in this manner You must hold the yard fast with the left hand taking it by the midst so that halfe the thicknesse of it may be betweene you finger and thumbe and the other halfe out that so the Stone may rise and swell vp the more on that side Then on that side that the Stone swels vp right ouer and against the Stone let an incision be made so deep till you come to the Stone which when you find you shal put vnder it such a small instrument as hath been before described therewith to draw it foorth And afterward let the wound be healed as an other ordinarie wound taking care that there grow no little excrescence of flesh in the passage of the water I haue practized this with verie good successe and amongst others vpon the sonne of Mons Robert of Chartres The meanes to helpe children that pisse in their bed in the night and cannot holde their water CHAP. XXIX LIttle children doe commonly pisse a bed that for many reasons As because they breed and abound as wee haue already shewed with store of Vrine which commeth downe into the bladder and that is so little that it is not able to retaine and keepe it being in so great quantity besides the Sphincter muscle is very soft and weake by reason of the childs tendernesse Againe they doe so go about all the day long that when are laid to bed they sleepe so soundly that they cannot easily be wakened wherto may be added that they vse to dreame often in the night which makes them pisse thinking that they are awake Some thinke that wenches are more subiect heereto then boyes Now for the deliuering and freeing them of this accident diuers Phisicions are of opinion that it is best to let them alone til they are grown bigger and not to trouble them with many medicines For the fibers of the Sphincter muscle which keepe the necke of the bladder shut together grow dry and stronger and besides then the child abounds not so much with moisture and by consequence neither with vrine but yet they must be hindred from drinking so much as they