The Fight for Life Part 1

Written and directed by Pare Lorentz, 1940.
This historical recording is provided by the National Archives of the United States. Dramatizes a young doctor's training in obstetrics at the Maternity Center, Chicago. Dr. O'Donnell sees a mother die in childbirth and decides to study obstetrics. Shows him working and learning at the Center. A lecture to a class of doctors at the Center on procedures for delivering babies at homes.O'Donnell assists in the preparation for and the delivery of a baby in a Chicago slum area home. Postnatal precautions are taken and O'Donnell calls attention to sociological problems. Shows examples of poor living conditions. Shows the hospital examination of woman who has had no prenatal care. Shows O'Donnell instructing an intern at a delivery, after which the mother has a hemorrhage. The mother receives a transfusion and lives. From the Office of Education. This historical recording from the National Archives may contain variations in audio and video quality based on the limitations of the original source material.