Observations on caeserian section and on other obstetric operations. Pres.copy

Radford, Thomas (1793-1881). Observations on the caesarean section and on other obstetric operations. With an appendix of cases. [4], 68, xlviii pp. 6 plates, 2 folding tables (pp. 65-68). Manchester: N.p., 1865. 216 x 137 mm. Original cloth over limp boards, stamped in gilt and blind, skillfully rebacked, light edgewear. Lower corner of title-leaf chipped, occasional foxing but very good. Presentation Copy, inscribed on the title: "For the Library of the Sheffield General Infirmary Presented by the Author."

First Edition. Radford, an obstetrician associated with St. Mary's Hospital in Manchester, wrote the present work to promote the use of cesarean section—at that time a highly risky operation with an extremely high mortality rate—in cases where the woman's pelvis was too narrow or deformed for vaginal delivery. Radford's arguments were based on moral as well as medical grounds: He abhorred the then-standard practice of craniotomy (puncturing or crushing the fetal head) to extract the fetus in dangerous births, calling it "a fearful sacrifice of human life" (p. 56), and proposed cesarean section as a more humane option. He collected 77 case reports of cesarean sections performed on mothers with deformed pelvises, noting that only 14% of the mothers and 59% of the infants had survived the operation; however, he pointed out that "this tragic outcome was related to the fact that the operation was only undertaken as a last resort. He made a strong plea that it should in future be used electively when it was clear that vaginal delivery would not be possible" (Dunn, p. 327). He also recommended inducing premature labor, the use of therapeutic abortion, and sterilization of women with severe pelvic deformities. P. Dunn, "Dr. Thomas Radford (1793-1881) of Manchester and obstructed labor," Archive of Disease in Childhood 69 (1993): 327-329.