Benicke
reports having given salicylic acid just before birth in 25
cases, and in each case finding it in the urine of the child
shortly after birth.
At a discussion held in New York some years ago as to the real
effect on the fetus of giving narcotics to the mother, Dr.
Gaillard Thomas was almost alone in advocating that the effect
was quite visible. Fordyce Barker was strongly on the negative
side. Henning and Ahlfeld, two German observers, vouch for the
opinion of Thomas, and Thornburn states that he has witnessed the
effect of nux vomica and strychnin on the fetus shortly after
birth. Over fifty years ago, in a memoir on "Placental Phthisis,"
Sir James Y. Simpson advanced a new idea in the recommendation of
potassium chlorate during the latter stages of pregnancy. The
efficacy of this suggestion is known, and whether, as Simpson
said, it acts by supplying extra oxygen to the blood, or whether
the salt itself is conveyed to the fetus, has never been
definitely settled.
McClintock, who has been a close observer on this subject,
reports some interesting cases. In his first case he tried a
mixture of iron perchlorid and potassium chlorate three times a
day on a woman who had borne three dead children, with a most
successful result.
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