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1
Agreement and Consideration
Chapter 10
Learning Objectives:
1. Define agreement, offer, and acceptance.

2. Define counteroffer and describe the effects of a counteroffer.
3. Describe how offers are terminated by acts of the parties and by operation of law.
4. Define consideration and analyze whether agreements are lacking consideration.
5. Apply the equity doctrine of promissory estoppels.
Teacher-to-Teacher Dialogue
Agreement
The first element of a contract is finding mutual assent between the contracting parties.
Mutual assent is defined as a reciprocal agreement between all of the parties to a contract. The
steps leading to mutual assent start with the offer and acceptance process. These steps can be
broken down into subparts, and a familiarization with these subparts is essential to the study of
contract law.
The offer is broken down into three main subcomponents: intent, certainty, and
communication. As an alternate memorization device, students may consider using an anagram
called the QQC test. The first Q represents quality of the offer. In the eyes of the offeree, does
this offer sincerely represent an objective intent to be bound? The second Q stands for quantity of
the offer. If necessary, can a court, looking at this offer, find a basis upon which it could be
measured, that is, is the quantity of the offer readily determinable? The C represents
communication. The offer must be communicated to the offeree in order to be effective.
Once a good offer is made, the other player must make his or her opening response.
Remember, that the response is dictated in many ways by the terms of the offer. Under the
traditional common law mirror image rule, the acceptance must reflect the terms of offer. If it
fails to do so, it may be deemed to be a rejection of the offer. And if it brings new terms to the
table, it may be deemed a counteroffer. A counteroffer is, in fact, a new offer and sets the whole
cycle of play into motion again from the reverse angle. The original offeror is now the new
offeree. Of additional importance is the application of the mailbox rule, especially as it relates to
digital contracts. Remember, as long as the acceptance, usually sent by mail (or a similar
medium), is the agreed upon method or is an answer to a previously mailed offer, it is usually
effective upon dispatch.
Once we have a good offer coupled with a good acceptance, the first element of contract,
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

2
Chapter 10
agreement, or mutual assent is arrived at. There are many variations on this basic theme as
illustrated by the common law rules on advertising, auctions, and implied contracts based on the
actions of the parties. They all have one common denominator: sooner or later some sort of basis
for mutual assent must be found before a court will go forward with enforcement of the
agreement.
Consideration
Consideration is the second of the four elements of contract. Spotting consideration, in a

contractual setting, sounds easier than it really is. When consideration is missing, the result is not
necessarily an absence of contract. Perhaps, a historical footnote on the issue may be of value.
Consideration is that element of a contract that is designed to show the underlying inducement to
enter into the contract. It is meant to place value on the contract in order to assure evidence of a
bond between the parties. In the Middle Ages, contracts between members of the privileged
classes did not require consideration because a man’s word was his bond. A noble’s family seal
evidenced that bond. The seal was affixed to the contract by way of pressing the signatorius
annulus (signet ring) against melted wax onto the contract. Not everyone was a member of
nobility, but all wanted their contracts to be binding. Thus, the concept of looking to bargained-
for value in place of the seal evolved into the modern day law of contracts.
Consideration today is made up of two subcomponents: detriment and bargain theory.

Detriment represents the value of the contract, that is, the glue that brought the parties to the table
in the first place. It is actually a very practical requirement. Without value being put at issue, a
court looking at the situation may simply say the matter is moot (nothing in controversy).
Detriment is usually divided into two main categories: affirmative detriment, where a person
promises to do something he or she has no obligation to do but for the contract; and negative
detriment, where a person abstains from doing something he or she has a legal right to do but for
the contract. Consideration is usually what is bargained for. It is what is given up by one party to
induce a similar action by the other. Value does not mean anything.
In case one examines an agreement for consideration and finds it lacking, then one still has a
contractual result based on either the equitable doctrine of promissory estoppel or on specific
statutory grounds that allow for a consideration waiver or substitute. Promissory estoppel literally
means that a promise made, even though not supported by consideration, will not be allowed to
be withdrawn because of the harm that would befall the other party. The second major category
of consideration exceptions from contracts is found in statutory provisions based on public policy.
For example, the U.S. Bankruptcy Code allows for court-approved reaffirmation of debts that
have already been discharged. Another example is found in many state statutes that provide
protection to charitable organizations making pledges as enforceable contracts even though the
donors may not be getting any consideration in return for their gifts.
Text Materials
I. Introduction to Agreement and Consideration

3
Contracts are voluntary agreements between the parties. One party makes an offer that is accepted
by the other party. Without mutual assent, there is no contract. To be enforceable, a contract must
be supported by consideration, which is broadly defined as something of legal value.
II. Agreement
An agreement is a voluntary exchange of promises between two or more legally competent

persons to do, or refrain from doing, an act. An agreement requires a “meeting of the minds” of
the parties—that is, their mutual assent to perform current or future contractual duties. A
contract is an agreement that meets certain additional legal criteria and is enforceable in a court
of law.
III. Offer
The process of reaching an agreement begins when one party makes an offer to another party to
sell or lease property or provide services to another party. The person who makes the offer is
called the offeror and the person to whom the offer is made is called the offeree.
The U.S Supreme Court defines an offer as “The manifestation of willingness to enter into a
bargain, so made as to justify another person in understanding that his assent to that bargain is
invited and will conclude it.” (Section 24 of the Restatement (Second) of Contracts)
The following three elements are required for an offer to be effective:

• The offeror must objectively intend to be bound by the offer.
• The terms of the offer must be definite or reasonable certain.
• The offer must be communicated to the offeree.
A. Express Terms
Most offers and contracts set forth express terms that identify the parties, the subject matter
of the contract, the consideration to be paid by the parties, and the time of performance as well
as other terms of the offer and contract. If the terms are indefinite, the courts usually cannot
enforce the contract or determine an appropriate remedy for its breach.
B. Implied Terms
The court can supply a missing term if a reasonable term can be implied. The definition of
reasonable depends on the circumstances. Terms that are supplied in this way are called
implied terms.
C. Communication of an Offer
An offer cannot be accepted if it is not communicated to the offeree by the offeror or a

4
Chapter 10
representative or an agent of the offeror.
IV. Special Offer
There are several special types of offers. These include advertisements, rewards, and auctions.
A. Advertisements
As a general rule, advertisements for the sale of goods, even at specific prices, generally are
treated as invitations to make an offer. There is one exception to this rule: An advertisement
is considered an offer if it is so definite or specific that it is apparent that the advertiser has the
present intent to bind himself or herself to the terms of the advertisement.
B. Rewards
An offer to pay a reward is an offer to form a unilateral contract. To be entitled to collect the
reward the offeree must:
• Have knowledge of the reward offer prior to completing the requested act.
• Perform the requested act.
C. Auctions
In an auction, the seller offers goods for sale through an auctioneer. Unless otherwise
expressly stated, an auction is an auction with reserve, that is, it is an invitation to make an
offer. The seller retains the right to refuse the highest bid and withdraw the goods from sale. If
an auction is expressly announced to be an auction without reserve, the participants reverse
the roles: The seller is the offeror, and the bidders are the offerees.
V. Termination of an Offer
An offer may be terminated either by certain acts of the parties or by operation of law.
A. Revocation of the Offer by the Offeror
An offeror may revoke an offer any time prior to its acceptance by the offeree. The revocation
may be communicated to the offeree by the offeror or by a third party and made by:
• The offeror’s express statement.
• An act of the offeror that is inconsistent with the offer.
B. Rejection of an Offer by the Offeree
An offer is terminated if the offeree rejects it. A rejection may be evidenced by the offeree’s
express words (oral or written) or conduct. A rejection of an offer is not effective until it is
actually received by the offeror.

5
C. Counteroffer by the Offeree
A counteroffer by the offeree simultaneously terminates the offeror’s offer and creates a new
offer. A counteroffer terminates the existing offer and puts a new offer into play. It is not
effective until it is actually received by the offeror.
Business Environment: Option Contract
An offeree can prevent the offeror from revoking his or her offer by paying the offeror
compensation to keep the offer open for an agreed-upon period of time. This creates what is
called an option contract. In other words, the offeror agrees not to sell the property to anyone
except the offeree during the option period. An option contract is a contract in which the
original offeree pays consideration (usually money) in return for the original offeror giving
consideration (time of the option period).
D. Termination of an Offer by Operation of Law
An offer can be terminated by operation of law. The ways that an offer can be terminated
are as follows:
• Destruction of the subject matter—an offer terminates if the subject matter of the offer
is destroyed through no fault of either party prior to the offer’s acceptance.
• Death or incompetency of the offeror or offeree—prior to acceptance of an offer, the
death or incompetency of either party terminates an offer.
• Supervening illegality—if the object of an offer is made illegal prior to the acceptance
of the offer, the offer terminates. This situation, which usually occurs when a statute is
enacted, or a decision of a court is announced that makes the object of the offer illegal,
is called a supervening illegality.
• Lapse of time—an offer expires at the lapse of time of an offer.
VI. Acceptance
Acceptance is “a manifestation of assent by the offeree to the terms of the offer in a manner
invited or required by the offer as measured by the objective theory of contracts.”
A. Who Can Accept an Offer?
Only the offeree has the legal power to accept an offer and create a contract. Third persons
usually do not have the power to accept an offer. If an offer is made individually to two or
more persons, each has the power to accept the offer.
B. Unequivocal Acceptance
An offeree’s acceptance must be an unequivocal acceptance. The acceptance must be clear

6
Chapter 10
and unambiguous, and it must have only one possible meaning. However, an equivocal
response by the offeree does not create a contract.
C. Mirror Image Rule
For an acceptance to exist, the offeree must accept the terms as stated in the offer. This is
called the mirror image rule.
D. Time of Acceptance
Acceptance of a bilateral contract occurs when the offeree dispatches the acceptance by an
authorized means of communication. This rule is called the acceptance-upon-dispatch rule
or, the mailbox rule. Under this rule, the acceptance is effective when it is dispatched,
even if it is lost in transmission.
E. Mode of Acceptance
An acceptance must be properly dispatched. The acceptance must be properly addressed,

packaged in an appropriate envelope or container, and have prepaid postage or delivery
charges.
An offeree must accept an offer by an authorized means of communication. Section 30 of

the Restatement (Second) of Contracts permits implied authorization “by any medium
reasonable in the circumstances.”
An offer can stipulate that acceptance must be by a specified means of communication. Such
stipulation is called express authorization.
VI. Consideration
Consideration is defined as something of legal value given in exchange for a promise. The most
common types consist of either tangible payment or the performance of an act.
A. Requirements of Consideration
Consideration consists of two elements:

• Legal value—a contract is considered to be supported by legal value if (1) the promisee
suffers a legal detriment or (2) the promisor receives a legal benefit.
• Bargained-for exchange—to be enforceable, a contract must arise from a bargained-for
exchange.
B. Gift Promise
Gift promises, also called gratuitous promises, are unenforceable because they lack

7
consideration. To change a gift promise into an enforceable promise, the promisee must offer
to do something in exchange—that is, in consideration—for the promise.
VII. Promises that Lack Consideration
Some contracts seem as though they are supported by consideration even though they are not.
These contracts lack consideration and are therefore unenforceable.
A. Illegal Consideration
A contract cannot be supported by a promise to refrain from doing an illegal act because that
is illegal consideration.
B. Illusory Promise
If parties enter into a contract but one or both of the parties can choose not to perform their
contractual obligations, the contract lacks consideration. Such promises, which are known as
illusory promises or (illusory contracts), are unenforceable.
C. Preexisting Duty
A promise lacks consideration if a person promises to perform an act or do something he is

already under an obligation to do. This is called a preexisting duty.
D. Past Consideration
Problems of past consideration often arise when a party promises to pay someone some
money or other compensation for work done in the past.
Contemporary Environment: Special Business Contracts
Special types of business contracts allow a greater degree of uncertainty concerning

consideration. They include:
• Output contract—in an output contract, the seller agrees to sell all of its production to a
single buyer.
• Requirements contract—a requirements contract is a contract in which a buyer agrees
to purchase all of its requirements for an item from one seller.
• Best-efforts contract—a best-efforts contract is a contract which contains a clause that
requires one or both of the parties to use their best efforts to achieve the objective of the
contract.
VIII. Settlement of Claims
If the two parties agree to a compromise, a settlement of the claim has been reached. The

8
Chapter 10
settlement agreement is called an accord. If the accord is performed, it is called a satisfaction.

This type of settlement is called an accord and satisfaction, or a compromise.
IX. Equity: Promissory Estoppel
Promissory estoppel or (detrimental reliance) is an equity doctrine that permits a court to order
enforcement of a contract that lacks consideration. The doctrine of promissory estoppel estops
(prevents) the promisor from revoking his or her promise based on lack of consideration. For the
doctrine of promissory estoppel to be applied, the following elements must be shown:
• The promisor made a promise.
• The promisor should have reasonably expected to induce the promisee to reply on the
promise.
• The promisee actually relied on the promise and engaged in an action or forbearance of a
right of a definite and substantial nature.
• Injustice would be caused if the promise were not enforced.
Case 10.1—Federal Court Case

Contract
Marder v. Lopez
450 F.3d 445, Web 2006 U.S. App Lexis 14330 (2006)
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Facts: The movie “Flashdance” was based on the life of Maureen Marder. Marder was paid
$2,300 and signed a general release contract releasing Paramount Picture Corporation from any
claims, even those based on any filming or exploitation of the film. The movie grossed over $150
million. Marder sued for rights as a co-author and co-owner of the movie. This is an appeal of the
district court’s dismissal of the claims.
Issue: Is the general release Marder signed an enforceable contract?
Decision: The court of appeals affirmed the judgment of the district court that dismissed
Marder’s complaint against Paramount
Reason: The U.S. court of appeals held that the general release Marder signed was an
enforceable contract.
Case 10.2—State Court Case

Counteroffer
Ehlen v. Melvin
823 N.W.2d 780 (2012)
Supreme Court of North Dakota
Facts: Paul Ehlen signed a document presented to him by John M. and LynnDee Melvin. Then
the Melvins modified the terms of the Agreement and returned it to Ehlen. In response, Ehlen

9
sued the Melvins to enforce the modified Purchase Agreement. The trial court held that since the
Melvins had made a counteroffer and that Ehlen had rejected it, the contract no longer existed.
Issue: Was a counteroffer made by the Melvins that had been accepted by Ehlen?
Decision: The Supreme Court of North Dakota held that no agreement existed between Ehlen and
the Melvins.
Reason: The contract was no longer binding since Ehlen didn’t sign or accept the counteroffer
that the Melvins had offered.
Case 10.3—State Court Case

Gifts and Gift Promises
Cooper v. Smith
800 N.E. 2d 372, Web 2003 Ohio App. Lexis 5446 (2003)
Court of Appeals of Ohio
Facts: Cooper purchased a number of items for Smith (while they were engaged) without any
bargained-for consideration. After they split up, he sued for the gifts or the value of the gifts he
had purchased for them on their value. The case was dismissed by the magistrate and the
dismissal was affirmed by the trial courts.
Issue: Can Cooper recover the gifts or their value?
Decision: The court of appeals affirmed the judgment of the trial court, allowing Julie and Janet
Smith to keep these gifts.
Reason: The court of appeals held that the gifts made by Cooper to Julie (other than the
engagement ring) and to Janet were irrevocable gifts that he could not recover simply because his
engagement with Julie ended.
Answers to Critical Thinking Cases
10.1. Solicitation to Make an Offer
No, there was no contract between the Mesaros and the United States Mint. This was because the
U.S. Mint’s advertisement was a solicitation to make an offer and not an offer. Mesaros contends
that the materials sent by the Mint, including the order form, constituted an offer that upon
acceptance by the Mint created a binding contract between Mesaros and the government whereby
the government was bound and obligated to deliver the coins ordered by Mesaros. But this is not
the case here. A thorough reading and interpretation of the materials sent to Mesaros by the Mint
makes clear that Mesaros’s contention that the materials were intended as an offer is
unreasonable. This is especially true in view of the words “YES, Please accept my order” that
were printed on the credit-card form, which showed that the credit-card order was an offer to the

10
Chapter 10
Mint to buy the coins, which offer might or might not be accepted by the Mint. Accordingly, the
Mint materials were intended solely as solicitations of offers from customers that were subject to
acceptance by the Mint before the Mint would be bound by a contract. Otherwise, the Mint could
be bound by an excessive number of contracts requiring delivery of goods far in excess of the
500,000 gold coins authorized by the act of Congress. Thus, the advertising materials sent out by
the U.S. Mint were a solicitation to make an offer and not an offer. Mesaros v. United States, 845
F.2d 1576, Web 1988 U.S. App. Lexis 6055 (United States Court of Appeals for the Federal
Circuit)
10.2. Agreement
No. A contract to convey the real property does not exist between Heikkila and McLaughlin. A
written offer does not evidence a completed contract and a written acceptance is required.
Minnesota has applied the “mirror image rule” in analyzing acceptance of offers. Under that rule,
an acceptance must be coextensive with the offer and may not introduce additional terms or
conditions. Heikkila’s alterations of the Purchase Agreements constituted a rejection of
McLaughlin’s offer and constituted a counteroffer. Heikkila withdrew the counteroffer before
McLaughlin provided a written acceptance of the counteroffer. Only a written acceptance by
McLaughlin of the exact written terms proposed by Heikkila on the Purchase Agreements would
have created a binding contract for the sale of land. Without a written acceptance and delivery to
the other party to the agreement, no contract was formed. The court of appeals held that because
McLaughlin did not sign or otherwise accept in writing Heikkila’s counteroffer, there was no
contract for the sale of land between the parties. McLaughlin v. Heikkila, 697 N.W.2d 231, Web
2005 Minn. App. Lexis 591 (Court of Appeals of Minnesota)
Gift Promise
10.3. Gift Promise
No. Presley’s promise to pay the mortgage is not enforceable. Presley’s promise to pay Ms.
Allen’s mortgage was not executed by the time Presley died. That is, Presley died before he had
paid Allen’s mortgage. Pressley’s promise to pay Alden’s mortgage was a gift promise that was
not supported by any consideration from Allen. Allen had not promised to do anything in return
for Presley’s promise to pay her mortgage off. In addition, Presley had not paid off the mortgage
by the time he died, so there was no performance on Presley’s part that executed the promise.
Because the gift promise was not performed and there was no consideration given by Allen,
Presley’s gift promise to pay Allen’s mortgage is unenforceable. Thus, Presley’s estate does not
have to pay Allen’s mortgage. Alden v. Presley, 637 S.W.2d 862, Web 1982 Tenn. Lexis 340
(Supreme Court of Tennessee)
10.4. Consideration
No, there was no consideration supporting Tallas’s promise to pay Dementas. Tallas had not
changed his will to pay Dementas $50,000 when Tallas died, so Dementas cannot recover as a
beneficiary of the will. Dementas is trying to enforce the promise that Tallas made prior to

11
Tallas’s death whereby he promised to pay Dementas for past services that were rendered to
Tallas. The burden of proving consideration is on the party seeking to recover on the contract.
Even though the testimony showed that Dementas rendered past services for Tallas, the promise
by Tallas to pay $50,000 for services that were previously performed by Dementas is not a
promise supported by legal consideration. Events which occur prior to the making of the promise
and that are not made with the purpose of inducing a promise in exchange are viewed as “past
consideration” and are the legal equivalent of no consideration. There is no bargaining, there was
no saying that if you will do this for me I will do that for you. A benefit conferred or detriment
incurred in the past is not adequate consideration for a present bargain. Thus, Tallas’s promise to
pay Dementas $50,000 was unenforceable because it was based on past consideration. Dementas
v. Estate of Tallas, 764 P.2d 628, Web 1988 Utah App. Lexis 174 (Court of Appeals of Utah)
10.5. Counteroffer
No, there has not been a settlement of the lawsuit. A valid acceptance of an offer must be absolute
and unqualified. A qualified acceptance that contains terms or conditions materially different
from those in the original offer constitutes a counteroffer that terminates the power of the original
offeree to accept the offer. In the instant case, the court held that the process of settlement is best
served by allowing the law of contracts to control. Thus, the court held that the tenant’s qualified
acceptance of the settlement offer, conditioned upon the execution of a new lease, constituted a
counteroffer that terminated its ability to accept the settlement offer. The trial court’s denial of the
tenant’s motion to compel entry of judgment due to the existence of the settlement was therefore
affirmed. Glende Motor Company v. Superior Court, 159 Cal.App.3d 389, 205 Cal.Rptr. 682,
Web 1984 Cal.App. Lexis 2435 (Court of Appeal of California)
Answers to Ethics Cases
10.6. Ethics Case
Yes. The appellate court held that the pledge agreement made by Raymond P. Wirth to pay
$150,000 to Drexel University was supported by consideration and was therefore enforceable
against the estate of Wirth. Even if Wirth anticipated consideration in return for his promise, there
was no failure of consideration. The Pledge Agreement, which also was executed by
representatives of Drexel, provided that the pledged sum “shall be used by” Drexel to create an
endowed scholarship fund in the decedent’s name, per the terms of the attached Letter of
Understanding. The Pledge Agreement further stated: “I acknowledge that Drexel’s promise to
use the amount pledged by me shall constitute full and adequate consideration for this pledge.”
The court concluded, “In our view, pursuant to the terms of the Pledge Agreement, Drexel
provided sufficient consideration by expressly accepting the terms of the Pledge Agreement and
by promising to establish the scholarship fund in the decedent’s name.” The court further held
that the fact that Mr. Wirth died before the initial gift was transferred into a special account set up
by Drexel and therefore the scholarship fund was not yet implemented, did not negate the
sufficiency of the promise as consideration to set up the fund. The appellate court held that the
pledge agreement was supported by consideration and was therefore enforceable against the

12
Chapter 10
estate of Wirth. Based on the promise to Drexel, it was most likely unethical for Mr. Wirth’s
estate to deny payment of the pledge amount. In the Matter of Wirth, 14 A.D.3d 572, 789
N.Y.S.2d 69, Web 2005 N.Y. App. Div. Lexis 424 (Supreme Court of New York, Appellate
Division)
10.7. Ethics Case
Yes. Dees is bound to the contract. The trial court agreed with Saban Entertainment, Inc., finding
that the “Work-for-Hire/Independent Contractor Agreement” was an enforceable contract
between the parties. The court held that Dees had transferred his ownership interests in the
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers’ logo that he designed to Saban pursuant to an enforceable
contract. The Court of Appeals affirmed the judgment in favor of Saban, stating, “The disputed
agreement transferred plaintiff’s copyright in the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers’ logo with as
much specificity as the law requires.” The Court applied the adage “a contract is a contract is a
contract”, at least in this case.
There seems to be is no equity doctrine that Dees can raise in this case to save him from the
contract he signed. He was an adult who choose not to obtain legal representation before he
negotiated and signed the contract with Saban. Later developments—the success of the Mighty
Morphin Power Rangers—cannot be introduced to change his contract. Does Saban owe an
ethical duty to pay Dees more money? Probably not. When Saban signed the contract there was
no certainty that the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers would be so successful or that the design
Dees provided would work. Dees, d/b/a David Dees Illustration v. Saban Entertainment, Inc.,
131 F.3d 146, Web 1997 U.S. App. Lexis 39173 (United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth
Circuit)

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before the full time; true labor pains at the completion of the full
time; false pains are unattended with “show;” true pains generally
commence the labor with “show;” false pains are generally migratory
—changing from place to place—first attacking the loins, then the
hips, then the lower portions, and even other portions of the belly—
first one part, then another; true pains generally begin in the back;
false pains commence as spasmodic pains; true pains as “grinding”
pains; false pains come on at uncertain periods, at one time a quarter
of an hour elapsing, at others, an hour or two hours between each
pain; at one time the pain is sharp, at another trifling; true pains
come on with tolerable regularity, and gradually increase in severity.
418. But remember—the most valuable distinguishing symptom is
the absence of “show” in false labor pains, and the presence of
“show” in true labor pains. It might be said that “show” does not
always usher in the commencement of labor. Granted; but such cases
are exceedingly rare, and may be considered as the exception and not
the rule.
419. Treatment.—A dose of castor oil is generally all that is
necessary; but if the pains still continue, the patient ought to be
abstemious, abstaining for a day or two from beer and from wine,
and rubbing the bowels every night at bedtime either with
camphorated oil, previously warmed, or with laudanum (taking care
not to drink it by mistake). Either hot salt, in a flannel bag, or a hot-
water bag applied every night at bedtime to the bowels, frequently
affords great relief.
420. If the pains be not readily relieved she ought to send for a
medical man. A little appropriate medicine will soon have the desired
effect.
421. These false labor pains might go on either for days, or even
for weeks, and at length may terminate in real labor pains.
PERIOD OF GESTATION—“THE COUNT.”
422. The period of gestation is usually[76] two hundred and eighty

days—forty weeks—ten lunar or nine calendar months.
423. It will be well for a lady, in making her “count,” to commence
her “reckoning” about three days after the last day of her being
“unwell.” The reason we fix on a woman conceiving a few days after
she has “ceased to be unwell” is that she is more apt to do so soon
after menstruation than at any other time.[77]
424. A good plan to make the “reckoning” is as follows: Let forty
weeks and a few days, from the time specified above, be marked on
an almanac, and a lady will seldom be far from her calculation.
Suppose, for instance, the last day of her “ceasing to be unwell” was
on January the 15th, she may expect to be confined very near
October 23d.
425. Another plan, and one recommended by Dr. Tanner, to make
the “count,” is the following: “To effect this readily, we cannot do
better than follow the plan of most German obstetricians, who learn
the probable day of delivery thus: the date of the last menstruation
being given, they calculate three months backward and add seven
days. For example, suppose the 20th January to be the last day of the
last menstrual period, labor will be due about the 27th October—i.e.
on the 280th day.”[78]
BEING OUT IN THE RECKONING.
426. A lady, sometimes, by becoming pregnant while she is

suckling, is put out of her reckoning; not being unwell at such time,
she consequently does not know how to “count.” She ought, in a case
of this kind, to reckon from the time that she quickens—that is to say,
she must then consider herself nearly half-gone in her pregnancy,
and to be within a fortnight of half her time; or, to speak more
accurately, as soon as she has quickened, we have reason to believe
that she has gone about one hundred and twenty-four days: she has
therefore about one hundred and fifty-six more days to complete the
period of her pregnancy. Suppose, for instance, that she first
quickened on May the 17th, she may expect to be confined
somewhere near October the 23d. She must bear in mind, however,
that she can never make so correct a “count” from quickening
(quickening takes place at such various periods) as from the last day
of her being “unwell.”
427. A lady is occasionally thrown out of her reckoning by the
appearance, the first month after she is enceinte, of a little “show.”
This discharge does not come from the womb, as that organ is
hermetically sealed; but from the upper part of the vagina, the
passage to the womb, and from the mouth of the womb, and may be
known from the regular menstrual fluid by its being much smaller in
quantity, by its clotting, and by its lasting generally but a few hours.
This discharge, therefore, ought not to be reckoned in the “count,”
but the one before must be the guide, and the plan should be adopted
as recommended in page 186, paragraph 423.
“IS IT A BOY OR A GIRL?”
428. It has frequently been asked, “Can a medical man tell, before
the child is born, whether it will be a boy or girl?” Dr. F. J. W.
Packman, of Wimborne, answers in the affirmative. “Queen bees lay
female eggs first, and male eggs afterward. In the human female,
conception in the first half of the time between menstrual periods
produces female offspring, and male in the latter. When a female has
gone beyond the time she calculated upon, it will generally turn out
to be a boy.”[79] It is well to say generally, as the foregoing remarks
are not invariably to be depended upon, as I have had cases to
prove. Notwithstanding, I believe that there is a good deal of truth in
Mr. Packman’s statement.
MONTHLY NURSE.
429. It is an important, a most important, consideration to choose

a nurse rightly and well.
430. A monthly nurse ought to be middle-aged. If she be young,
she is apt to be thoughtless and giggling; if she be old, she may be
deaf and stupid, and may think too much of her trouble. She should
have calmness and self-possession. She must be gentle, kind, good-
tempered, and obliging, but firm withal, and she should have a
cheerful countenance. “Some seem by nature to have a vocation for
nursing; others not. Again, nursing has its separate branches; some
have the light step, the pleasant voice, the cheering smile, the
dextrous hand, the gentle touch; others are gifted in cookery for the
sick.”[80] The former good qualities are essential to a monthly nurse,
and if she can combine the latter—that is to say, “if she is gifted in
cookery for the sick”—she will, as a monthly nurse, be invaluable.
Unless a woman have the gift of nursing, she will never make a
nurse. “Dr. Thynne held that sick-nurses, like poets, were born, not
made.”[81]
431. She ought neither to be a tattler, nor a tale-bearer, nor a
“croaker,” nor a “potterer.” A tattler is an abomination; a clacking
tongue is most wearisome and injurious to the patient. A tale-bearer
is to be especially avoided; if she tell tales of her former ladies, my
fair reader may depend upon it that her turn will come.[82] But of all
nurses to be shunned as the plague is the “croaker,” one that
discourses of the dismal and of the dreadful cases that have occurred
in her experience, many of which, in all probability, she herself was
the cause of. She is a very upas-tree in a house. A “potterer” should
be banished from the lying-in room; she is a perpetual worry—a
perpetual blister! She is a nurse without method, without system,
and without smartness. She potters at this and potters at that, and
worries the patient beyond measure. She dreams, and drawls, and
“potters.” It is better to have a brusque and noisy nurse than a
pottering one—the latter individual is far more irritating to the
patient’s nerves, and is aggravating beyond endurance. “There is one
kind of nurse that is not uncommon in hospitals [and in lying-in
rooms], and that gives more trouble and worry than all the others
together, viz., the ‘pottering’ nurse. Of all nuisances, defend us from
a potterer.... The woman always has the very best intentions in the
world, but is totally devoid of method and smartness. You never
know when she has begun anything, and you certainly will never
know when she has finished it. She never does finish it, but she
sometimes leaves off.... She seems incapable of taking in a complete
and accurate idea of anything, and even while you are speaking to
her it is easy to see that her attention cannot be concentrated, and
that her mind is flying about among half a dozen subjects. If she is in
the least hurried, she loses what little intellect she ordinarily
possesses, moans feebly in a sotto voce monotone, fetches the wrong
articles, does the wrong thing at the wrong time, and is always in the
way.”[83]
432. Some monthly nurses have a knack of setting the servants at
loggerheads, and of poisoning the minds of their mistresses toward
them. They are regular mischief-makers, and frequently cause old
and faithful domestics to leave their situations. It will be seen,
therefore, that it is a momentous undertaking to choose a monthly
nurse rightly and well.
433. Fortunately for ladies the class of nurses is wonderfully
improved, and the race of Sairey Gamp and Betsey Prig is nearly at
an end.
434. She ought to be either a married woman or a widow. A single
woman cannot so well enter into the feelings of a lying-in patient,
and has not had the necessary experience. Moreover, a single
woman, as a rule, is not so handy with an infant (more especially in
putting him for the first time to the breast) as a married woman.
435. She must be sober, temperate, and healthy, and free from
deafness and from any defect of vision. She should have a gentle
voice and manner, but yet be neither melancholy nor hippish. She
ought to be fond of children, and must neither mind her trouble nor
being disturbed at night. She should be a light sleeper. “Scrupulous
attention to cleanliness, freshness, and neatness” in her own person,
and toward the lady and the infant, are most important requisites.
436. A fine lady-nurse that requires to be constantly waited upon
by a servant is not the one that I would recommend. A nurse should
be willing to wait upon herself, upon her mistress, and upon the baby
with alacrity, with cheerfulness, and without assistance, or she is not
suitable for her situation.
437. As the nurse, if she does her duty, devotes her time, her
talent, and her best energies to the lady and infant, a mistress ought
to be most liberal in the payment of a monthly nurse. A good one is
cheap at almost any price, while a bad one, though she come for
nothing, is dear indeed. A cheap nurse is frequently the ruin of the
patient’s and of the baby’s health, and of the peace of a household.
438. The monthly nurse ought to be engaged early in the
pregnancy, as a good nurse is caught up soon, and is full of
engagements. This is most important advice. A lady frequently has to
put up with an indifferent nurse from neglecting to engage her
betimes. The medical man at the eleventh hour is frequently
besought to perform an impossibility—to select a good nurse; and
which he could readily have done if time had been given him to make
the selection. Some of my best nurses are engaged by my patients as
early as two or three months after the latter have conceived, in order
to make sure of having their favorite nurses. My patients are quite
right; a good nurse is quite of as much importance to her well-doing
as a good doctor; indeed, a bad nurse oftentimes makes a good
doctor’s efforts perfectly nugatory.
439. It is always desirable, whenever it be possible, that the doctor
in attendance should himself select the monthly nurse, as she will
then be used to his ways, and he will know her antecedents—whether
she be sober, temperate, and kind, and that she understands her
business, and whether she be in the habit of attending and of
following out his directions, for frequently a nurse is self-
opinionated, and fancies that she knows far better than the medical
man. Such a nurse is to be scrupulously avoided. There cannot be
two masters in a lying-in room; if there be, the unfortunate patient
will inevitably be the sufferer. A doctor’s directions must be carried
out to the very letter. It rests with the patient to select a judicious
medical man, who, although he will be obeyed, will be kind and
considerate to the nurse.
440. A monthly nurse ought to be in the house a week or ten days
before the commencement of the labor, in order that there may be
neither bustle nor excitement, and no hurrying to and fro at the last
moment to find her; and that she may have everything prepared, and
the linen well aired for the coming event.
441. She must never be allowed, unless ordered by the medical
man, to give either the patient or the baby a particle of medicine. A
quacking monthly nurse is an abomination. An infant who is
everlastingly being drugged by a nurse is sure to be puny and
delicate.
442. A monthly nurse ought to understand the manner of putting
on and of tightening the bandage after a confinement. This, every
night and morning, she must do. The doctor generally does it the
first time himself, viz., immediately after the labor. It requires a little
knack, and if the nurse be at all awkward in the matter, the medical
man will only be too happy to show her the way, for he is quite aware
the support, the comfort, and the advantage it will be to his patient,
and he will be glad to know that the nurse herself will be able to
continue putting it on properly for some weeks—for at least three
weeks—after the lying-in.
443. If nurses better understood the proper method of bandaging
patients after their labors, there would not be so many ladies with
pendulous bellies and with ungainly figures. It is a common remark
that a lady’s figure is spoiled in consequence of her having had so
many children. This, provided efficient bandaging after every
confinement had been properly resorted to, ought not to be. But
then, if a monthly nurse is to do those things properly, she ought to
be properly trained, and many of them have little or no training;
hence the importance of choosing one who thoroughly knows and
will conscientiously do her duty.
444. A monthly nurse who thoroughly understands her business
will always have the lying-in room tidy, cheerful, and well ventilated.
She will not allow dirty linen to accumulate in the drawers, in
corners, and under the bed; nor will she allow any chamber utensil to
remain for one moment in the room after it has been used. If it be
winter, she will take care that the fire in the grate never goes out, and
that it is never very large, and that the room is kept as nearly as
possible at one temperature—namely, at 60° Fahrenheit. She will use
her authority as a nurse, and keep the other children from frequently
running into the room, and from exciting and disturbing her
mistress; and she will make a point of taking charge of the baby, and
of keeping him quiet while the mother, during the day, is having her
necessary sleep.
445. A good monthly nurse fully comprehends and thoroughly
appreciates the importance of bathing the external parts concerned
in parturition every night and morning, and sometimes even oftener,
for at least two or three weeks after a confinement. And if the
medical man deem it necessary, she ought to understand the proper
manner of using a vaginal syringe. If the nurse be self-opinionated,
and tries to persuade her mistress not to have proper ablution—that
such ablution will give cold—she is both ignorant and prejudiced,
and quite unfit for a monthly nurse; and my advice is, that a lady
ought on no account to engage such a person a second time.
446. In another part of this work I have entered fully on the vital
importance of ablution after a confinement, and I need not say more
than again to urge my fair reader to see that the monthly nurse
properly carries it out, and that, if there be any objections made to it
by the nurse, the medical man be appealed to in the matter, and that
his judgment be final. Assured I am that every doctor who
understands his profession will agree with me, that the regular
ablution of the parts after a labor is absolutely indispensable. The
nurse, of course, will take care to guard the bed from being wet, and
will not expose the patient unnecessarily during the process; she will
be quick over it, and she will have in readiness soft, warm, dry towels
to speedily dry the parts that have been bathed. The above is most
important advice, and I hope that my fair inquirer will engage a
monthly nurse that will do her duty in the matter.
447. Before concluding a list of some of the duties of a monthly
nurse, there are four more pieces of advice I wish to give both to a
wife and to a monthly nurse herself, which are these: (1) Never to
allow a nurse, until she be ordered by the doctor, to give either
brandy, or wine, or porter, or ale to the patient. (2) I should
recommend every respectable monthly nurse to carry about with her
an india-rubber vaginal syringe. One of the best for the purpose is
Higginson’s syringe,[84] which is one constructed to act either as an
enema apparatus, or, by placing the vaginal pipe over the enema
pipe, as a vaginal syringe. She will thus be armed at all points, and
will be ready for any emergency. It is an admirable invention, and
cannot be too well known. (3) I should advise a monthly nurse while
on duty, whatever she may do at other times, to doff her crinoline. A
woman nursing a baby with a stuck-out crinoline is an absurdity, and
if it were not injurious both to the mother and to the infant (as the
nurse in crinoline cannot do her duty either to the one or to the
other) she would be a laughable object. A new-born baby pillowed in
steel! (4) I should recommend every monthly nurse, while in the
lying-in room, to wear either list slippers or the rubber slippers, as
creaking shoes are very irritating to a patient. “Nurses at these times
should wear slippers and not shoes. The best slippers in sick-rooms
are those manufactured by the North British Rubber Company,
Edinburgh: they enable nurses to walk in them about the room
without causing the slightest noise; indeed, they may be called ‘the
noiseless slipper’—a great desideratum in such cases, more especially
in all head affections of children. If the above slippers cannot readily
be obtained, then list slippers—soles and all being made of list—will
answer the purpose equally as well.”[85]
PART III.
LABOR.
THE PRECURSORY SYMPTOMS OF LABOR.
448. A day or two before the labor commences, the patient usually
feels better than she has done for a long time; she is light and
comfortable; she is smaller, and the child is lower down; she is more
cheerful, breathes more freely, and is more inclined to take exercise,
and to attend to her household duties.
449. A few days, sometimes a few hours, before labor commences,
the child “falls,” as it is called, that is to say, there is a subsidence—a
dropping—of the womb lower down the belly. This is the reason why
she feels lighter and more comfortable, and more inclined to take
exercise, and why she can breathe more freely.
450. The only inconvenience of the subsidence of the womb is that
the womb presses on the bladder, and sometimes causes an
irritability of that organ, inducing a frequent desire to make water.
451. The subsidence—the dropping—of the womb may then be
considered one of the earliest of the precursory symptoms of the
labor, and as the herald of the coming event.
452. She has, at length, slight pains, and then she has a “show,” as
it is called; which is the coming away of a mucous plug, which,
during pregnancy, had hermetically sealed the mouth of the womb.
The “show” is generally tinged with a little blood. When a “show”
takes place, she may rest assured that labor has actually commenced.
One of the early symptoms of labor is a frequent desire to relieve the
bladder.
453. She has now “grinding pains,” coming on at uncertain
periods; sometimes once during two hours, at other times every hour
or half hour. These “grinding pains” ought not to be interfered with;
at this stage, therefore, it is useless to send for a doctor; yet the
monthly nurse should be in the house, to make preparations for the
coming event. Although, at this early period, it is not necessary to
send for the medical man, nevertheless, it is well to let him know that
his services might shortly be required, in order that he might be in
the way, or that he might leave word where he might quickly be
found.
454. These “grinding pains” gradually assume more regularity in
their character, return at shorter intervals, and become more severe.
About this time, shivering, in the majority of cases, is apt to occur, so
as to make the teeth chatter again. Shivering during labor is not an
unfavorable symptom; it proves, indeed, that the patient is in real
earnest, and that she is making progress.
455. She ought not, on any account, unless it be ordered by the
medical man, to take brandy as a remedy for the shivering. A cup
either of hot tea or of hot gruel will be the best remedy for the
shivering; and an extra blanket or two should be thrown over her,
which ought to be well tucked around her, in order to thoroughly
exclude the air from the body. The extra clothing should, as soon as
she is warm and perspiring, be gradually removed, as she ought not
to be kept very hot, or it will weaken her, and will thus retard her
labor.
456. Sickness frequently comes on in the beginning of the labor,
and may continue during the whole process. She is not only sick, but
she actually vomits, and she can keep little or nothing on her
stomach.
457. Now, sickness in labor is rather a favorable symptom, and is
usually indicative of a kind and easy confinement. There is an old
saying that “sick labors are safe.” Although they may be safe, they are
decidedly disagreeable!
458. In such a case there is little or nothing to be done, as the less
an irritable stomach is meddled with the better. The sickness will
probably leave as soon as the labor is over. Brandy, unless prescribed
by the medical man, ought not to be given.
459. She must not, on any account, force down—as her female
friends or as a “pottering” old nurse may advise to—“grinding pains:”
if she do, it will rather retard than forward her labor.
460. She had better, during this stage, either walk about or sit
down, and not confine herself to bed; indeed, there is no necessity
for her, unless she particularly desire it, to remain in her chamber.
461. If, at the commencement of the labor, the “waters should
break,” even if there be no pain, the medical man ought immediately
to be sent for; as, in such a case, it is necessary that he should know
the exact presentation of the child.
462. After an uncertain length of time, the character of the pains
alters. From being “grinding,” they become “bearing down,” and are
now more regular and frequent, and the skin becomes both hot and
perspiring. These may be considered the true labor pains. The
patient ought to bear in mind then that “the true labor pains are
situated in the back and loins; they come on at regular intervals, rise
gradually up to a certain pitch of intensity, and abate as gradually; it
is a dull, heavy, deep sort of pain, producing occasionally a low moan
from the patient; not sharp or twinging, which would elicit a very
different expression of suffering from her.”[86]
463. As soon as the pains assume a “bearing down” character, the
medical man ought to be in attendance; if he be sent for during the
early stage, when the pains are of a “grinding” character, and when
they come on “few and far between,” and at uncertain intervals
(unless, as before stated, “the waters should break” early), he can do
no good; for if he attempt in the early stage to force on the labor, he
might do irreparable mischief.
464. Cramps of the legs and of the thighs are a frequent, although
not a constant, attendant on labor. These cramps come on more
especially if the patient be kept for a lengthened period in one
position; hence the importance of allowing her, during the first and
the second stages of labor, to move about the room.
465. Cramps are generally worse during the third or last stage of
labor, and then, if they occur at all, they usually accompany each
pain. The poor patient, in such a case, has not only to bear the labor
pains but the cramp pains! Now, there is no danger in these cramps;
it is rather a sign that the child is making rapid progress, as he is
pressing upon the nerves which supply the thighs.
466. The nurse ought to well rub, with her warm hand, the
cramped parts; and, if the labor be not too far advanced, it would be
well for the patient to change her position, and to sit on a chair, or, if
she feel inclined, to walk about the room; there being of course an
attendant, one on each side, to support her the while. If either a pain
or a cramp should come on while she is thus moving about, let her
instantly take hold of the bedpost for support.
467. I observe, in a subsequent paragraph, that in a case of labor, a
four-post mahogany bedstead without a foot-board is preferable to
either a brass or an iron bedstead. It will now be seen that this was
one of my reasons for advising the old-fashioned bedstead; as the
support of a bedpost is oftentimes a relief and a comfort. The new-
fashioned mahogany bedsteads made with fixed foot-board, and both
the iron and brass bedsteads with railings at the foot, are each and
all, during the progress of labor, very inconvenient; as the patient,
with either of these kinds of bedsteads, is not able to plant her feet
firmly against the bedpost—the foot-board of the former and the
railings of the latter being in the way of her doing so. The man who
invented these new-fangled bedsteads was an ignoramus in such
matters.
468. Labor—and truly it may be called “labor”[87]—is a natural
process, and therefore ought not unnecessarily to be interfered with,
or woe betide the unfortunate patient.
469. I firmly believe that a woman would stand a much better
chance of getting well over her confinement without assistance, than
if she had been hurried with assistance.
470. In a natural labor very little assistance is needed, and the
doctor is only required in the room occasionally, to ascertain that
things are going on rightly. Those ladies do best, both at the time and
afterward, whose labors are the least interfered with. Bear this in
mind, and let it be legibly written on your memory. This advice, of
course, only holds good in natural confinements.
471. Meddlesome midwifery cannot be too strongly reprobated.
The duty of a doctor is to watch the progress of a labor, in order that,
if there be anything wrong, he may rectify it; but if the labor be going
on well, he has no business to interfere, and he need not be much in
the lying-in room, although he should be in an adjoining apartment.
472. These remarks are made to set a lady right with regard to the
proper offices of an obstetrician; as sometimes she has an idea that a
medical man is able, by constantly “taking a pain,” to greatly
expedite a natural labor. Now, this is a mistaken and mischievous,
although a popular notion.
473. The frequent “taking of a pain” is very injurious and most
unnatural. It irritates and inflames the passages, and frequently
retards the labor.
474. The occasional, but only the occasional, “taking of a pain” is
absolutely necessary to enable the medical man to note the state of
the parts, and the progress of the labor; but the frequent “taking of a
pain” is very objectionable and most reprehensible.
475. As a rule, then, it is neither necessary nor desirable for a
medical man to be much in a lying-in room. Really, in a natural
labor, it is surprising how very little his presence is required. After he
has once ascertained the nature of the case, which it is absolutely
necessary that he should do, and has found all going on “right and
straight,” it is better, much better, that he retire in the daytime to the
drawing-room, in the night season to a bedroom, and thus to allow
nature time and full scope to take her own course without hurry and
without interference, without let and without hindrance. Nature
hates hurry and resents interference.
476. The above advice, for many reasons, is particularly useful. In
the first place, nature is not unnecessarily interfered with. Secondly,
it allows a patient, from time to time, to empty her bladder and
bowels,—which, by giving more room to the adjacent parts, greatly
assists and expedites the progress of the labor. Thirdly, if the doctor
is not present he is not called upon to be frequently “taking a pain,”
which she may request him to do, as she fancies it does her good and
relieves her sufferings; but which frequent taking of a pain in reality
does her harm, and retards the progress of the labor. No; a doctor
ought not to be much in a lying-in room. Although it may be
necessary that he be near at hand, within call, to render assistance
toward the last, I emphatically declare that in an ordinary
confinement—that is to say, in what is called a natural labor—the
only time, as a rule, that the presence of the doctor can be useful, is
just before the child is born; although he ought to be in readiness,
and should therefore be in the house some little time before the
event takes place. Let the above most important advice be strongly
impressed upon your memory. Oh! if a patient did but know what a
blessed thing is patience, and, in an ordinary labor, the importance
of non-interference!
477. Bear in mind, then, that in every well-formed woman, and in
every ordinary confinement, nature is perfectly competent to bring,
without the assistance of man, a child into the world, and that it is
only an ignorant person who would, in a natural case of labor,
interfere to assist nature.[88] Assist nature! Can any thing be more
absurd? As though God in his wisdom, in performing one of his
greatest wonders and processes, required the assistance of man! It
might with as much truth be said that in every case of the process of
healthy digestion it is necessary for a doctor to assist the stomach in
the process of digesting the food! No; it is high time that such
fallacies were exploded, and that common sense should take the
place of such folly. A natural labor, then, ought never to be either
hurried or interfered with, or frightful consequences might, and in all
probability will, ensue. Let every lying-in woman bear in mind that
the more patient she is, the more kind and the more speedy will be
her labor and her “getting about.” Let her, moreover, remember,
then, that labor is a natural process—that all the “grinding” pains she
has are doing her good service, are dilating, softening, and relaxing
the parts, and preparing for the final or “bearing down” pains; let her
further bear in mind that these pains must not, on any account
whatever, be interfered with either by the doctor, by the nurse, or by
herself. These pains are sent for a wise purpose, and they ought to be
borne with patience and resignation, and she will in due time be
rewarded for all her sufferings and anxieties by having a living child.
Oh, how often have I heard an ignorant nurse desire her mistress to
bear down to a “grinding” pain, as though it could do the slightest
good! No, it only robs her of her strength and interferes with the
process and progress of the labor. Away with such folly, and let
nature assert her rights and her glorious prerogative! It might be
thought that I am tedious and prolix in insisting on non-interference
in a natural labor, but the subject is of paramount importance, and
cannot be too strongly dwelt upon, and cannot be too often brought,
and that energetically, before the notice of a lying-in woman.
478. Fortunately for ladies, there is great talent in the midwifery
department, which would prevent—however anxious a patient may
be to get out of her trouble—any improper interference.[89]
479. I say improper interference. A case sometimes, although
rarely, occurs, in which it might be necessary for the medical man to
properly interfere and to help the labor; then the patient must leave
herself entirely in the hands of her doctor—to act as he thinks best,
and who may find it necessary to use promptness and decision, and
thus to save her an amount of unnecessary lingering pain, risk, and
anxiety. But these cases, fortunately, are exceptions—rare exceptions
—and not the rule.
480. It is, then, absolutely necessary, in some few cases, that a
medical man should act promptly and decisively; delay in such
emergencies would be dangerous:
“If it were done when ’tis done, then ’twere well
It were done quickly.”
481. There are times, and times without number, when a medical
man is called upon to do but little or nothing; and there are others—
few and far between—when it is imperatively necessary that he
should do a great deal. He ought at all times to be, as gentle as a
lamb, but should, in certain contingencies, be as fearless as a lion!
482. Should the husband be present during the labor? Certainly
not; but as soon as the labor is over, and all the soiled clothes have
been put out of the way, let him instantly see his wife for a few
minutes, to whisper in her ear words of affection, of gratitude, and
consolation.
483. The first confinement is generally twice the length of time of
an after one, and usually the more children a lady has had, the
quicker is the labor; but this is by no means always the case, as some
of the after labors may be the tedious, while the early confinements
may be the quick ones.
484. It ought to be borne in mind, too, that tedious labors are
oftentimes natural labors, and that they only require time and
patience from all concerned to bring them to a successful issue.
485. It may be said that a first labor, as a rule, lasts six hours,
while an after labor probably lasts but three. This space of time, of
course, does not usually include the commencement of labor pains,
but the time that a lady may be actually said to be in real labor. If we
are to reckon from the commencement of the labor, we ought to
double the above numbers—that is to say, we should make the
average duration of a first labor twelve; of an after labor, six hours.
486. When a lady marries late in life—for instance, after she has
passed the age of thirty—her first labor is usually much more
lingering, painful, and tedious, demanding a great stock of patience
from the patient, from the doctor, and from the friends;
notwithstanding which, if she be not hurried and be not much
interfered with, both she and the baby generally do remarkably well.
Supposing a lady marries late in life, it is only the first confinement
that is usually hard and lingering; the after labors are as easy as
though she had married when young.
487. Slow labors are not necessarily dangerous; on the contrary, a
patient frequently has a better and more rapid recovery, provided
there has been no interference, after a tedious than after a quick
confinement—proving beyond doubt that nature hates hurry and
interference. It is an old saying, and, I believe, a true one, that a
lying-in woman must have pain either before or after a labor; and it
certainly is far preferable that she should have the pain and suffering
before than after the labor is over.
488. It is well for a patient to know that, as a rule, after a first
confinement she never has after pains. This is some consolation, and
is a kind of compensation for her usually suffering more with her
first child.
489. The after pains generally increase in intensity with every
additional child. This only bears out, in some measure, what I before
advanced, namely, that the pain is less severe and of shorter duration
before each succeeding labor, and that the pain is greater and of
longer duration after each succeeding one.
490. The after pains are intended by nature to contract—to reduce
—the womb somewhat to its non-pregnant size, and to assist clots in
coming away, and therefore ought not to be needlessly interfered
with. A judicious medical man will, however, if the pains be very
severe, prescribe medicine to moderate—not to stop—them. A doctor
fortunately possesses valuable remedies to alleviate the after pains.
491. Nature—beneficent nature—ofttimes works in secret, and is
doing good service by preparing for the coming event, unknown to all
around. In the very earliest stages of labor pain is not a necessary
attendant.
492. Although pain and suffering are the usual concomitants of
childbirth, there are, nevertheless, well-authenticated cases on
record of painless parturition.[90]
493. A natural labor may be divided into three stages. The first, the
premonitory stage, comprising the “falling” or subsidence of the
womb, and the “show.” The second, the dilating stage, which is
known by the pains being of a “grinding” nature, and in which the
mouth of the womb gradually opens or dilates until it is sufficiently
large to admit the exit of the head of the child, when it becomes the
third, the completing stage, which is now indicated by the pains
being of a “bearing down” expulsive character.
494. Now, in the first or premonitory stage, which is much the
longest of the three stages, it is neither necessary nor desirable that
the patient should be confined to her room; on the contrary, it is
better for her to be moving about the house, and to be attending to
her household duties.
495. In the second or dilating stage, it will be necessary that she
should be confined to her room, but not to her bed. If the drawing-
room be near at hand, she ought occasionally to walk to it, and if a
pain should come on the while, lie on the sofa. In this stage it is not
at all desirable that she should keep her bed, or even lie much on it.
She is better up and about, and walking about the room.
496. In the first and the second stages she must not, on any
account, strain or bear down to the pains, as many ignorant nurses
advise, as, by robbing her of her strength, it would only retard the
labor. Besides, while the mouth of the womb is dilating, bearing
down cannot be of the slightest earthly use—the womb is not in a fit
state to expel its contents. If by bearing down she could (but which
fortunately she cannot) cause the expulsion of the child, it would, at
this stage, be attended with frightful consequences—no less than the
rupture of the womb! Therefore, for the future, let not a lady be
persuaded, either by any ignorant nurse or by any officious friend, to
bear down until the last or the complete stage, when a gentle bearing
down will assist the pains to expel the child.
491. In the third or completing stage, of course it is necessary that
she should lie on a bed, and that she should, as above advised, bear
gently down to the pains. The bearing down pains will indicate to her
when to bear down.
498. If, toward the last, she be in great pain, and if she feel
inclined to do so, let her cry out,[91] and it will relieve her. A foolish
nurse will tell her that if she make a noise, it will do her harm. Away
with such folly, and have nothing to do with such simpletons!
499. Even in the last stage, she ought never to bear down unless
the pain be actually upon her; it will do her great harm if she does. In
bearing down, the plan is to hold the breath, and strain down as
though she were straining to have a stool.
500. By a patient adopting the rules just indicated, much
weariness might be avoided; cramp, from her not being kept long in
one position, might be warded off; the labor, from her being amused
by change of room and scene, might be expedited; and thus the
confinement might be deprived of much of its monotony and misery.
501. Nurses sometimes divide a labor into two kinds—a “back
labor,” and a “belly labor.” The latter is not a very elegant, although it
might be an expressive, term. Now, in a “back labor,” the patient will
derive comfort by having her back held by the nurse. This ought not
to be done by the bare hand, but let the following plan be adopted:
Let a pillow be placed next to the back, and then the nurse should
apply firm pressure, the pillow intervening between the back and the
nurse’s hand or hands. If the above method be followed, the back will
not be injured, which it otherwise would be by the pressure of the
hard hand of the nurse. Where the bare hand alone has been applied,
I have known the back to continue sore and stiff for days.
502. During the latter stage of labor, the patient ought always to
beep her eyelids closed, or the straining might cause an attack of
inflammation of the eyes, or, at all events, might make them
bloodshot.
503. Let a large room, if practicable, be selected for the labor, and
let it be airy and well ventilated; and, if it be summer, take care that
the chimney be not stopped. If the weather be intensely hot, there is
no objection to the window being from time to time a little opened.
504. The old-fashioned four-post mahogany bedstead is the most
convenient for a confinement, and is far preferable either to brass or
to iron. The reasons are obvious: in the first place, the patient can, in
the last stage of labor, press her feet against the bedpost, which is
often a great comfort, relief, and assistance to her. And secondly,
while she is walking about the room, and “a pain” suddenly comes
on, she can, by holding the bedpost, support herself.
505. If there be a straw mattress and a horse-hair mattress,
besides the bed, let the straw mattress be removed; as a high bed is
inconvenient, not only to the patient, but to the doctor.
PREPARATIONS FOR LABOR.
506. I should strongly urge a patient not to put everything off to

the last. She must take care to have in readiness a good pair of
scissors and a skein of whity-brown thread. And she ought to have in
the house a small pot of fresh lard—that is to say, unsalted lard,[92]
that it may be at hand in case it is wanted. Let everything necessary
both for herself and the babe be well aired and ready for immediate
use, and be placed in such order that all things may, without hurry or
bustle, at a moment’s notice, be found.
507. Another preparation for labor, and a most important one, is,
attending to the state of the bowels. If they are at all costive, the
moment there is the slightest premonitory symptom of labor, she
ought to take either a teaspoonful or a dessertspoonful (according to
the nature of her bowels, whether she be easily moved or otherwise)
of castor oil. If she object to taking the oil, then let her have an
enema of warm water, a pint, administered. By adopting either of the
above plans she will derive the greatest comfort and advantage. It
will prevent her delicacy from being shocked by having her bowels
opened, without her being able to prevent them, during the last stage
of labor; and it will, by giving the adjacent parts more room, much
expedite the confinement and lessen her sufferings.
508. The next thing to be attended to is the way in which she ought
to be dressed for the occasion. I would recommend her to put on her
clean night-gown, which, in order to keep it clean and unsoiled,
should be smoothly and carefully rolled up about her waist; then she

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1. Define agreement, offer, and acceptance.

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Consideration is the second of the four elements of contract. Spotting consideration, in a

Consideration today is made up of two subcomponents: detriment and bargain theory.

I. Introduction to Agreement and Consideration

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An agreement is a voluntary exchange of promises between two or more legally competent

The following three elements are required for an offer to be effective:

An offer cannot be accepted if it is not communicated to the offeree by the offeror or a

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representative or an agent of the offeror.

IV. Special Offer

A. Revocation of the Offer by the Offeror

B. Rejection of an Offer by the Offeree

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C. Counteroffer by the Offeree

Business Environment: Option Contract

D. Termination of an Offer by Operation of Law

A. Who Can Accept an Offer?

An offeree’s acceptance must be an unequivocal acceptance. The acceptance must be clear

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C. Mirror Image Rule

An acceptance must be properly dispatched. The acceptance must be properly addressed,

An offeree must accept an offer by an authorized means of communication. Section 30 of

Consideration consists of two elements:

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VII. Promises that Lack Consideration

A promise lacks consideration if a person promises to perform an act or do something he is

Contemporary Environment: Special Business Contracts

Special types of business contracts allow a greater degree of uncertainty concerning

VIII. Settlement of Claims

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settlement agreement is called an accord. If the accord is performed, it is called a satisfaction.

IX. Equity: Promissory Estoppel

Case 10.1—Federal Court Case

Issue: Is the general release Marder signed an enforceable contract?

Case 10.2—State Court Case

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Case 10.3—State Court Case

Issue: Can Cooper recover the gifts or their value?

Answers to Critical Thinking Cases

10.1. Solicitation to Make an Offer

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10.3. Gift Promise

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Answers to Ethics Cases

10.6. Ethics Case

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10.7. Ethics Case

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PERIOD OF GESTATION—“THE COUNT.”

422. The period of gestation is usually[76] two hundred and eighty

BEING OUT IN THE RECKONING.