Clinical manual of mental diseases : for practitioners and students / by A. Campbell Clark.

  • Clark, Archibald Campbell.
Date:
1897
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Clinical manual of mental diseases : for practitioners and students / by A. Campbell Clark. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by University of Bristol Library. The original may be consulted at University of Bristol Library.

    448/516 (page 420)
    some cases produce idiocy in the child of healthy parents who would otherwise be born free from mental deficiency.' And, again : ' Baron Percy, a French military surgeon, ob- served that out of ninety-two children whose mothers had been exposed to the terrors of a tremendous cannonade at the siege of Landau in 1793, sixteen died at the instant of birth ; thirty-three languished from eight to ten months, and then died ; eight became idiotic, and died before the age of five years ; and two came into the world with numerous fractures of the bones of the limbs.' Of parturient causes, almost any of the abnormal develop- ments of labour might be cited in this connection. The use of instruments has been stated as one of them, but there does not appear to be sufficient evidence to justify this statement, and when we consider how frequently instruments are applied, no more need be said. With the use of instru- ments there is often, however, a cause which frequently calls for such interference, and this is more likely to have serious effect on the head and brain, viz., tedious or difficult labour. There are here two effects at work—prolonged pressure on the head, and irregular, insufficient nutrition of the child during labour. Asphyxia neonatorum was given in 153 of Dr. Beach's histories, a proportion of 12*96 per cent. ; but to this must be added, and it emphasizes the importance of this cause, that labour was tedious or difficult in 322 cases, or about 25 per cent. The figures for asphyxia neonatorum are probably therefore an under-estimate. It is scarcely necessary to say that premature birth is not a favourable condition to start life with. It has been stated in America that attempts to procure abortion are frequently attended with this result that idiocy is induced. In so far as the induction of premature labour is sure to give the child a very unfavourable start in life, and the fact that mental causes to account for this malpractice are un- favourable to the intra-uterine life of the foetus, it is quite conceivable that idiocy should result therefrom. Acquired idiocy or imbecilit}^ ma}^ appear at any time after birth as a result of causes operating during the years of infancy and childhood. Great stress has been laid on the