Man: In His Intellectual Faculties and Adaptations (1839)

The baby girl was delivered, but not breathing. The doctors took the baby to the corner of the room and worked on her to try to get her to breathe. Working on her consisted of the doctor holding the baby’s head in his hand with the body extending up his arm. This way he could move the baby up and down in a rocking motion which loosened the mucus in the baby’s lungs. The doctors were then able to suction mucus from the baby’s mouth with a bulb syringe. After twenty minutes of this attempt, the baby was still not breathing. The attending physician reluctantly suggested that they give up the process. Giles could not imagine this. He could not imagine telling his wife that their baby was dead. He kept working and praying. After ten minutes more, his efforts proved to be effective. The author was officially in the world.