Personality of the Month: Dr. Edma Abouchdid

★ The pioneer among Lebanese girls in obtaining the medical degree from the American University of Beirut.

★ She specialized in gynecology in Paris, London, and America.

★ She practiced medicine with success in Baghdad.

★ Professor of gynecology at the Faculty of Medicine of the American University of Beirut.

★ A model lady: she practices a liberal profession, and keeps her femininity.

★ This session was broadcast from Radio Lebanon on "Woman's Talk."

Q — Last summer the papers wrote of your visit to the United States, to make contact with women's medical circles and acquaint yourself with the latest this branch has achieved. In this session of ours, Dr. Abouchdid, we should like you to enlighten us on the most important of these trends in modern gynecology.

A — According to my latest reading, I believe that progress in gynecology is confined to two fields, and we can begin speaking of them at once.

Q — First?

A — First: preventive medicine for the pregnant woman — that is, caring for her from the beginning of her pregnancy until the hour of delivery.

Q — But Dr. Abouchdid, I thought you meant to speak of the modern trends in gynecology — is "care of the pregnant woman" anything new?

A — Yes; in American circles it has become obligatory for the pregnant woman to place herself at the disposal of the specialist physician, who performs the necessary examinations and analyses on her. After that she remains under the doctor's supervision throughout the whole period of pregnancy: he examines her once a month until her seventh month, once every two weeks during the eighth month, and in her last month once every week...

Q — And this, as I see it, costs the mother heavy expenses, for you know better than anyone the fees of the specialist doctors here!...

A — No, not at all — and this is what I wanted to call attention to. In America, once the doctor has collected his fee for the first examination and the necessary analyses, he becomes responsible for carrying out all these examinations and for watching over the pregnant woman's state of health with minute care; and he encourages her to consult him whenever she feels the need of it, even outside the times appointed for her, for nothing — up to the time of delivery, on condition that she give birth at his hands, whereupon she pays the agreed sum. This is his principal task: to prepare the pregnant woman for a natural, healthy birth.

Q — And approximately how much is the fee he collects for this care?

A — The fees differ according to the pregnant woman's economic and social condition, and this is agreed upon at the outset; it is sometimes paid in installments, as the mother can manage. And whatever the amount of this fee may be, in my view it is honestly deserved, considering the great benefit the mother obtains as a result of these examinations. Very often the doctor discovers certain cases of blood pressure, or heart disease, or tuberculosis, or diabetes, or kidney disease, without any previous signs — through the examinations, analyses, and X-rays he carries out on her. It then becomes very easy to treat the pregnant woman and the disease in its first stages, to look after the fetus and its position, and to assure safety and health for it and for its mother.

Q — A sound opinion; for the pregnant woman gives her fetus a great deal of her bodily strength, and consequently, as a result of this giving, certain points of weakness show themselves in her. Hence it is imperative for the wise mother to keep close to her doctor throughout the whole period of pregnancy, guided by his direction and counsel. And has this modern trend, Doctor, any connection with shortening the period during which the mother keeps to her bed after delivery? I remember that my grandmother used to compel my mother to stay in bed forty full days after every birth — and the mother was treated as though she were an invalid; she was not allowed a bath, for instance, until forty days had passed!

A — No, no — of that no trace remains in the modern trend. Now the mother may rise from her bed on the second day after her delivery, and return to her home after the fifth day. But this does not mean that care alone is what permits the mother to rise early; in my opinion our mothers were capable of rising as the arrangement is today, and their staying in bed was mostly owing to lack of knowledge, and to fear in particular. And this staying in bed longer than necessary was apt to weaken the mother.

Q — And this sagging of the abdomen which afflicts most of our women after one or two births — does modern medicine approve the use of the binder after delivery, to prevent sagging and muscular slackness?

A — No; the modern trend, rather, is training in physical exercises from the second day after delivery, and early walking, which helps to move the muscles and thus prevents the sagging of the abdomen. As for the old binder, there is no longer any need of it.

Q — I think, Dr. Abouchdid, you have given the subject of "care of the pregnant woman" its due; let us pass now to the other field which progress in gynecology has reached — what is this second field which you mentioned at the beginning of the talk?

A — As for the second field with which modern gynecology has concerned itself, it is the detection of cancer in women while it is still at a very early stage, so that they are able to treat it and remove it, thereby guaranteeing the woman a better result and a longer healthy life, and sparing her many of the pains which usually afflict her when the disease grows severe.

Q — And how, Doctor, can cancer be diagnosed in regions hidden from the eye, especially if the disease, as you said, is still not visible to sight?...

A — Modern medicine has succeeded in diagnosing cancer while it is still in the stage of formation, by seeing the microscopic cancer cells in the vaginal fluids and elsewhere. The practical method now followed in America is that women who have reached thirty-five years of age go and submit to a microscopic examination, carried out on them in special clinics prepared for this purpose, every six months.

Q — And is there in Lebanon any readiness for this?

A — Unfortunately there do not yet exist in Lebanon any clinics, private or public, that attend to this side of things; for this method entails heavy expenses which none but governments or the great institutes with huge budgets can bear. And the benefit that comes of these examinations is very great, for the cancer cells appear in the fluids as soon as the disease establishes itself, and its discovery at the early stage very often means the saving of the patient.

Q — Naturally. And has the American woman doctor a share in this research, or are the men doctors alone devoted to these scientific studies?

A — No; the enthusiasm of the American woman doctor, especially in her own fields, is no less than the man's. A large number of women doctors have in fact distinguished themselves in this research, devoting themselves to study and investigation. I recall two in particular: Dr. Macfarlane in Philadelphia, and Dr. Platt in Washington... These two have won world fame in this field.

Q — Yes, and I recall that last summer I read an article which said: the two things that most terrify the American woman at present are her sons' going off to the Korean war, and the disease of cancer. What truth is there in this statement, in view of your direct contact with the American woman?

A — This feeling of double terror did in fact prevail in all women's circles in America, and its cause is a natural one: the American woman, for all her national upbringing, was not convinced that it was right to send her sons to the front to die in a war that is not their war!! As for the second source of terror, I mean cancer, this is owing to the wide spread of this disease in recent years, and medicine's inability to cure it despite the extensive attempts made to that end...

Q — It is truly a subject of the utmost importance. And now let us pass to another question which comes from the very heart of our life, and in which there may be some benefit for the gracious lady listeners: what is your opinion, Dr. Abouchdid, of the pregnant woman among us, and of the pampering she exacts of her husband and her household during the time of her cravings?

A — Pregnancy is a natural condition in woman, and the pregnant woman must not be treated as though she were a chronic invalid, removed from her ordinary life. As for the cravings, they remain one of the riddles of medicine — and it has been proved that not all women's cravings are a matter of coquetry and playing spoiled; certain cases of vomiting and dizziness have physiological causes, and can be greatly relieved at the doctor's direction...

Q — I do not think, Dr. Abouchdid — you who are known for generosity and good taste — I do not think you will begrudge us a few elementary counsels for the expectant mother — I mean important matters which we usually neglect to attend to?

A — The pregnant woman must make sure that her weight does not increase, over the whole period of pregnancy, by more than ten kilos, and that half this increase, naturally, comes in the last three months... I therefore call the attention of expectant mothers to consult their own doctor if their weight increases in the first three months by more than two kilos. In case of excess weight, the pregnant woman must abstain from eating salt, cut down her food, and take to walking in the open air, particularly in the last two months, so as to ease the delivery and to reduce the fat and the child's weight. And the pregnant woman must not delay in consulting her doctor at once if she feels a sharp headache, or a pain in the lower abdomen, the back, or the stomach, or if her vomiting grows severe.

Q — Perhaps, Doctor, I have kept you too long — forgive me — but this is my last question: do you advise girls to take up medicine as a profession?... Do you believe that the woman doctor is better fitted to diagnose women's diseases than the man?

A — That is an embarrassing question, Mrs. Shayboub — but no matter, I have courage enough to answer it:

Q — Please do!

A — I sincerely believe that the doctor, however far he may go in specialization and skill, cannot reach the complicated psychology of woman, and connect it with her bodily and nervous symptoms, as the woman doctor understands it.

Q — That is the second half of the question, and one with which I personally agree. And now, what is your opinion of woman and medicine?...

A — As for woman's specializing in medicine, I do not encourage our girls toward it; because I feel, after my long experience, that the profession of medicine demands great sacrifices and constant giving, and that for a woman to give it its full due stands inevitably in the way of establishing her family life, which is an instinct in the nature of every woman. Let the girl proceed, then, to specialize in medicine — and especially gynecology and pediatrics — on condition that she be ambitious, and prepared for the great sacrifice.

Q — Naturally; and great works come only by great sacrifices.