being pampered and indulged on every occasion. A woman who is
continually in the habit of saying to her indulgent husband that she
wants this, that, and the other thing, and if the good husband sees fit
to gratify his interesting spouse in every thing which a morbid fancy
can imagine, he will have business enough to kill his time, and a
feeble, sickly wife in the bargain.
If this longing occurs only to the feeble and delicate, to the nervous,
the indolent, and those who have been habitually pampered, what, I ask,
are we to do in the premises? Shall we gratify every whim of a nervous,
unhealthy person, or shall we rather advise her to live on plain and
wholesome food, at the same time directing her to occupy herself, body
and mind, as a reasonable being should? It does not certainly require
much common sense to enable one to settle this question as it should be.
But there are those among women who honestly believe that if their
cravings are not satisfied in pregnancy, the child is very liable to
become marked with an appearance like that of the article longed for.
The fallacy of this belief will at once be apparent, when it is
considered how many cases of longing there are—cases, too, which are
never gratified, while, at the same time, but very few children are ever
found marked. The imagination can have no more effect here than in the
cases of malformation, the absence or addition of a part, or in
determining the color of a child. Hence a woman need not fear, as I have
known them to do, that if their morbid appetite is not gratified in
every particular, they are in danger of bringing forth a marked child.
But more of this in another place.
Some physicians are of the opinion, it is true, that it is best to
gratify longings to a certain extent. But suppose they are not
gratified: the worst that can come is sickness at the stomach, nausea,
and possibly vomiting—symptoms which, all of them, vanish soon enough,
ordinarily, if the diet is made what it should be, in connection with
good habits generally.
The truth is, that the mind itself is more disordered than the stomach
in these cases. Hence an important consideration in the cure of it is,
to provide the individual with some useful and wholesome employment,
which at the same time engages both the mind and body healthfully. At
the same time the food should be of such a character as is best suited
to a delicate state of the system, remembering always, that there is no
period of life in which more care is necessary, in this respect, than in
pregnancy.
But if, on the other hand, the preternatural craving is indulged, and
the mind is left to prey upon itself, as it will without any suitable
employment, the sensation will grow more and more persistent, and the
fancy will be continually excited to produce new whims for its
gratification, which, if answered, must necessarily be attended with
detriment to both mother and child.
THE IMAGINATION.
Women are sometimes troubled about certain matters in pregnancy, which,
if they had a proper knowledge on the subject, would cause them no
mental disquietude whatever. Thus it is believed that the marks which
sometimes appear on children, and continue through life, are to be
attributed entirely to the workings of the mother’s imagination during
this period, and that even the color of the offspring may be determined
by this circumstance alone.
The origin of this belief is, indeed, coeval with the history of the
race. But antiquity alone is not a sufficient argument for any doctrine,
no matter how old or how venerable a theory, if we know it to be
disproved by the actual facts. If we were to take the antiquity of a
doctrine or belief as the rule, and not have regard to reason and
experience there would be no end to error, and no improvement.
In the earliest period of medicine this delusion prevailed; and
Hippocrates, honest and learned as he was, yet believed it, and aided in
its propagation. Through his influence kings and nobles acted upon the
principle, which, in some cases, at least, was made the cloak of
wickedness and deception. Thus Hippocrates saved a noblewoman—and
honestly, without doubt, though ignorantly—from the severity of the law,
when she had given birth to a colored child, herself and husband both
being white. He alleged that the darkness of its color was the effect of
a picture of an Ethiopian that hung upon the wall in her chamber, and
which was often the object of her contemplation. Galen was also of the
opinion that a picture was sufficient, if contemplated with interest, to
give a corresponding appearance to the fetus in utero; and Soranus
declares that the tyrant Dionysius, who was deformed and ill-favored
himself, employed the aid of beautiful pictures, with the hope that his
wife might have comely issue. Cælius Rhodius also mentions that Fabius
Quintillian saved a woman from suspicion, after she had brought forth a
negro child, by asserting that the circumstance arose from the fact of
her taking great pleasure in viewing the picture of a black man in her
apartment. From the prevalence of this belief it was, likewise, that
Heliodorus formed the first, and, as is said, one of the most beautiful
novels in the world, called the “Loves of Theagenes and Carachlea,” the
latter having been born white from black parents, but the queen, her
mother, had often viewed, during her pregnancy, the picture of
Andromeda, who was painted with a white face; and the sages attributed
the white color of the child to the force of the mother’s imagination.
This superstition—for it does not deserve a better name—has probably
always been believed in the world, and for a long time will continue to
be by many, but not to that extent which it anciently was. We cannot
believe, if cases like these, occurring in the time of Hippocrates and
Quintillian, were to occur in our own day, and were now to be presented
for judicial decision, that any judge or jury could be found so ignorant
as to decide that the color of a child can be changed by force of the
mother’s imagination alone; but things scarcely less ridiculous and
absurd are believed by almost every member of society who has any belief
whatever on the subject. Thus it is now a matter of common belief, that
the imagination of the mother may impose upon the skin certain
resemblances to things upon which the fancy has been much employed, such
as fruit, articles of food and drink, animals, insects, etc., or by the
destruction of certain parts of the body, such as the head, arms or
legs, lips, etc., or by the production of an additional part, as the
fingers, toes, head, etc.
In order to settle this question satisfactorily, and beyond the
possibility of mistake or doubt, it is well for us to look at the facts
of nature as they exist everywhere about us, or, in other words, to the
anatomy and physiology of the human body as it really is.
In regard to the anatomical connection between the mother and fetus, it
is to be observed that it is altogether indirect, and is carried on only
through the medium of the circulation. There is no nervous connection
between mother and child; that is, no nervous filament, however small,
has ever been detected passing from one to the other. “From this wise
and all-important arrangement,” observes Dr. Dewees, “it follows that
the fetus is not subject to the various and fluctuating condition of the
sanguiferous, or to the never-ending changes of the nervous system of
the mother; since no direct communication exists between her
blood-vessels or nerves and those of the fetus, to impose upon it any
alteration that may take place in her system, or to render the child
liable, through the medium of nervous connection, to her affections.” If
the indirect connection that exists between the mother and child were
better understood, and more justly appreciated, we should, doubtless,
hear much less of the influence of the imagination of the mother upon
the body of her infant, and thus one of the greatest of the attendant
evils of pregnancy would be removed.
It is not to be denied that cases do occur in which there seems to be a
hereditary predisposition to the perpetuation of supernumerary parts,
marks, etc., in certain families; such as an additional thumb, finger,
toe, or double teeth, in place of single; but such cases are not the
result of any mental emotion, but are merely the effect of hereditary
predisposition, the truth of which is admitted on all hands, and is a
very different thing from that which we are now considering.
It has not been attempted, on the part of any, to determine at what
precise period during pregnancy the imagination begins or ceases to have
an influence upon the body of the child, but, according to the accounts
given, every period is liable to the accidents or anomalies in question.
The imagination, it is supposed, has the power, not only of causing the
creation of a new part, but also of destroying one or more of the
members of the body. Now, suppose a leg, an arm, or a toe, to be cast
off, must it not be expelled from the womb? And who has ever detected
such an occurrence? Besides, too, is it to be supposed that nature would
arrest the flow of blood after the part has been separated from the body
of the fetus? There can be no doubt as to what is the truth in this
matter.
Dr. Dewees mentions the case of a child that was born with but the stump
of an arm, which, at the time of birth, was perfectly healed, or,
rather, presented no evidence of ever having had a wound upon it at all.
The mother declared that she had been frightened at the sixth month of
pregnancy by a beggar. But what became of the lopped-off arm? and what
arrested the bleeding? The child was born healthy and vigorous, and
neither scar, wound, or blood could be discovered. In this case, as in
all others of this kind, the “freak of nature” commenced at the first of
gestation, the imagination of the mother having nothing to do with it.
The most learned and experienced medical men are all agreed on this
subject. Dr. William Hunter, it is said, used to declare in his
lectures, that he experimented in a lying-in-hospital upon two thousand
cases of labor, to ascertain this point. His method was as follows: As
soon as a woman was delivered, he inquired of her whether she had been
disappointed in any object of her longing, and what that object was? If
her answer were Yes, whether she had been surprised by any circumstance
that had given her an unusual shock, and of what that consisted? Whether
she had been alarmed by any object of an unsightly kind, and what was
that object? Then, after making a note of each of the declarations of
the woman, either in the affirmative or negative, he carefully examined
the child; and he assured his class that he never, in a single instance
of the two thousand, met with a coincidence. He met with blemishes when
no cause was acknowledged, and found none when it had been insisted on.
Dr. Hunter, however, confessed that he met with one case in his private
practice that puzzled him; and he told his pupils he would merely relate
the facts, and leave them to draw their own conclusions. A lady had been
married several years without proving pregnant, but at last she had the
satisfaction to announce to her husband that she was in that situation.
The joy of the husband was excessive, nay, unbounded, and he immediately
set about to qualify himself for the all-important duty of educating his
long wished-for offspring. He read much, and had studied Martimus
Scribelerus with great patience and supposed advantage, and had become a
complete convert to the supposed influence of the imagination upon the
fetus in utero. He accordingly acted upon this principle. He guarded his
wife, as far as in him lay, against any contingency that might affect
the child she carried. He therefore gratified all her longings most
scrupulously; he never permitted her to exercise but in a close
carriage, and carefully removed from her view all unsightly objects.
The term of gestation was at length completed, and the lady was safely
delivered, by the skill of Dr. Hunter, of a living and healthy child; it
had, however, one imperfection—it was a confirmed mulatto. On this
discovery being made, the father was at first inexorable, and was only
appeased by his dutiful and sympathizing wife calling to his
recollection the huge, ugly negro that stood near the carriage door the
last time she took an airing, and at whom she was severely frightened!
Dr. Dewees, whose experience in matters connected with the birth of
children was probably as great as that of any other individual, tells us
that he commenced practice with the popular belief concerning the effect
of the mother’s imagination upon the physical condition of the child.
But he had watched these things attentively for many years, and for the
want of facts to substantiate the truth of the common belief, he was
obliged to abandon it. He came to the conclusion that the imagination of
the mother has no influence whatever upon the form or complexion of the
fetus.
Fortunately, these absurd notions have long since been rejected by all
sensible, observant, and intelligent physicians; and the fact that
multitudes of those who are, or are to become mothers, do yet believe
them, is the only reason for attempting a refutation of them. If we can
but convince mothers of the fallacy of the belief we have been
combating, we shall save them a great amount of anxiety and alarm. With
many, who are not by any means to be classed among the “weak, ignorant,
and superstitious” of females, every sudden or unexpected occurrence
that happens to strike them with fear, or produces any strong mental
emotion or excitement, is apt to impress them with alarming
apprehensions as to the effects it may have on the development and
conformation of the child in the womb. These ridiculous illusions,
moreover, are often much increased by the strange stories respecting
marks and malformations, occasioned, as is asserted, by the imagination
of the mother; and these narratives always find their way among the
credulous in society; for ignorant nurses, and gossiping idlers among
the old women, are everywhere to be found, and all of them are well
stocked with extraordinary examples of the pretended influence of which
we are speaking. If a child is born with any spot or blemish upon its
body, or with any malformation whatever, forthwith the mother is
questioned as to the whole circumstances of the matter. If, at any time
during pregnancy, any thing has attracted her attention, or strongly
impressed the mind, which bears any resemblance or similitude to the
mark, spot, blemish, or malformation of the child, it is at once put
down as the certain cause of the defect. In this way these absurd
apprehensions are often made to take so deep a hold upon the mind of
pregnant females, that no expostulation or ridicule of the physician, or
other friend, can entirely subdue them; and in some instances these
apprehensions become so fixed as to cause a great degree of anxiety and
distress of mind, and not unfrequently cause a great amount of physical
suffering and ill health.
EFFECTS OF FRIGHT.
I have already remarked that the mind of the pregnant woman should be
kept as calm, composed, and contented as possible during the pregnant
state. In no respect is this advice more appropriate than in regard to
the strong impressions of fear and every sudden emotion of an unpleasant
kind.
Some of the most remarkable cases illustrative of the effects of fright
in pregnancy, are given by Baron Percy, an eminent French surgeon, as
having occurred at the siege of Landau, in 1793. It is stated that, in
addition to a violent cannonading, which kept the women for some time in
a constant state of alarm, the arsenal blew up with a terrific
explosion, which few could listen to with unshaken nerves. Out of
ninety-two children born in that district within a few months afterward,
sixteen died at the instant of birth; thirty-three languished for from
eight to ten months, and then died; eight became idiotic and died before
the age of five years; and two came into the world with numerous
fractures of the bones of the limbs, caused by the cannonading and
explosion! “Here, then,” as Dr. Combe observes, “is a total of
fifty-nine children out of ninety-two, or within a trifle of two out of
every three, actually killed through the medium of the mother’s alarm,
and its natural consequences upon her own organization.” Cases are
recorded, in which the mother, being abruptly informed of the death of
her husband, has suffered an immediate miscarriage in consequence. In
some cases the child has survived, but has afterward, throughout life,
been subject to great nervousness and liability to fear. James I., King
of England, is said always to have had a constitutional aversion to a
drawn sword and to any kind of danger, which was attributed to the
constant anxiety and apprehension which his mother suffered during the
period of gestation.
It will appear very plain to any one who is at all acquainted with this
subject, that an impression which is powerful enough to cause such
effects upon the child as the cases given by Baron Percy would indicate,
must also act with detriment upon the mother. Indeed, it is only through
the mother’s organization that it is possible for the impression to be
communicated to the child; and although the mother’s life is not often
actually destroyed under such circumstances, her nervous system may yet
receive a shock which is sufficient to cause her life-long misery and
ill health.
The practical lessons to be drawn from such facts are many, and, for the
most part, easy to comprehend. They teach us how important it is that a
woman who is pregnant should, by all that is in her power, shun scenes
of fear and danger. Husbands, and all who are in any way connected with
her, should spare no pains in rendering this important and trying period
of her life as happy and tranquil as the circumstances will allow. True,
she should not make a _baby_ of herself, or be _babied_ by others; but,
considering the liability to danger while in this condition, she should
be careful of herself, in all respects, while passing through the
period, and those about her should use all due caution in regard to it.
LETTER XX.
DRUG-TREATMENT IN PREGNANCY.
Effects of Blisters—Emetics—Purgative Medicines—Bleeding.
I could hope that not one of the large number of persons whom I address,
would ever be subjected to any of the processes of drug-treatment in so
critical a period as pregnancy. The water-treatment I regard as being so
much safer, as well as more effectual, for the eradication of any and
all the diseases to which you may be subject at this time, as well as
others, that I should be very glad if I could say something to inspire
you with a greater degree of confidence in the new method. But perhaps I
am wrong; some of you, at least, have the fullest confidence in the
sanative powers of water, and have no need of any thing more being said
on that point. It is proper, however, that I say something here
respecting the effects of certain drugs and drug-appliances, in this
period.
BLISTERS.
It is the testimony of honest and capable practitioners, that these are
far more liable to do harm in pregnancy than at other times.
Dr. Dewees asserts that he had known two cases of abortion caused by the
use of blisters, although he acknowledged they had, in some cases, been
advantageously resorted to as a means of preventing that evil. But how,
it may be asked, are physicians to know when to use them, and when not?
This no man can tell. Nor have we any need of blistering at this or any
time, because there are better means, which are entirely safe.
The same able author whom I just quoted, tells us that blisters are much
more likely to produce strangury during pregnancy than in other cases;
and that when this occurs, it is almost sure to be followed by the most
distressing and untoward symptoms. Entire retention of urine sometimes
follows the use of cantharides in these circumstances, which can only be
relieved by the use of the catheter. There is also, at such times, not
unfrequently so distressing an inclination and violence of effort to
void urine, as to be surpassed only by the agony of labor itself. Bloody
urine has sometimes followed the use of a blister; and a discharge of
mucous from the internal surface of the bladder has continued, as a
consequence, for a long time after. “It is true,” observes a
distinguished author, “these are extreme cases; but they nevertheless
occur, and should, therefore, suggest a great deal of caution in their
employment, especially in the more advanced periods of gestation.”
EMETICS.
These are no more necessary in pregnancy than blisters. Severe vomiting
is sometimes productive of abortion; and who is wise enough to foretell
what may be the effect of a dose of tartar emetic given to a woman when
in this highly impressible state? A single emetic has caused severe and
permanent pain, which has been removed only after parturition has taken
place.
PURGATIVE MEDICINES.
That pregnant women do not bear purging so well as at other times, is a
matter of common observation among medical men. There is in such
practice a great liability of causing abortion, especially if it be
carried too far. It is not difficult to account for the fact, when we
remember how great is the sympathy which exists between the womb and the
bowels.
If you should be obliged, any of you, under such circumstances, to be
purged, I advise you to see to it that you know what medicines you take.
Those particularly which have a powerful effect upon the bowels should
be avoided; aloes, colocynth, scammony, and gamboge, should on no
account be tolerated. These have a particular effect in exciting the
lower part of the alimentary canal, causing tenesmus or a bearing-down
pain in the rectum, which, by sympathy, is very liable to be
communicated to the womb. This is shown by the fact that dysentery often
causes miscarriage.
BLOOD-LETTING.
Not many years since, it was generally supposed that a woman could not
pass through the period of pregnancy safely without being bled; and
although a change has been wrought in the public mind in regard to this
practice, there are yet many who labor under erroneous impressions in
regard to this subject. There are those who regard it as indispensable
to resort to this measure, notwithstanding there may be no particular
symptom that, under other circumstances, would be considered necessary
to warrant a resort to the measure.
It must be admitted, however, that pregnancy is attended with a degree
of fullness, and a tendency to plethora, which does not obtain in other
states of the system. There is, indeed, always, during pregnancy, a
greater liability to febrile and inflammatory diseases than is
ordinarily experienced. But all this does not prove that blood-letting
should be practiced in all, or in any considerable number of cases.
Besides, also, it is doubted by many honest and able practitioners of
the medical art, as to whether bleeding is ever, under _any_
circumstances, necessary. There are others, too, who believe in the
comparative necessity of blood-letting under certain conditions of the
system, but who, at the same time, hold that there are better, safer,
and more efficacious means of bringing about the required object. At all
events, physicians very seldom, at the present day, resort to
blood-letting during pregnancy, either in this country or the old; and
in those rare cases in which this measure is resorted to, it is in
answer only to indications of an imperative and decided nature.
Nor is the practice of blood-letting a comparatively harmless one, as
many suppose it to be. “Why,” it is said, “if it is not absolutely
necessary, it can yet do me no harm.” This is a poor recommendation of a
remedy. If a remedy is not capable of doing harm under some
circumstances, it would hardly be possible for it to do good at any
time. The testimony of the strongest advocates for the practice is,
_that blood-letting has frequently been known to do serious, and
sometimes irreparable mischief, when practiced during the period of
which we are speaking_.