ERGOMETRINE CAPSULES, c.1940, a box containing ampoules of 'Wellcome' Ergometrine injections, manufactured by Burroughs Wellcome and Co., London, 35 x 35cm Ergometrine was an intramuscular stimulant used to expedite childbirth after the head of the child had appeared. The injection would trigger a contraction of the uterus, which expelled the placenta and completed the third stage of labour with minimal delay and blood loss.