By Dr. Abhay Talwalkar
This case report comes from the labour ward, where we usually do not have enough time to repertorise a case and prescriptions must rely solely on our clinical experience. Almost all the women I attend during labour come from small, remote villages and receive no medical care during pregnancy. We have hardly any mood symptoms because the women are generally admitted to hospital only once labour has started.
Case report
An older, post-term multigravida was admitted to the labour ward in the morning. Labour was expected in the afternoon, but it was not progressing properly.
Observation: The patient is obese and appears to have strong contractions. She is sweating on her face and, although labour is not progressing, she seems very exhausted. Examination shows the cervix is almost fully dilated, but the fetal head is still very high and, because of ineffective contractions, is not entering the pelvis. On questioning she says she has strong bearing-down efforts, but they are not really effective. She has red spots on her arms. She tells us that she has had similar problems in the past and received conventional medication for them.
To understand the case
An obese, older multigravida with slow reactions and lethargy
Unhealthy skin
Exhausted
Prescription
Graphites 1M, one dose dissolved in water and a teaspoonful of this to be taken every 15 to 20 minutes. After several doses the contractions became stronger and more regular. Within an hour and a half she delivered a healthy boy.
Discussion
I was called to the labour ward here because the routine administration of allopathic drugs had not helped. Because of the weak contractions, the patient’s obesity, the skin problems, the exhaustion and the facial sweating, I thought of Graphites. Carbo vegetabilis and Graphites are, in my understanding and experience, good remedies in labour support when contractions are already present. I use them for weak and inefficient contractions.
Bor, in my opinion, is more indicated in cases where the contractions are very strong but the baby still will not enter the pelvis. Hering writes that Graphites is indicated for weak contractions or when labour activity has come to a standstill.
About Carbo veg, he writes that it is suitable for patients whose contractions remain weak as a result of a severe illness or from the loss of vital fluids. In my experience Carbo veg has proved more useful in cases where contractions weaken or stop altogether because too much amniotic fluid has been lost suddenly and in gushes. I have also used it successfully in cases when contractions weaken or stop completely and the patient reports that the contractions subsided when the membranes ruptured.
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Source: http://www.interhomeopathy.org/post_mature_elderly_multi
Photo: Shutterstock_1181843014, Copyright: Gorodenkoff
