By Labour is understood that action of the uterus which occurs at the full period of gestation, in consequence of which the foetus and its appendages (the placenta and membranes), are expelled from its cavity.
DIVISION OF LABOURS. Labour may be divided into four kinds:
1. NATURAL.
2. PRETERNATURAL.
3. INSTRUMENTAL.
4. COMPLICATED.
PREMONITORY SIGNS. A short time previous to the commencement of labour, certain symptoms manifest themselves, which are looked upon as indications of the approaching event, and have on this account been termed the premonitory, or the precursory, signs. These are, a feeling of activity and lightness on the part of the patient; a diminution of the abdominal protuberance; an increased vaginal secretion; frequently a sympathetic irritability of the bladder, and sometimes of the rectum also.
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From Charles Waller
Elements of Practical Midwifery: Or, Companion to the Lying-in Room, 1829
