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...[the] child is born. Labor pain begins in the back and spreads down toward the lower abdomen; it is distinguished from false pain by the fact that the belly pain intensifies hour by hour, the belly hardens, nausea overtakes the sufferer, and she imagines she has diarrhea; therefore, she too strains with bearing-down groans*. During this time, the woman in labor’s facial complexion turns red and livid. 181. When the pain grips [her] in this manner, the woman in labor must also, for her part, assist the child's coming into the world; whenever the pain comes, and she simultaneously feels an urge to relieve her bowels, she must then—resting her hands upon something, kneeling, and spreading her knees apart from one another—bear down with groans, holding her breath. 182. When the pain passes, the woman in labor must not strain, but wait until the return of the pain. If, in this condition, drowsiness comes upon the woman in labor, they should not disturb [her] sleep. One must not heed those who advise the woman in labor to cough forcibly, or to shake her whole body, or to exert herself by other such means; these methods, far from doing good, produce only harm. 183. For her part, the woman in labor can assist in an easy delivery at the beginning when the pain seizes [her]—sometimes by walking about on foot, sometimes by sitting, and sometimes by lying back down. If the pain should come rapidly and severely, they must lay her down in the bed. 184. If the belly pain of the woman in labor takes hold lightly, of course nothing is needed for it. But when it comes with long intervals, in such a case the woman in labor must not exert herself; rather, it is useful to administer an enema (see Number 20), or to let blood from the arm. 185. It also happens very often that belly pain comes with shivering, which not only lacks the signs mentioned in Article 170, but also does not begin in the back. When this occurs, one must not consider it to be the pain of labor. To relieve this belly pain, the pregnant woman must [receive] an enema...