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Quilling 
						
				
				
						This birth story is from a transcript of a series of radio programmes which 
						were broadcast on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) in l985 
						called "Doctoring the Family".
				
				
						They combed the Canadian archives for stories about midwives and birth
						from the pioneer days.
				
				
						David Cayley (the writer): 
						Not all of the country doctors chose to cover their ignorance with a show 
						of authority. For those who were not too proud, there was the possibility of 
						learning from the midwives. Often, a midwife would be willing to accept 
						the status of assistant, while actually functioning as a teacher. And, in this 
						way, the doctor was able to learn without compromising his claim to 
						authority.
				
				
						Some of this rather delicate protocol is evident in this next story, recalled 
						years after it happened by Dr. W.A. Bigelow.
				
				
						Reader: 
						As I entered the small, isolated farmhouse, I was immediately aware of an 
						old midwife sitting on the chair with her feet on the hearth of the stove, 
						looking into the fire--the door of the stove was open--smoking a clay pipe. 
						She seemed absorbed in her thoughts and not excited at all when I came 
						in. She scarcely looked up.
				
				
						She was quiet elderly, and as I entered, I said "How long have the pains 
						been on?" "Started yesterday morning, doc, and she is not getting 
						anywhere." I got my fur coat off and got warmed up. I asked her if the 
						pains were coming very often, and she said "No, they are not. I think we 
						will have to quill her."
				
				
						I did not know what quilling was. I had never heard of it before or since. I 
						did not want to show my ignorance to her personally, so I said "Well, we 
						will wait awhile. I hope we can get along without quilling." 
				
				
						I took my time and examinations of the patient showed almost a full 
						dilation, with pains, not severe, coming on every 6 or 7 minutes. I gave 
						her a half grain of codeine hypodermically to relax the cervix, and 
						then went and sat down and waited.
				
				
						During this period, the midwife remained sitting, watching the fire. I had 
						given no anaesthetic, the labour was not progressing, and two or three 
						times she looked up and said, "Doc, I think we will have to quill her." I 
						would go in and feel the uterus--it was fairly hard.
				
				
						There was certainly not much progress being made. I think also I was 
						inquisitive as to what this "quilling" process was. So I said "Perhaps you're 
						right. We might as well quill her. I said "You go ahead and do it, and I'll 
						get cleaned up."
				
				
						She immediately got up from her chair and pulled down the wing of a 
						goose which was hanging on a nail behind the stove. She got a nice, long 
						goose quill, a wavy one it was, and cleaned the inside of the quill, cutting 
						off both ends.
				
				
						She went to the cupboard and dipped one end of the quill into a small 
						package of cayenne pepper. I wondered what the devil was coming next, 
						so I followed her into the bedroom.
				
				
						She took the quill and inserted it into the nostril of the patient, then gave 
						it one big blow, and away went the cayenne pepper into the poor woman's 
						nasal cavity. I knew what was liable to happen. She began to sneeze 
						immediately.
				
				
						With the sneezing, the midwife said "Doc, you'd better get 
						ready." By the time I had taken a look at things, the 
						perineum was bulging, and with another few sneezes, the 
						baby was born.
				
				
						The midwife made only this remark: "I knew, Doc, that this 
						would make her let go her holt."
				
				
						I have never forgotten this way of conducting a quick labour.
				
		
		
				
						AH updated 23 June 2001 
						Sent in by Cecile O’Driscoll