Reviews

MIDWIFERY.? By Ten Teachers. Under the direc-

IIOII UI U. Dcrivcicjr, m.n., ivi.u., iti.u. vuai|bau*/i

F.R.C.P. (Lond.), F.R.C.S. (Eng.), F.C.O.G. Fourth

Edition. London: Edward Arnold and Co., 1931.

Pp. xi plus 740. Illustrated. Price, 18s. net

This is the fourth edition of this book which is

meant to be a guide to students appearing at examina- tions in Great Britain, but we are of the opinion that the editors would have done well to consider some of the problems that sweep into the daily ken of practi- tioners in distant lands, for by so doing they would touch a wider audience. Therefore, we would sug-

gest that they include in the well-assured fifth edition a separate section dealing with tropical conditions, for scores of the students of to-day find their way to

distant lands where conditions are new and literature

scanty, with the result that it is but by bitter experience they make good, whereas their mistakes are a source

of mirth and wonder to lesser qualified confreres. Take, for instance, osteomalacia, tropical ansemia of preg-

nancy, tetany, pregnancy dysentery, and a score of other problems connected with the fcetus and pelvis, which accumulated experience has crystallized into

opinion of value. It is idle to criticize the arrangement of a book, for

every teacher approaches his subject from a different

angle, but we would suggest a little more liberality in treatment throughout the volume, for it is a mistake to teach Kismet and finality when there are alternative treatments possible in order to obtain a living child, for instance, in the unrotating occipito-posterior all treatment may fail or if it does not fail it is almost certain that the fcetus will be born dead or injured, surely then it is wise to teach the benefits of the low Csesarean section. But no mention of this operation is found in the index or text, which is indeed remarkable considering its great use in many cases or even all such cases where a live child and live mother is aimed at. Again there is no mention of Csesarean for the large breech with extended legs, or prolapse of a pulsating cord, though it would be interesting to know how often the authors have delivered a live child using the catheter method. To our mind the continued reference to the use of

the de Ribes' bag is an anachronism, for outside the precincts of a hospital we have never known a general practitioner to possess one that was not faulty or a

source of extreme danger to the mother. Again, we think it is a pity that no praise is made

of Hobbs' glycerine treatment in cases of puerperal sepsis. Verily a prophet hath no honour in his own

land, for we saw this method in use and extolled all over the Continent and certainly our experience is in agree- ment. These are but errors of omission that can be easily

rectified if each editor will put himself in the position of a student or practitioner 'up against it' at examina- tion or in practice. This is a

_ thoroughly_ practical book that will have a

large sale, it is for this reason we seek to add to its greater use to students. The best chapter of all is that on disproportion. We shall look forward confidently to the next edition

with just that added cachet of a work not only of ' ten

teachers' but of ten consultants on the staffs of great hospitals who deal with problems met not only in hos- pital but in practice, which must be taught to students, who on qualifying will be confronted with them and

226 THE INDIAN MEDICAL GAZETTE [April, 1932

consider themselves aggrieved if their teaching does not meet the situation.

V. B. G-A.