De practyk der vroed'meesters en vroed'vrouwen, Of de wyse van een vrouw' te helpen in haar kindbaren. Be...

the inner mouth is not directly aligned with the outer one, and therefore this type of opening of the mouth of the Lyfmoeder womb/uterus is more difficult to reach. The finger must be inserted along the lower part of the vagina, which lies against the rectum.

When one wishes to examine the dilation of the mouth of the womb, one must do it when the spasm has passed, because the water being pressed forward pulls back, making it easier for the inserted finger to perceive this mouth, and to feel it like a ring. One must take care not to touch it harshly, letting it dilate and soften through the individual spasms of the woman and the enclosed water. Indeed, even if the membranes have become thin and brittle, one must not hasten anything and should touch these parts as little as possible. This is only pain and suffering for the patient, and it bruises and inflames the parts. Yet this is a common error, because one does not realize that these parts must dilate solely through the spasms of the mother. For if the membranes break prematurely, and the water runs off too suddenly, before the mouth of the womb is properly dilated, the child remains "on the dry" and the womb closes itself, so that the little head of the child finds

less passage, the labor lasts much longer, and is much heavier, especially in first births, where the passage is generally narrower.

The labor progresses as the enclosed water presses outward in such a way that the membranes form a bladder in the mouth of the womb, which is stretched like a pig's bladder that is full of air or water.

These membranes, pressed out in this way by the enclosed water, are felt at the beginning of the labor to be the size of a hazelnut. As the spasms increase, the water presses more and more and expands the membranes, through which the inner mouth of the womb gradually begins to dilate. When the spasm has passed, the water pulls back in such a way that the membranes become limp, until a new spasm makes them tense and expand again, in order to exert more and more force on the inner mouth of the womb and to dilate it as required.

The dilation of this mouth happens gradually, and almost without one noticing it, and sometimes in some women it lasts for several days before this dilation is as large as it must be. In other deliveries, it happens very quickly and so readily that one can barely