Anonymous

“ It is for this wanton use of men, that I wish I had abilities to expose their want of modesty in colours striking enough to hold out our women to the universal ridicule of the world, and draw down on them the contempt and indignation of the virtuous.
Is it not laughable to hear of a modest woman sending for a man to inform her whether or not she is with child, and how far gone?—Heavens! ”

“ The woman has many intervals of ease,—she does not apprehend there is any peculiar danger in her case:—her mind, while free from pain, is at liberty calmly to attend to whatever is done. There is not above one labour in a thousand where there is any occasion for the knowledge of anatomy. I insist that except in those very extraordinary cases, a knowledge of anatomy leads Men-midwives frequently to do great mischief. It makes them impatient. They know how to bring on the labour pains,—they know how to force the birth. ”

“ If Men-midwives were requisite to bring children into the world, what would become of the wilds of America—the plains of Africa? Even the Hottentot women are too modest to employ men—they leave that abandoned custom to our English ladies—yet they are so fruitful they furnish slaves to the globe. It is a notorious fact, that more children have been lost since women were so scandalously indecent as to employ [21] men, than for ages before that practice became so general. Women have a tenderness of feeling for their own sex in labour, which it is impossible men can ever equal them in. ”

“ The only View on one side, is Money—on the other, Quality—each having attain’d the only Object they aim’d at in Marriage,—each, without any fundamental Principle of Goodness, to restrain their Pursuits within the Bounds of Virtue, they throw off the Mask of Decency—and riot in Vice!—Our young Men think the Scriptures fit only to impose on Weakness. ”

“ The Men-midwives not only give rise to Inflammations by bringing the Child before the Woman has felt half the number of Pains which Nature intended to predispose the Parts—but likewise by their abominable Dilatations. Can any Practice be more repugnant to common Sense, than that of irritating the exquisitely sensitive nervous Fibres of those Parts, by way of preparing them for Distension? The Men absolutely counteract the very end they pretend to have in view, by Dilatation!—Friction must irritate—irritation must inflame—Inflammation must contract. ”

“ I flatter myself it will not be difficult to convince sensible, modest women of two undeniable truths, which nothing but prejudice, or vice, can render them blind to the force of:—First, that Men-midwives are not so safe as women;—and secondly, that it is absolutely impossible to permit men to take the unbounded freedoms which Men-midwives falsely pretend are necessary, without throwing themselves entirely at their mercy, and, at all events, being polluted by their needless invasion. ”

“ I should be sorry to entertain so bad an opinion of the generality of my fair countrywomen, as to suppose them hardened by the depraved custom of the times, beyond a possibility of being roused to a sense of danger for themselves and infants, and to a sense of virtue. ”

“ Ignorance leads people to suppose men safer than women—Ignorance of what the Men-midwives do, leads modest women at first to submit to employ men; and it is ignorance which leads husbands [who love their wives] to recommend, nay even sometimes force them on their wives. They know not what stripes they are preparing for themselves—they know not that they are removing the corner stone on which the virtue of their wives is founded—and all this on a mistaken principle—the idea that men are safest. ”

“ A bad defence does harm to any cause—and the more able the defender appears in his stile and language, the worse it is for his cause when he convinces his readers, that even his abilities cannot do it service. The more this subject is investigated, the more prejudicial it will be to his profession. [4] A practice, adopted, and continued through a jumblement of ignorance and vice, can only be favoured by suffering an impenetrable shade to veil actions fit only for darkness. ”

“ The Men-midwives are sensible, that, when they urge their knowledge in anatomy as a reason for their being safer than women, they mean to take advantage of the ignorance of mankind. Where very rare, particular circumstances occur, undoubtedly the knowledge of anatomy becomes then absolutely necessary to direct [33] the operator in the means requisite to save the woman’s life. In that distressed, unhappy, deplorable situation, no modesty can possibly be violated. ”

“ Pray let me ask her ladyship, how did “The dear man,”—“sweet Dr. ⸺,” find out how the child lay?—By means sufficient to taint the purity, and fully the chastity, of any woman breathing!—I will boldly affirm, that, whoever admits a man to those licentious freedoms, cannot pretend to answer for what may be the consequences. If the last circumstance does not take place, it must be owing, either to an extraordinary insensibility in the man, or to the woman’s not suiting his taste, having such choice of beauties to visit. ”

“ I have very long been convinced of the many dangerous Consequences which attend the depraved Custom of employing Men-midwives unnecessarily—and have been for some Years intending from Month to Month to write my Ideas on that Subject, in order to combat the very destructive Practice, and endeavour to awaken the slumbering good Sense of the Nation. ”

“ If those Women then really find themselves too delicate for the longer continuance of such a Drain, they then may safely by degrees leave off giving suck—they have sufficiently recover’d Strength to venture throwing the Milk gently back into the Blood. The most delicately form’d Woman existing should not dream of suffering a single Drop of the Milk which Nature intended for Evacuation, to return into the Blood, untill the Constitution is re-established—and enabled to bear discharging itself of the Superfluities, without encountering the Dangers which demonstrably attend a contrary Practice. ”

“ The only safe knowledge for a midwife to possess, is, that which is taught by experience. Whenever it ceases being possible for nature, with such assistance, to do her work, then, and then only, art ought to be called in with instruments to [35] aid.—Yet our young women are not ashamed premeditately to resolve on employing men, though there are such a multitude of chances against the supposition of a dead child—or that there will be occasion for the destruction of her infant to save her own life. ”

“ If any lady, desirous of exculpating herself from my censure, pleads that “she never admits a Man-midwife to familiarities but when in actual labour”—I answer, that, even in actual labour—a woman has many intervals of ease, for many minutes together quite free from pain—in those intervals, her mind cannot maintain its spotless whiteness—in those intervals she cannot but be conscious, that the doctor is infringing on the husband. ”

“ I cannot expect to reclaim any Woman who has already used a Man, for Reasons I gave at the beginning of this Introduction, and because, by quitting him, she would tacitly acknowledge the Truth of my Assertions—and because none but those possess’d of the most exalted Qualities of the Head and Heart, can have greatness enough to confess they have been in an Error of such a Nature. ”

“ If a Woman is too delicate to bear continuing to suckle her Infant, surely she is too delicate [19*] to endure the flying in the Face of Nature, and risking the Fever—if she is healthy and strong, the more incumbent her duty is, to nourish her Child—her danger too equal. ”

“ As I do not wish to bewilder the Judgments of my Readers, but to convince their Understandings,—and as I have, throughout my Letters, laid so much Weight on the Dangers which attend hurrying the Labours of Women, I cannot dismiss this Pamphlet into the World without endeavouring clearly to demonstrate the Utility of allowing Nature to adhere strictly to her own Period for accomplishing the Birth. ”

“ I gave the preference to women, not because all men were brutes, but because the greatest Saint on earth, if a man in health, could not answer for his principles being proof against the irresistible temptations arising from being freely indulged in the most luxurious liberties with all [48] the feminine beauties of lovely women,—and because their knowledge of anatomy, and their instruments being ready at hand, too often tempt them to use force, and do mischief in parts of the most exquisite sensibility, which no art, no care, no remedy, can ever after repair ”

“ Nothing can be more destructive than bad example; and, unfortunately, the human mind is too ready to copy those which are vicious—and the vicious are more importunate and solicitous to corrupt, than the virtuous are to gain proselytes to goodness.
Though I believe the first seeds of vice are imbibed at a boarding school, yet I by no means look on that education as the great cause of these frequent adulteries. ”

“ They lead them to be patient—they prompt them to allow nature to do her own peculiar work. They never dream of having recourse to force—the barbarous, bloody crotchet never stained their hands with murder. ”

“ There never really can be occasion for a male operator, but when a deed must be done which my soul shudders at the idea of, and which I shall not mention—but thanks to God, such instances do not occur in a century!—To my knowledge, a lady was twice delivered in different parts of the country of England, by common women-midwives, and both those cases were as unnatural and difficult as it is well possible to imagine—she and the children did well—if she had employed [22] men, it is more than probable, the children, at least, would have expired under the crotchet—or been maimed by the forceps! ”

“ Hence the Reason why Fevers occasion so speedy a wasting of the Flesh—hence Hectics bring on Consumptions—hence People in Fevers can subsist long with little Food,—The lymphaticks then supplying the Blood too abundantly from our own Juices. ”

“ The truth is, the sex alone is sufficient to render any knowledge destructive in general practice. If the men must be introduced into the privacies of women, I would earnestly recommend it as the most essential qualification requisite to prepare them for the study, that they submit to having their voices made delicate. ”

“ All the knowledge young men can possibly obtain, must be from dead bodies—for is it in common sense to suppose, that a young lad can explore the secret recesses of Venus, so as to be physically well acquainted with those parts in living females? ”

“ In every View, the salutary Consequences attending Mothers discharging their Duty to their Children in this point, are so obvious, so glaring, that to me it is matter of doubt whether those who fail in it are most to be condemn’d and despised for their want of natural Affection—or pitied and ridiculed for their Folly. ”

“ Hunter, indeed, and one or two men besides, may perhaps, by the [23] help of cold constitutions, and dint of very long practice, do their business nearly as well as women—by leaving all to nature—but, if my life and fortune here, and salvation hereafter, depended on the life of any pregnant woman, and that of her infant, I would stake all I held valuable on her being attended by any old woman midwife in England, in preference to any man in the world. Whoever reads Nihel’s Midwifery, will be satisfied of this truth, that women are infinitely safer than men. ”

“ Monstrous! that a lady can pretend to any degree of modesty, and yet, not content with having a strange man attending her for hours when in labour (most of that time intimately acquainted with every part) she can, without any compunction, send for a man, and admit him without reserve to the most unbounded liberties, at a time too, when she is as able to walk, and do every other act of life, as if she was not pregnant! ”

“ Though Heathen virtues are great reproaches on Christian vices (I should have said, on the vices of people who are only Christians in name, by outwardly professing what their lives are daily contradicting) yet I should imagine no Heathen impurities ought to be admitted patterns against Christian virtues.—Our surgeons are better anatomists than the Athenians were; but I am afraid the Athenian men were better Christians, though they lived before the birth of our Saviour. ”

“ Printer—you have received this letter from a sincere admirer of female modesty: Without it “beauty ceases being lovely, or wit being engaging.” Whoever possesses it cannot be enough esteemed and regarded—whoever is deficient in it cannot be sufficiently despised and slighted. ”

“ Men, who have not been accustomed to thinking;—but whose Lives have been spent in the various Occupations, or dissipated Pleasures of the World, by having been habituated daily to view the common round which Providence takes in the natural Events of Life, never felt their Wonder and Admiration excited by considering them in the Manner which is incumbent on reasonable, intelligent Beings. ”

“ Men who have such choice of fine women to take the most licentious liberties with, most probably cannot remain long faithful to their own wives—they may therefore easily be supposed soon to become so indifferent about them, as to be very ready to suffer their own brethren to lay them, by way of keeping up the farce, and blinding the world. ”

“ In regard to the first, many women see their Men-midwives in perfect health, to be informed if they are with child? How far gone? “Whether the child lies right?” and on many other pretences.—Men and women, on such trying occasions, must give way to nature—there is no possibility of withstanding it.—As to women’s not being “attractingly lovely when in labour,”—there he likewise must have been sensible that he erred from truth. Those pains rather add to beauty ”