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48
APPENDIX III.
PLUMSTEAD VESTRY.
Sanitary Rules foe Midwives.
Recommended by the Medical Officer of the Plumstead Vestry for
the use of all Midwives practising in the Parish of Plumstead.
1. Midwives should wear dresses made of light cotton or other washable
material, with short close fitting sleeves.
2. The hands should be kept scrupulously clean. Nails should be kept
close cut. The hands should always be washed before making a vaginal
examination, as well as after. The nails in the first washing should be
scrubbed with a nail-brush, soap and hot water for five minutes. After
this, the hands should be soaked in a disinfecting solution for two or three
minutes.
3. Before examining, the finger or hand should be smeared with
glycerine which contains one grain of corrosive sublimate in two ounces
of the glycerine. The midwife should carry such a solution with her in a
bottle labelled "Poison," and should avoid using vaseline or other grease
found in the patient's house.
4. Examinations should not be made more frequently than is absolutely
necessary.
5. If a syringe is used at all, it should be one kept exclusively for the
patient. It should be carefully washed before and after use, and the
nozzle should be smeared with the glycerine and corrosive sublimate.
The safest injection is hot water containing enough permanganate of
potassium to make it as dark as claret.
6. Any catheter used should be very carefully cleansed before and
after use, and should be smeared with the corrosive sublimate glycerine.
7. When the placenta does not come away of itself, or by gentle
pressure on the abdomen, within an hour after delivery, medical aid
should be sought. No other means of removal should be adopted by the
midwife, except abdominal pressure or expression.