Le Couteur: Napoleon's Buttons (2)

In the early part of the twentieth century a different method of pain control in childbirth gained rapid acceptance in Germany and quickly spread to other parts of Europe. Twilight Sleep, as it was known, consisted of administration of scopolamine and morphine. A very small amount of morphine was administered at the beginning of labor. It reduced pain, although not completely, especially if the labor was long or difficult. Scopolamine induced sleep and, more important for the doctors endorsing this combination of drugs, ensured that a woman had no memory of her delivery. What seems so bizarre about this campaign now is that women believed the claims that Twilight Sleep removed the agony of childbirth, allowing the mother to awake refreshed and ready to welcome her new baby. In reality women suffered the same pain, behaving as if no drugs had been administered, but the scopolamine-induced amnesia blocked any memory of the ordeal.

In the early part of the twentieth century a different method of pain control in childbirth gained rapid acceptance in Germany and quickly spread to other parts of Europe. Twilight Sleep, as it was known, consisted of administration of scopolamine and morphine. A very small amount of morphine was administered at the beginning of labor. It reduced pain, although not completely, especially if the labor was long or difficult. Scopolamine induced sleep and, more important for the doctors endorsing this combination of drugs, ensured that a woman had no memory of her delivery. What seems so bizarre about this campaign now is that women believed the claims that Twilight Sleep removed the agony of childbirth, allowing the mother to awake refreshed and ready to welcome her new baby. In reality women suffered the same pain, behaving as if no drugs had been administered, but the scopolamine-induced amnesia blocked any memory of the ordeal.

[[Category: Book Notes]]

[[Category: Book Notes]]