US2597637A - Obstetrical apparatus - Google Patents

Description

y 1952 H. HEIDENWOLF 2,597,637

OBSTETRICAL APPARATUS Filed Aug. 22, 1947 Hermann b eidenwolf,

IN V EN TOR.

Patented May 20, 1952 OBSTETRICAL APPARATUS Hermann Heidenwolf, Neumarkt, Styria, Austria Application August 22, 1947, Serial No. 770,127 In Austria September 12, 1946 2 Claims.

It is a known fact that the symptoms of degeneration of the female organism due to civilization, but frequently also various physical anomalies, cause an unnatural delay of the process of parturition, so that it is generally indispensable to assist the organism in order to make the necessary dilatation of the passage of birth possible. Apart from pharmaceutics which are to promote labor, and from the assistance by forceps, the usual methods apply external pressure upon the abdomen of the parturient woman, a kind of assistance that has been known in different ways of proceeding with all civilized nations for a long time.

But this kind of obstetrics is not satisfactory for various reasons. As it means pressure by hand the pressure produced can be only a locally limited one and is therefore unnecessarily painful; it is also insufllcient even with the utmost use of strength, and has usually to be applied for a great length of time, which means considerable physical and psychical strain for the parturient woman, who has to be able to assist labor by arbitrary stretching of the diaphragm; but this activity causes a not inconsiderable raising of blood-pressure and can therefore not be employed with women suffering from any disease of the circulation system.

The obstetrical apparatus according to the invention completely avoids these disadvantages. It produces a force working externally and promoting parturition, a force which distributes itself equally over the abdomen of the parturient woman and diminishes physical and psychical exertion to a great extent, overstrain of the circulation system being excluded with certainty. This is achieved by means which make possible the transference of force to the foetus over the enclosing parts of the parturient woman's body in the direction of parturition, by application of a displaceable medium, especially air. The apparatus, practically carried out, may consist of at least one container in which the displaceable medium, in this case air, produces a potential of pressure that operates in the direction of parturition.

Further details of the invention shall be explained with reference to the accompanying drawing forming a part of this specification and wherein:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of an obstetrical apparatus constructed according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view showin 2 the obstetrical apparatus of Fig. 1 in operative position on a parturient women; and

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of a portion of the device in Fig. 2. Fig. 1 shows a preferred embodiment of the invention, carried out as a hollow belt l0, fitting around the body of the parturient woman, which, after having been filled with air, tightens and produces pressure in the direction of parturition. The belt, the employment of which Fig. 2 shows, consists of an inner part made of india-rubber ll, protected on the outside by a strong layer of flexible but non-stretchable textile fabric l2; and buckled round the parturient woman by means of buckles l3 and straps l4 extending from the opposite ends of the belt construction. It will be expedient to stiffen the belt transversely by busks 15 of steel or whalebone or similar material to prevent its rolling up under the infiuence of increasing pressure. The inner part of india-rubber I l is placed in a bag of textile fabric l2 with suflicient free play. As pressure in the loins does not substantially aid parturition, the belt is made so that its principal effect is directed towards the belly between the hips and the bottom of the uterus. It also answers its purpose if it is carried out in such a way that it does not exert equal pressure on all parts of the belly. If high pressure is applied, the belt hangs by straps I6 on straps H, which are fastened to the upper thighs of the parturient woman, to prevent its slipping up and to avoid an over-exertion of the costal region on which it is supported. Although-owing to the straps l4 the girth of the belt can be adjusted to the individual case, it is advisable to have these belts manufactured in various sizes.

Fig. 3 presents a cross-section through the belt on a somewhat larger scale. The dilatable part of india-rubber I8 is joined directly to the exterior cover stiffened by steel reinforcements l5 and strengthened by cord-supports I9; 20 shows the valve for letting in and out the medium of pressure.

The only thing required of the displaceable medium is for it to be well adapted to conform to the shape of the parturient woman's body, and to make an equal distribution of the effect of pressure possible. It would also be possible, therefore, to fill the belt according to Figs. 1-3 with liquid instead of air, although the use of air has on its side the advantage of compressibility and the chance of greater rapidity in taking in and exhausting the medium. But the belt itself may also be made of some solid displaceable material, for instance soft india-rubber, expedients being distributed on the inside which, after becoming effective, will allow contraction of the belt. Such expedients would be e. g. electro-magnets.

Practical tests of the device showed that it can reduce the time of expelling with the first parturitions from now 4 hours in the average to 30 minutes. Besides it has the advantage of sparing the parturient woman.

I claim:

1. An obstetrical apparatus comprising an outer belt having a relatively rigid backing, an inflatable bag underlying said backing and attached to the latter, said bag having an outlet for the introduction of a pressure medium, said bag having a pear-shaped cross section and having an arcuate part adapted to lie against the body of a parturient woman and to engage her costal region, said bag being so positioned as to bear againsttheabdomen of the woman in the direction-of parturition upon said arcuate 4 claim 1; further including a strap member adapted to be secured around a thigh of a par turient woman, and flexible means connecting said strap member to said belt to prevent movement of the latter away from the direction or parturition.

HERMANN HEIDENWOLF.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 177,569 Sale May 16, 1876 412,999 Turney Oct. 15, 1889 504,598 Leyda Sept. 5, 1893 1,013,800 Meyer Jan. 2, 1912 2,088,044 Tate July 27, 1937 2,104,758 Poppen Jan. 11, 1938 2,223,570 McMillin Dec. 3, 1940 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 17,730 Great Britain July 31, 1912 of 1912

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