CHAPTER XVIII.

THE CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES OF PROLONGED LABOR TO BOTH MOTHER AND CHILD.

THE CONSEQUENCES OF PROLONGED LABOR.

A labor is usually called protracted or difficult, if the head presents, when it is not completed in about _twenty-four hours_ from its actual commencement. There are many labors however, that last much longer, and yet terminate quite favorably, and many that are over much sooner and yet are very difficult. Still, generally speaking, the danger and difficulty increases as the time progresses, and it is seldom prolonged beyond twenty-four hours without serious inconvenience.

It appears, from the statistics of the Dublin Lying-in Hospital, that in _seventy-eight thousand deliveries_, one out of every _ninety-two_ of the mothers died, and one out of every _eighteen_ of the children was stillborn. Of those mothers who were in labor with first children, from _thirty to forty hours_, one in every _thirty-four_ died, and one child in every _five_ was stillborn. Of those who were in labor from forty to fifty hours, one died in every _thirteen_. Of those who were in labor from fifty to sixty hours, one died in every _eleven_. And of those who were in labor from sixty to seventy hours, one died in every _eight_, and nearly _one-half_ of the children. It is evident therefore that, as a general rule, the danger increases with the length of time.