17th-century childbirth: 'exquisite torment and infinite grace'.

摘要

In her memoir, written in her early forties, Alice Thornton offered this account of the birth of the fifth of her nine children: "...upon the Wednesday [December 10,1657]...I fell into exceeding sharpe travill in great extreamity, so that the midwife did beleive I should be delivered soone. But loe! it fell out contrary, forthe childe staied in the birth, and came crosse with his feete first, and in this condition contineued till Thursday morning betweene two and three a clocke, at which time I was upon the racke in bearing my childe with such exquisitt torment, as if each [limb] weare divided from other...att length, beeing speechless and breathlesse, I was, by the infinitt providence of God, in great mercy delivered. But I having had such sore travell in danger of my life soe long, and the childe comeing into the world with its feete first, caused the childe to be allmost strangled in the birth, only liveing about halfe an houer, so died before we could gett a minister to baptize him."