ELECTRICITY IN OBSTETRICS.
In treatises on the art reference is here and there made to its value, but the impression or dinarily given to the reader is that however useful the agent might be there is rarely an opportunity to prove this, seeing that the apparatus is not at hand when needed. A glance through the literature of the past few years, however, should serve to prove the advisability of the obstetri cian having the agent ever at his disposal, for the multiplied experience of individual observers certifies to the fact that in certain of the compli cations of labor electricity ought to appear as an adjuvant far more fre quently than it ever has. Seeing that the current which it is usually desirable to use is the faradic, the chief objection, hitherto brought against it, that the agent is not at hand when needed, does not hold, for there are a number of induction machines to be obtained to-day which are so small and compact as to be readily carried in the ordinary obstetri cal bag. The Gaiffe and its modifications occupy but little space and may be very speedily set in action. A very convenient instrument is the Stanley faradic battery, since it is so readily handled without the annoy ance of spilling the fluid. The current may be applied either with one electrode against the cervix and the other over the abdomen or sacrum, or else with one electrode over the abdomen and the other over the sacrum. Baird, of Texas, who is an earnest advocate of the use of elec tricity in obstetrics, has found the following method advantageous: A copper plate 11 inches wide and 5 inches long, covered with a wet napkin, is placed over the sacro-lumbar region and connected with the rheophore which belongs to the positive pole. The rheophore from the negative
pole is attached to a wrist electrode worn by the accoucheur, so that by means of his hand, which closes the circuit over the patient's abdomen, he is able to note the effect of the current on the uterus. ' The current may further be utilized by inserting one electrode into the rectum, a method which is peculiarly applicable to ectopic gestation.
In resorting to electricity during labor it may be generally stated that it is advisable to use a mild current and to take the precaution not to pass the current through both poles of the fatal ovoid. The applications should be intermittent, even as are the normal uterine contractions. The current thus applied cannot be considered dangerous either to the mother or the foetus, and it will usually evoke or re-enforce contractions.
In considering the applications of electricity in obstetrical practice it will be convenient to make two chief divisions of the subject: Electricity in ectopie gestation, and electricity as an oxytocic. It is unnecessary to do more than note the fact that the agent may prove of utility in allay ing the nausea and vomiting of early pregnancy.