Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

Chapter 1252 Postscript 108· Obstetrics and Gynecology Technology in Daming

When the old president submitted a petition to the court requesting a change in the scientific unit. Seven or eight obstetricians and gynecologists rushed to the princess's house.

"Mr. Li, please!" Xie Yan saluted anxiously to a breast doctor.

A breast doctor is a doctor who is responsible for delivering babies and treating postpartum diseases. (It has been called this since the Han Dynasty.)

It can be male or female.

A breast doctor often also serves as a midwife. But if it is a man or an elderly woman, they usually just stand by and guide, and only do it themselves when it is very dangerous.

Today, the first breast doctor in Luoyang, Li Taipo, was invited.

Her real name is rarely mentioned, and people all call her "Li Taipo". Because she has successfully delivered princes and princesses many times, Li Taipo is currently a Furong scholar.

She is already 68 years old!

A clean room is used as a delivery room.

Although Daming already has a public hospital, births are still chosen at home.

It can even be said that, except for major surgical operations, the people of the Ming Dynasty generally did not stay in the hospital. They would go home directly after diagnosis and medication. Moreover, the powerful and the rich liked to invite doctors to their homes.

"Bang!"

The door was closed, and Xie Yan was not allowed to enter, so he could only stand outside and worry.

"Your Highness, please stand up." Grandma Li said as soon as she entered the delivery room.

Qingluan and Zifeng hurriedly helped Zhu Tangxi stand up.

Grandma Li and many other medical staff took out alcohol and began to wash their hands. The prepared saline and glucose were also taken out from the medicine box one after another.

Without Grandma Li's command, the medical staff who came with her were already busy.

After taking the princess's pulse, Grandma Li began to observe and touch the princess's lower body and abdomen, and said, "It's still early. Help your Highness take a walk. By the way, all the maids go out."

In ancient costume TV dramas, the situation where the mother lies on the bed and screams, and then there is a cry of the baby, and then the mother and child are safe is actually very rare in ancient China.

From the Han and Tang Dynasties to the new China, women either gave birth standing up or sitting down.

Even in the special decade of the new China, there are such records: a woman in a mountain village could no longer stand up, and was tied up by her hair and hung under the beam. It was not until the doctor from the health center arrived that the woman was allowed to lie down immediately.

Because of the traditional concept of delivery, it is easier to give birth while standing or sitting (sitting means sitting on the delivery bucket).

Only when the strength to sit is gone, the ancient midwives will allow women to lie down.

This practice is of course wrong!

The core motto of the training of old-style midwives in the new China is "one lie and three disinfections".

Giving birth while lying down can prevent excessive bleeding.

This wrong concept of delivery was not slowly corrected until the late period of Zhu Ming's reign. But before delivery, it is still customary to let women stand.

Qingluan and other maids were all kicked out of the delivery room.

Zhu Tangxi was supported by the nurse and walked slowly in the delivery room.

The medical staff took out the sterilized cotton pads and spread a layer on the bed first. Then they spread out the sterilized sheets.

Poor families certainly don’t pay so much attention to details.

“Grandma, is it dangerous?” Zhu Tangxi asked.

Grandma Li smiled and said, “Your Highness, don’t worry, I’m the one who delivered you.”

With just one sentence, Zhu Tangxi was no longer so nervous.

After a while, Grandma Li said, “Inject saline.”

A nurse immediately took out a syringe.

The needle of the syringe is made of iron, but the syringe is made of glass. Steam sterilization is required before and after use.

Physiological saline is also placed in a glass bottle and plugged with a cork.

Since the cork is left for a long time, it may mold and breed bacteria. Therefore, physiological saline is temporarily prepared and then put into a steam-sterilized glass bottle, and the cork must also be sterilized.

In addition to intravenous injection of physiological saline, Ming Dynasty obstetricians and gynecologists will also inject freshly prepared physiological saline into specific acupuncture points on the lumbar sacrum of the parturient to relieve pain.

It’s quite magical. Acupuncture points must be injected to relieve pain. If the needle is inserted crookedly, it will have no effect.

Seeing that the princess was a little tired, Grandma Li said, "Lie down and rest for a while."

The middle-aged midwife with thick arms always stood by.

After all, Grandma Li was old and had no strength to deliver babies, so she would bring her own midwife.

The same was true for male breast doctors (obstetricians and gynecologists), who only gave instructions and let the midwives do it.

Since the "one lie and three disinfections" trick was invented, the maternal and infant mortality rates in the Ming Dynasty have been greatly reduced!

This five-word formula is far more useful than forceps.

This was passed down by Taizu Zhu Guoxiang.

One lie and three disinfections, that is: the mother must lie down to give birth. The place where she lies must be disinfected. The hands of the delivery must be disinfected. The umbilical cord must be disinfected when it is cut.

Zhu Guoxiang was older before he traveled through time, and he was fortunate to have heard some barefoot doctor formulas-until the 1980s, many rural areas in China still had barefoot doctors delivering babies part-time. Even traditional midwives were hired to deliver babies!

Xie Yan was standing outside the door, walking back and forth. Suddenly, he saw a nurse coming out. He hurried forward and asked, "What's wrong?"

The nurse smiled and said, "Don't worry, Prince Consort. The baby hasn't started yet. It's not too late to come and watch after dinner."

From the afternoon to the night, the princess's cries became louder and louder.

Xie Yan couldn't go in to help, so he squatted under a big tree outside and smoked tobacco.

He also smoked before he traveled through time. When he was interning at the construction site, his master was an old smoker. Smoking with the master can bring them closer.

At this moment, smoking tobacco with a pipe, Xie Yan found that the taste was not bad, much better than finished cigarettes.

While smoking, Xie Yan's nervousness eased a little.

He was very anxious about being a father for the first time, fearing that there would be a difficult birth.

"My dear, go to the next room. It's a bit cold at night." Qingluan came over and said.

Xie Yan stood up: "Then I'll go sit down."

A large group of servants were now gathered outside the delivery room, waiting for the medical staff's orders.

Even the cook came over and asked if she wanted to get something to eat for the princess.

Xie Yan was sitting in the next room taking a nap, and could vaguely hear the princess's shouting. In a daze, he actually fell asleep.

Until dawn, someone knocked on the door and shouted: "It's born, Your Highness, it's born, mother and child are safe."

Xie Yan woke up suddenly and ran out.

The midwife had already carried the baby out of the delivery room, waiting for Xie Yan to come over to see.

The baby was born at full term, and he actually had hair and his eyes were open. The skin on his face was stretched and rosy, not like an ugly little mouse.

Xie Yan was so happy that he smiled at the baby.

The midwife only let him take a look and took the baby to another room next door. All the bedding there had been boiled in boiling water and dried in advance.

Soon, the princess was also carried over on a stretcher, and the mother and child snuggled quietly in bed.

No mistakes, one sentence, one content, one 6, one 9, one book, one bar!

Zhu Tangxi was very tired at this moment. She smiled at Xie Yan: "The eyebrows and eyes are very similar to yours. He must be handsome and romantic when he grows up."

"Thank you for your hard work, sister." Xie Yan sat in front of the bed and watched.

Most of the servants had dispersed, and several maids and cooks surrounded Grandma Li to listen to the doctor's advice.

After Grandma Li finished her instructions, Qingluan took out the Ming Dynasty treasure notes and gave rewards to the medical staff one by one.

The smallest denomination of the Ming Dynasty treasure notes today has become 10 strings of coins.

Grandma Li received 100 strings of coins, the midwife received 80 strings of coins, and the rest were all 10 strings of coins.

The reward was very generous, and the medical staff were all smiling.

After the excitement passed, Xie Yan and the princess went to sleep, both of them were exhausted by the birth of the child.

When Xie Yan woke up, it was already afternoon. He ate something casually and then hurried to see his wife and children.

The princess was drinking chicken soup.

The child was gone, and was taken care of by the wet nurse.

Before the little brat was born, four wet nurses had been hired. Their family background and health were strictly investigated.

The princess was a new mother and had no experience in raising children, so it was more reassuring to let the wet nurse take care of the child.

Moreover, the princess did not feed the child herself, and the milk stopped in a few days, so she could devote herself to postpartum recovery. After a while, she will be beautiful again.

"How about the child's nickname Tiger Brother?" Zhu Tangxi said after drinking the chicken soup.

Xie Yan asked: "Why is he called Tiger Brother?"

Zhu Tangxi said: "He was born with a tiger head and a tiger brain."

Xie Yan smiled and said: "It's good if my sister likes it."

Many of the ancient boys' nicknames contain the word "brother". For example, Ouyang Xiu's eldest son's nickname was "Sengge", and Lu You's uncle's nickname was "Ma Ge".

There are also many children with the character "A". Su Che's second son's nickname was "A Luo".

Girls' nicknames are "Mou Jun", "Mou Ji", or repeated characters such as Xiangxiang and Yunyun.

The couple chatted for a while, and Hu Ge'er was brought by the nanny.

This nanny is not yet 30 years old, but she is already the mother of three children and has rich parenting experience.

"He ate milk, slept for a while, and just woke up and brought him here." The nanny said with a smile.

Zhu Tangxi took the child and held him, wanting mother and child to interact. But Hu Ge'er just stared at her and soon closed his eyes and fell asleep again.

Even if he opened his eyes right after birth, he couldn't see clearly, and his retina had not yet fully expanded.

"Sixth Brother, do you want to hold him?" Zhu Tangxi said.

Xie Yan took it carefully, as if he was holding a bomb, and felt that no matter how he held it, it was wrong.

His embarrassed look made Zhu Tangxi laugh.

Xie Yan was filled with emotion, and felt like he was dreaming. He had traveled through time without knowing what was going on, and had a son when he was just 18 years old.

Several high-ranking maids also gathered around.

Qingluan stared at Hu Ge'er and looked at him carefully: "His forehead and nose are like yours."

Zifeng said: "His chin and face shape are very similar to yours."

"Hey, you frowned, are you dreaming?" Yucai guessed.

Jinhua smiled and said: "I really want to touch it."

Zhu Tangxi sat quietly on the bed, watching her husband holding the child with great care, and the trusted maids watched and discussed the child. This scene made her very comfortable, as if her life was fulfilled all of a sudden.

My father's spirit in heaven should be very happy too.

"Wow~~~"

Perhaps it was because he was uncomfortable being held by his father, or perhaps because he felt that there were too many people around, Hu Ge'er suddenly burst into tears.

Xie Yan was so scared that he was in a panic, and no matter how he coaxed him, it didn't work, so he quickly returned the hot potato to the nanny.

"Ugh!"

At this moment, Zifeng covered her mouth and retched.

Everyone was stunned.

Qingluan was stunned and scared: Could Zifeng be pregnant too? My husband and I had sex first. I haven't gotten pregnant for so long, is there something wrong with my body?