Women's Health by The National Library of Medicine

This film is intended to explain to pregnant women whose babies are soon to be born what to expect from the labor and delivery experience. It addresses how to distinguish false labor from true labor, when to pack a bag for the hospital, what procedures will be carried out to prep the woman for delivery, the types of anesthetic a doctor might order, and techniques for minimizing discomfort. Changes in the cervix and uterus are illustrated with animation techniques, while the birth of the baby, including episiotomy and use of forceps, are shown in a real hospital room.

[This film has been edited from its full length of 64 minutes] In a filmed lecture format, obstetrician Dr. Joseph DeLee demonstrates on anatomical models (in the lecture hall) and with live patients (filmed previously) the use of forceps to deliver an infant, as well as the proper technique for episiotomy. He begins by showing images of scores of different forceps' designs from all over the world, mentioning each inventor by name. He explains why forceps are a necessary instrument for the safe delivery of many babies, and how to assess a patient's need for this intervention.

This military training film outlines for the Navy enlisted woman the routines she must establish and the habits she must acquire to remain in the best physical condition for performing her assigned duties.

Designed for adolescent girls, this educational film focuses on the developments that take place as a young girl matures into adulthood. It discusses changes in growth rate, development of body hair, development of acne, and the maturing of the female reproductive system, including menstruation. The changing male reproductive system is also discussed briefly.

[This film has been edited from its full length of 69 minutes] This film teaches the method of laparotrachelotomy or low cervical cesarean section. At the beginning of the film the instructor lectures and demonstrates the method through the use of diagrams. An actual laparotrachelotomy is performed at the end of the film. Filmed at the Chicago Lying-In Hospital.

The first segment of this film is titled "A Baby's Day at Twelve Weeks." Over footage of a 12-week-old baby and his mother, Arnold Gesell of the Yale Clinic of Child Development explains the developmental importance of each aspect of the baby's day, which begins as he wakes, stretches, and yawns. His yawn sends extra oxygen to his brain. Stretching makes his heart beat more strongly. He recognizes his mother and nurses at her breast. He naps in his crib. Gesell says babies show their individuality even in the way they sleep and wake up.

This film features a middle-aged, experienced midwife named Mrs. Mary Cooley. Throughout the film, Mrs. Cooley helps two women, Ida and Marybell, throughout their pregnancies and deliveries. Ida, a mother of two, is very responsible and attends regular checkups, whereas Marybell confesses to have never seen a doctor and has had one miscarriage and one stillborn infant. Mrs. Cooley takes both women to the doctor for regular blood and urine tests, explains to them what they should eat to have healthy pregnancies, and helps get their homes ready.

The purpose of this presentation is to describe and demonstrate the technique for achieving the maximum roentgenographic detail in mammography. This objective is achieved with the aid of a middle-aged female clinical subject, a female mammography technician, x-rays, photographs and graphs. The program stresses the importance of obtaining radiographic detail in the early detection of breast cancer. In this presentation statistics regarding the incidence of breast cancer in the United States are presented first.

This is the first installment in a series about the behavioral and emotional interaction between mothers and infants in the first year of life. In a study of these relationships, more than 100 mother-infant pairs were observed clinically, and the feeding of each infant by the mother was filmed at intervals during the year. Seven types of maternal behavior with infants are shown. The narrator observes that a mother's handling of her infant during feeding is linked to the child's later behavior and personality.

This film documents the daily routine of a normal, healthy infant in a white middle-class household in pre-World War II America. The baby's routine, almost hour-by-hour, is shown--feeding, napping, outdoor time, the process of sterilization of formula, dinner, and the short time he sees his father at the end of the day. In depicting the baby's routine, the film also illustrates the daily responsibilities of the mother--housekeeping, laundry, food preparation, and the like. Produced by New York State Department of Health.