away from business awhile, and go with her yourself? It would do her a
world of good. Have a second honeymoon; let her see, hear and do what
pleases her best, and, mark my word, you will be well paid.”
“I declare! I never thought of matters in that light before. I believe
that you are right. I can get away next week, and I will. Mother can
come in and take care of the children while we are gone just as well as
not.”
To parents I would say with Fowler: “By all the value of splendid
children over poor or none, should all other interests be subservient
to maternity, not it to them. Brush aside, like cobwebs, pecuniary,
ambitional, and all other ends, and make it imperious lord over all.
Your family may better live on bread and water, and you have splendid
children, than do all this work, and have ill-natured, sickly ones.
What are stylish rooms and furniture, many and high-seasoned dishes,
in comparison with a sweet and healthful child?... Your child-rearing
mission is your one duty. Do this in the very best manner possible,
but _make all else secondary_. See that the prospective mothers want
nothing. They deserve, and, as society advances, will yet receive
universal sympathy, along with the utmost care and affection.”
On account of the foregoing remarks, do not suppose that an idle,
dependent life is counseled. By no means. A woman in pregnancy, as
at other times, should be actively employed, and if it can be in
some absorbing, congenial, lucrative work, so much the better. It is
the incessant nothings of woman’s work which, while accomplishing so
little, yet wear out the nerves, and exhaust the patience.
“Labor is life! ’Tis the still water faileth!
Idleness ever despaireth, bewaileth!
Keep the watch wound, or the dark rust assaileth;
Flowers droop and die in the stillness of noon.
Labor is glory! The flying cloud lightens:
Only the waving wing changes and brightens,
Idle hearts only the dark future frightens.
Play the sweet keys, wouldst thou keep them in tune!”
A lady well known to a large circle of friends as a successful writer
and business woman, the mother of a large family of sons and daughters,
who, at the age of forty-five is the personification of health and
energy, had this remarkable experience: During the period preceding the
birth of her fourth child, pecuniary misfortune, and the ill-health
of her husband, combined to make it necessary for her to carry on his
business. She was obliged to walk nearly two miles every day to his
store, where she staid all day absorbingly engaged in the duties of
looking after the details of sales, keeping the books, accounts, etc.,
after which day’s work she walked back to her home.
Everybody said Mrs. B. would surely break down, but instead of doing
so she preserved the most vigorous health, and experienced none of
the sick and nervous feelings usually incidental to pregnancy. When
the child was born, the extraordinary circumstance that its birth was
attended with scarcely any pain, led the physician and the lady herself
to inquire what might be the cause of such a happy departure from the
usual rule.
No other reason could be assigned than the long, regular walks, and the
vigorous state of her bodily health. Taking a hint from these facts, in
all her subsequent pregnancies, she adopted the plan of taking a large
amount of out-door exercise, and keeping her mind occupied by useful
employment, and in every succeeding birth the same happy results were
obtained.
That she was engaged in an absorbing and congenial occupation, no doubt
had much to do with the fact that maternity to her seemed only one of
the incidents of life. She had no time to foster aches and pains. The
conviction that, by her business management, the support of the family
was maintained during her husband’s illness, inspired her with unusual
energies and hopes. Could women uplift their _home life_, realizing the
noble work they are accomplishing in their every day duties, they would
find in them an inspiration which avails much against physical debility.
Let me prophesy that different and improved methods will be devised
to accomplish woman’s work. The mothers of the future will be less
burdened, and at the same time achieve more satisfactory results in the
labor performed.
This can be done, and the ideal home preserved. Under the present
system, many instances of demoralization in domestic life are in
consequence of the mother’s inability to fulfill all the requirements
of her position. She is the tie that holds the home--the mainspring of
home-life. In the prophesied future, she may not wash all the dishes
and bake all the bread, any more than she now does the spinning and
weaving; yet the maternal love, life and instinct will build a nest
far more adapted to successful rearing of offspring than is done under
present conditions.
DRESS.
“Give me a form, give me a face
That lend simplicity and grace;
Robes loosely flowing, hair as free,--
Such sweet neglect more taketh me
Than all the adulteries of art;
They strike mine eyes, but not mine heart.”
From first to last, the pregnant woman’s dress should be physiological
and hygienic. Perfect freedom for every physical power must be secured.
What does this demand? Emphatically looseness and lightness, as well
as sufficient and equable warmth. See to it that not one article of
dress impedes, in the slightest degree, the functions of the body. To
accomplish this, one must do away with bands, bones and petticoats.
One already dressing healthfully needs to make but little change for
pregnancy. Under all circumstances and at all times, dress should
cause no restriction to respiration; no interference with digestion;
no obstruction to circulation. In pregnancy, furthermore, there should
be no hindrance to the development and elevation of the uterus. To
accomplish this, a radical change must be made in the usual dress of
woman. It is now a complete failure as far as fulfilling any useful
requirements, and for decorative purposes rules of art are violated.
Dr. Trall says, “If he were asked what one agency stands at the very
head of morbific influences, in causing frailty and malformation, he
should answer _woman’s dress_.”
The present movement in dress reform, or correct dress, combines art,
health and utility. One of the most notable features is that each lady
is free to construct her own styles, and in no wise feels bound to
conform to fashion. This movement is wide-spread and seems to have a
firm foothold among women of all classes.
One can be dressed decently, decorously, harmoniously; yes, even
elegantly, and still commit no grave violation against physiological
law. How can this be done? What changes from the ordinary dress does
this involve? Let us begin at the foundation:
_A common sense shoe_ should be worn. This is constructed upon
anatomical principles, allowing freedom of all the muscles and
producing no pressure upon the nerves or blood-vessels. The sole is _as
wide_ as the bottom of the foot, the heel is little if any higher than
the sole. The curve and elasticity of the arch and the freedom of the
toes are assured.
Many women suffer from headache, defects in vision, loss of voice,
indigestion, backache, etc., simply from reflex action of the pressure
of the shoes upon nerves of the foot. I have seen young girls often
relieved of tedious backache, by following simply, and only the
prescription of a change to common sense shoes. An elocutionist of
fine physical development, weighing at least 170 pounds testified
that he could not command the chest tones of his voice, if his boots
caused the slightest compression of his feet. Are not women’s nerves as
tell-tale in their communications as were those of this stalwart man!
Two bright, intelligent young ladies entered a very crowded south side
car. One, with a scowl of pain and fatigue upon her face, said, “I
do wish some gentleman would give me a seat. My feet are just coming
off.” Her companion answered gaily: “Oh, I don’t care to sit down. I
can stand as well as any man, and so could you if you wore common sense
shoes.”
Reader, this is not all you could do “as well as a man” if your feet
were your untrammeled servants.
Do you say that these shoes are inelegant and you can not endure them?
No sensible person can really suppose that there is anything in itself
ugly or even unsightly in the form of a perfect human foot; and yet all
attempts to construct shoes upon its model are constantly met with the
objection that something extremely inelegant must be the result. It
will perhaps be a form to which the eye is not accustomed; but there
is no more trite saying than the ordinary nature of fashion in her
dealings with our outward appearance, and we all know how anything that
has received her sanction is for the time being considered elegant and
tasteful, though a few years later it may come to be looked upon as
positively ridiculous.
That our eye would soon get used to admiring a different shape may
be easily proven by any one who will for a short time wear shoes
constructed upon a more correct principle. The prevailing shoe,
suggestive of cramped and atrophied toes, soon becomes positively
painful to look upon! These improved shoes are gradually gaining ground
even in the fashionable world. We see them worn by the best dressed
ladies on the streets of our cities. They are found in show cases and
windows of shoe-dealers who clothe the feet of aristocracy.
If one persists in wearing the customary shoe in pregnancy, the feet
may swell, and untold discomfort result. Relief is frequently obtained
at the expense of the husband’s slippers. Let him provide his wife
a pair of youth’s slippers at least two sizes larger than those she
ordinarily wears. This will save his Christmas gift and possibly teach
the wife a valuable lesson about common sense shoes.
In the _Union Under Garments_, or combination suits, there is a world
of comfort and freedom. No woman once adopting these garments, properly
fitted, will “back-slide” to the old chemise and drawers.
The chemise, as the word indicates, is of Arabic origin. Being made
of wash material, its original intent was to protect other clothing
from emanations of the body. In its native country it is high necked
and long sleeved. Its present uncomfortable style had its origin
with Parisian _demi-monde_. It constricts the shoulders, and affords
insufficient warmth to the arms and upper part of the back and chest.
The superior portion of the lungs needs even more protection than the
lower, especially on the back. The drawers can never be so adjusted
that the band will allow the free use and development of the muscles
upon which it presses.
The union suits can be found in dress reform rooms, and in most shops.
They are made of silk, all wool, half-wool, and lisle thread. Not being
able to procure them, one can herself readily convert the ordinary
undergarments into a union suit. Rip off the band from the drawers, try
them on with the vest, and adjust them perfectly. Remove the surplus
length in the front from the drawers, and in the back from the vest;
put them together with a lap seam, leaving the extra fullness of the
drawers in the back. In this way a satisfactory suit can be produced.
These can be worn winter and summer, if demanded by the needs of the
climate or individual.
The _chemiloon_ is a union of the chemise and drawers. In the summer
this garment can be made of cotton or linen, and worn with or without
the union under flannels. It can be trimmed and embroidered to one’s
taste. In the winter it should be of flannel or ladies’ cloth.
Chemiloon patterns can be obtained of pattern dealers. Do not expect
that other people’s patterns, or those that you buy will be perfectly
adapted to you. It is well to fit a suit from old material first. Be
sure that it is sufficiently long in the back. Shortness in the seat
is a prevailing fault with patterns for sale. Remedy this by putting a
two inch fold in the cloth on the side, where the back of the pattern
comes. The sleeves of these chemiloons should be long, especially the
flannel for winter. Remember always that the comfort of these garments
depends upon a perfect fit.
A _princess_ garment is a waist and skirt combined. This can be made
of muslin, pongee, or other wash silks. For extra warmth use of tennis
flannel. It can be cut from a polonaise or princess dress pattern,
having it about the length of an ordinary underskirt.
This undergarment can have eyelet lacings in the front darts and thus
make it adjustable to the increasing size.
A princess lining to a dress with the same dart lacings makes a
convenient _maternity gown_. The outside goods of any material can be
draped upon this according to taste or fashion.
_The Divided Skirt_ has become a popular garment with those making a
change in dress. This is made of pongee or other wash silks, mohair
or ladies’ cloth. It is cut like drawers, but has a width of 44 to 50
inches of goods in each leg. This is attached to a yoke, instead of
a band, and cut on the bias, to fit the hips. A combination of the
Divided Skirt and Bates Waist makes a very satisfactory garment. This
is made by cutting the front of the waist and the skirt or drawers in
one. The back of the skirt is cut separate from the waist, and made
longer at the top. The extra fullness is put in at the hips and back.
It should lap about two inches in the back. This is worn over a union
suit, and takes the place of all underskirts or petticoats.
_Equestrian Tights_ are now worn by many ladies as a complete
substitute for petticoats. These are usually black, and are woven of
silk, wool and cotton. Some ladies purchase those that cover the entire
body, like the Union Suits, others wear the drawers only. They can
be found in the prominent dry goods houses of our large cities. With
some fullness or drapery to the dress, the absence of skirts is not as
noticeable as one would suppose.
The dress itself is made on a princess lining, style and drapery being
adjusted and trimmed to suit the taste and need of the wearer.
Clothed in the above garments, with the dress loose enough for the
performance of every bodily function, one will feel as if she had
really broken chains, or escaped prison bars.
A tall, noble, brilliant, queenly woman had been a great sufferer from
disease, drugs, doctors and dress. To regain health, she had with
characteristic energy made a complete change in her garments. No one
who saw her will forget her electrifying expression of triumph as she
exclaimed: “For the first time in my life I am an emancipated woman.”
Freedom in dress had given her freedom to breathe, live, think, walk
and work. Freedom in dress, with physical training, makes it possible
for every young girl to possess the form of a Venus or Minerva.
What is a test of the dress being sufficiently loose? This is good: lie
flat upon the back, and with the hips slightly elevated, be able to
take a full, deep and prolonged respiration without hindrance. Another
is to hold a book between the tips of the middle fingers, raise the
arms _perfectly perpendicular_ and parallel to the sides of the head,
inflate the lungs, and promenade the room. If this can be done easily,
the dress offers no restraint for any movement.
By the ordinary dress, even if there is not actually tight lacing,
simply a _snug fit_, we get alterations in the shape and position of
the organs. “When it is considered that the organs compressed are
those by which the important functions of respiration, circulation and
digestion are carried on, as well as those essential to the proper
development and healthy growth of a fetus, it is no wonder that people
suffer who have brought themselves under such conditions.”
The present styles afford many pretty ways for making wrappers and
snug-fitting gowns. In the true woman any morbid sensibility in regard
to appearance will be lost sight of in the great good gained for
herself and child by having a healthful dress.
Hark! I hear a distant murmur of questions. From many, these reach my
ear: Are the garments you describe all a lady is to wear? Does she not
need a corset? What if one cannot hold herself up without a corset?
Will she wear a corset under or over the princess waist? Does a loose
corset do any harm? Wouldn’t you recommend Madame Foy’s corset? Won’t
she be benefited by a health (?) corset? What about health reform
corsets? And faster and faster the questions come, until my ears are
deafened with corset! corset! corset!
If women had _common sense_, instead of _fashion sense_, the corset
would not exist. There are not words in the English language to express
my convictions upon this subject. The corset, more than any other one
thing, is responsible for woman’s being the victim of disease and
doctors.
Mark this: that part of the body around which we place corset and bands
has no bony structure for its protection. This very pliability renders
it possible for one unconsciously yet easily to produce a deformity in
a few weeks.
Who can begin to prophesy the untold and manifold sufferings for which
a factory full of corsets must be responsible? And where is the end? If
the wearer only had to pay the penalty with pain and weakness, we might
hold our peace.
What is the effect upon the child? One-half of the children born in
this country die before they are five years of age. Who can tell how
much this state of things is due to the enervation of maternal life
forces by this one instrument of torture?
I am a temperance woman. No one can realize more than I the devastation
and ruin alcohol in its many tempting forms has brought to the human
family. Still I solemnly believe that in weakness and deterioration of
health, the corset has more to answer for than intoxicating drinks.
What affects the physical affects the spiritual; what affects the
animal life affects the mental. Given a physical body dwarfed and
deteriorated in any respect, and a corresponding deficiency in
spiritual, intellectual and moral worth is likely to exist. Look at our
men and women who have been grand and successful in achievement, noble
in purpose, and vigorous in intellect. With few exceptions they are
men and women of harmonious, strong, athletic physiques. Women cannot
possibly attain to this condition under the restricting influence of
boned and steeled garments.
“What possible harm can a corset do if worn loose?” My friend, put a
band quilted full of cords and bones upon the arm of your active boy,
whose athletic feats are your pride; let him wear it ever so loosely,
and witness the deteriorating effect upon his biceps and triceps
muscles! Put a similar bandage upon your pet cat or dog, just as
loosely as can be retained, and watch the result upon respiration,
digestion and circulation! Mark my word, in less than a month it will
take more than pepsin to make the food of that animal digest, or
magnetic insoles to keep its feet warm.
At the close of one of my medical conversations a bright, intelligent
young married woman took me aside and asked me very confidentially how
far advanced a woman should be in pregnancy before she laid aside the
corset. I had for several days repeated and reiterated in strongest
terms my convictions that it was _always_ to be deprecated and _never_
tolerated. Consequently I was greatly astonished at the question. I
replied: “Is it possible that with all these illustrations and with all
this strong language I have not made myself plain? Have I talked in
vain?” Then loud enough for the group standing about to hear, I said,
“_The corset should not be worn for two hundred years before pregnancy
takes place._ Ladies, it will take that time at least to overcome the
ill effects of this garment which you think so essential!”
Abandoning the corset _entirely_ and adopting a physiological dress,
aside from lessening suffering in pregnancy, goes very far toward
alleviating, yes, even _curing_ many of the diseases peculiar to women.
Once a woman begins to _think_ outside of Fashion’s dictum, she fully
thinks herself out of the _bars_ of dress. Once free, her road to
recovery is made clear. With other common sense rules of living, health
becomes restored and precious life saved.
In an Iowa college, the professor of natural history, a petite lady,
became very enthusiastic upon examining some dress reform goods, and
gave quite a lecture to the students upon their advantages. She said
that in her school days and first years of teaching she could not walk
over three blocks without fatigue and actual pain. When her day’s work
was done she was compelled to lie down, being unable to see friends or
do extra work. Four years previously, however, she had adopted “common
sense” shoes, the reform underwear, also a skirt supported by a waist,
and the dress itself made loose and light, as well as short enough to
clear the mud in walking. By this change in her habits she had become
able to walk miles in her search for specimens, and knew nothing of
weariness or the necessity of rest, save the regular hours of sleep.
This is not an exaggerated case, and thousands of delicate, tired,
useless girls can become strong and useful if they will “go and do
likewise.”
Prof. N. H. Flower closes his admirable work upon “Fashion in
Deformity” with these valuable thoughts: “The true form of the human
body is familiar to us from classic models. It is, however, quite
possible that some of us may think the present fashionable shape the
more beautiful of the two. In that case it would be well to consider
whether we are sure our judgment is sound on this subject. Let us
remember that to the Australian, the nose-peg is an admired ornament;
that to the Thlinkeet, the Botocudos and Congo negro, the lip dragged
down by a heavy plug, and the ears distended by huge disks of wood,
are things of beauty; that the Malay prefers teeth that are black. Let
us carefully ask ourselves whether we are sure that in leaving nature
as a standard of the beautiful, and adopting a purely conventional
one, we are not falling into an error exactly similar to that of
all these people whose tastes we are so ready to condemn. The fact
is, that in admiring such distorted forms as the constricted waist
and pointed foot, we are opposing our judgment to the Maker of our
bodies, we are neglecting the criterion offered by nature; we are
simply putting ourselves on the level in point of taste with those
Australians, Botocudos, and negroes. We are taking fashion, and nothing
better, higher or truer for our guide, and may we not well ask with
Shakespeare: “Seest thou not what a deformed thief this fashion is?”
Prof. O. S. Fowler, ever a staunch and fearless advocate for health and
temperance, only emphasizes what all sensible persons must believe:
“_Tight lacing_ is the chief cause of infantile mortality. That it
inflicts the very worst forms of physical ruin on woman and offspring
is self-evident. No evil equals that of curtailing this maternal supply
of breath; nor does anything do this as effectually as tight lacing.
If it were merely a female folly, or if its ravages were confined
to its perpetrators, it might be allowed to pass unrebuked; but it
strikes a _deadly blow_ at the very life of the race. By girting in
the lungs, stomach, heart and diaphragm, it cripples every one of
the life-manufacturing functions, impairs the circulation, prevents
muscular action, and lays siege to the child-bearing citadel itself. By
the want of abundant maternal vitality, air, exercise and digestion,
is this practice murderous to both. It often destroys germinal life
before or soon after birth, by most effectually cramping, inflaming
and weakening the vital apparatus and stopping the flow of life at
its fountain-head. It slowly but surely takes the lives of tens of
thousands, and so effectually weakens and diseases millions more,
as ultimately to cause their untimely death. No tongue can tell, no
finite mind conceive the misery it has produced, nor the number of
deaths directly or indirectly of young women, bearing mothers, and
weakly infants it has occasioned; besides the millions on millions
it has caused to drag out a short but wretched existence. If this
murderous practice continues another generation, it will bury all the
middle and upper classes of women and children, and leave propagation
to the coarse-grained but healthy lower classes. Most alarmingly has
it already deteriorated our very race in physical strength, power and
constitution, energy and talents. Let those who had rather bury than
raise their children marry tight lacers.
“Moralists, Christians, reformers, philosophers and philanthropists of
all sects and grades, come, let us unite in presenting a frowning front
to this race-ruining practice, and bachelors insist on _natural waists
or no wives_, and frown down a practice your patronage imposes! Woman
will cease to lace just when you cease to require it.”
Would it not gladden the heart of Prof. Fowler to see the present
wide-spread movement among women for _correct dress_, and also to know
that the number is on the increase of those who understand and realize
their obligations to posterity. The true mother is everywhere to be
found.
CHAPTER VIII.
HYGIENE IN PREGNANCY--BATHING.
FREQUENT BATHING in pregnancy is of the greatest importance. When the
“water cure” fever first ran like wild-fire through the country, many
were alarmed lest the child-bearing woman should do herself great harm.
Although the _cold_ water washing was carried to great excess, few
cases came to light where any one was injured by it, while hundreds
bear testimony that they were greatly benefited. Relief was obtained
for the suffering both during pregnancy and at confinement. One step
at least was taken in advance which never can be retraced. Previous to
that time women were actually afraid of water. It might be well for
others, but tradition and prejudice taught that if a pregnant woman
bathed in cold water, she ran great risk, and if her hands even were
put in cold water after confinement _she would surely die_.
The “water cure” people took the other extreme. The woman doused and
swam the whole nine months, and fifteen minutes after her child was
born, she would be lifted into a full or sitz-bath of cold water. The
doctor and the good grandmother could not account for the fact that
she survived, save by attributing it to some special providence. Forty
years only have worked wondrous changes, and now all intelligent women
know the luxury of the bath in this condition, and many recognize its
therapeutic value.
The processes of nutrition and waste are more active in the pregnant
woman than in any other. Her condition is more like that of a child,
consequently she can bathe more frequently with advantage.
THE SPONGE OR TOWEL BATH, taken in the morning two or three times a
week, is stimulating and invigorating. No more than two minutes is
required for this bath. It should be taken immediately upon rising,
while the temperature of the body is warm enough to insure thorough
reaction. The colder one can use the water, the more sure the reaction.
The first few mornings bathe the upper part of the body only. In
a short time one can venture upon the whole surface. It should be
followed by friction with a Turkish towel or coarse mitten, and if
the person is not strong, with rubbing by an assistant. Then for five
minutes take deep inspirations of fresh air, and the people are few who
do not _feel good_ after this ablution. It is par excellence the “ounce
of preventive.” It is a “coat of mail” against colds, catarrhs and
influenzas. To the pregnant woman it is life and vitality, and atones
for a multitude of physical sins.
A man once wrote that, “by wearing magnetic appliances, ozone was
developed in the blood.” Whether he knew what ozone was, or what
condition the blood was in when ozone was in it, is not proven. If,
however, it is possible to get a condition in which you feel that there
is “ozone in the blood,” it is after one of these quick, cold, tonic,
invigorating baths. My experience in prescribing it has proven that
it is not debilitating, even when taken twice daily. Too many warm
baths may, in time, reduce the physical standard. But simply wetting
the surface, with hand, sponge or towel in cold water, or, what some
prefer, dashing cold water quickly over the body, is a decided tonic.
A little courage and perseverance is required to form the habit--once
formed, few relinquish it. If no reaction follows, and the person
remains cold, it should not be persevered in.
THE SITZ-BATH is one of the most desirable baths for the pregnant
woman. A tin tub made especially for this bath (procured of dealers in
tinware), requiring but little water, ought to be in every household.
If unable to procure one, a small-sized wash-tub can be used, raising
one side on a block of wood. Tepid water is the most beneficial, unless
for the relief of pain or acute inflammation, when hot water should
be used. Commence taking it with the temperature at 90° Fahrenheit,
and gradually reduce it, until, during the last months, it is as low
as 60°. Remain in it from three to eight minutes, then have towel and
hand friction, followed by rest in the reclining position, and sleep
if possible. If it causes a rush of blood to the head, remain in for a
less time, and put a wet napkin around the neck.
From ten to twelve o’clock in the morning is the best time to take this
bath. If one has not time to rest at this hour, it can be taken just
before retiring. Without the rest, half the value is lost. This bath
is a tonic, sedative, alterative, laxative, diuretic, anti-spasmodic,
anti-periodic, anti-phlogistic, etc.; indeed it will do almost
anything desired to be done for the pregnant woman. It restores nervous
equilibrium, it removes obstructions from the surface, is invaluable
for portal congestion, and for inflammation of any of the abdominal
or pelvic viscera. Nothing is better for insomnia, facial neuralgia,
nausea, biliousness, constipation, hemorrhoids, cramps, varicose veins,
weariness, headache, nervousness, etc., etc.
A woman has omitted the most effectual remedial agent for pathological
symptoms, if she has not tried this bath; and not once only, but has
taken it every day, or twice a day for at least a month. She may have
taken any amount of remedies, may have used outside appliances, but if
she has not had this tepid sitz-bath, she has omitted the _very best_
and surest means of relief. It cannot do harm, and it _can do great
good_.
For severe pain from colic, neuralgia or acute inflammation, the bath
should be taken warm, and in some instances, quite hot; this should be
continued fifteen or twenty minutes, protecting the patient carefully
with blankets, after which she should, without removing them, lie on
the bed and rest.
HOT FOMENTATIONS are usually administered by applying to the affected
part a flannel cloth wrung out of simple or medicated hot water. Some
physicians prescribe bags of hops, tanzy, smart-weed, etc., or Indian
meal or flaxseed poultice, to be kept hot in a steamer. All these
appliances are remonstrated against by patients and nurses. They are
disagreeable and untidy. The bed gets wet and soiled, the patient
likewise. Moist heat is wanted, but one is more likely to get moist
cold, which has a dampening effect upon both body and mind. The
nurse scalds her hands, ruins clothing, and execrates the doctor who
prescribed them.
The very best method of making hot applications is by means of the
rubber “hot water bottle.” These hold from one to four quarts, and
can be readily procured. Boiling water can be used in them, and the
heat will be retained many hours. They are soft, pliable and agreeable
to the touch, and adjust themselves to every part of the body. When
moisture is desired, place a wet cloth under them. _No well regulated
family should be without a hot water bottle._
When, however, this is lacking, there are several convenient modes of
making hot applications. Put part of a sheet or blanket around the
patient, to protect the bed and clothing. Then lay a newspaper upon a
cook stove, or flat top of a heating stove. Wring a large flannel cloth
dry as possible out of cold or tepid water. Lay it between the folds of
the paper, and it will soon steam hotter than can be handled. Take it
to the patient and place it underneath the sheet, in contact with the
body. Have another cloth heating, to take the place of this one when it
ceases to be hot. The moist cloth can also be kept hot by putting it on
a tin plate which is in the oven or on top of a stove. The virtue of a
fomentation is in the heat, and it must be kept hot.
Another still more simple method, desirable where the patient must
wait upon herself, is to place over the part affected a cloth wrung
from warm water; then lay over it a hot stove lid, wrapped securely in
paper. This will retain heat for a long time, and gives the patient
opportunity for rest.
THE HOT FOMENTATION is a valuable remedial agent. It is rare to find
acute suffering, where it is not indicated. It alleviates neuralgia and
rheumatic pain. It is good for biliousness, constipation and torpid
liver. It relieves colic and flatulence, and is of special value in
menstrual pain or suppression. Thoroughly applied, acute diseases may
be arrested without other aids.
The precautions that must be taken in using hot fomentations,
especially if moist, is to have them hot and keep them hot while they
are continued. When removed, replace them with dry flannel or bathe
the part in tepid water, rub dry and put on the ordinary clothing. The
latter is desirable when used in chronic affections. In acute attacks,
especially of inflammation, it is well to follow or alternate with
a compress from cold water. Don’t use paregoric, Dover’s powders,
morphine, or even a homeopathic preparation until you have tried
thoroughly the hot fomentation. Remember that when you get relief from
an application like this you will not suffer from the poisonous effects
of drugs. You rally more quickly, and are not as liable to another
attack, for nature has had a better opportunity to throw off diseased
conditions.
THE COLD COMPRESS is a convenient, safe, desirable and effectual
domestic remedy. Like the fomentation, it requires knowledge and
skill in its application. Take a worn linen towel, wring dry from
_cold_ water, apply to the affected part, then cover well with several
thicknesses of flannel, securely excluding the air. Reaction soon
follows, warmth ensues, and the same or better result is obtained than
from a poultice. It can remain on one or two hours or else all night.
Should always be followed with thorough bathing in cold water and
friction.
_This compress must not be wet in warm water._ In that case it _grows
cold and keeps cold_. If wet in cold water, the colder the better, it
sends the blood from the surface, and the _reaction causes it to get
warm and keep warm_. To make it subserve its purpose these three rules
must be observed.
1. Wring from cold water.
2. Wring dry.
3. Cover thoroughly with flannel.
The compress should never be continued where warmth and reaction
can not be obtained. In persons with a cold surface and a sluggish
circulation it is well to precede it for half an hour with a hot
fomentation.
The compress is beneficial both for acute and chronic inflammations.
In sore throats, croup, bronchitis and inflammation of the lungs it is
invaluable. Many persons use no other means for croup, wringing the
cloth from ice-cold water. In inflammation of the abdominal and pelvic
viscera it is equally good. In pregnancy, if there is irritation in
the stomach, congestion of the liver, constipation or distress of the
bowels, accompanied by heat, the compress in these regions will be
beneficial.
The heat and dull aching pain in the back, that is so often complained
of, is the result of some irritation in the uterus. The compress worn
at night or when taking the daily rest, will give great relief. It
can simply be put across the back, or may extend entirely around the
abdomen. The frequency and length of time continued must depend upon
the case.
THE FOOT AND LEG BATHS are good derivative appliances. Taken warm they
will relieve nervousness, sleeplessness and irritability.
For habitual cold feet there is no better remedy than bathing the feet
in cold water at bed-time. Have everything ready for retiring. In the
foot-tub put three-fourths of an inch of cold water. Hold the feet in
that half a minute. Then dry with coarse towel and spat them well with
the hand. The reaction gives warm feet for the night, and if persisted
in for three or four weeks, habitual cold feet are often cured.
THE TURKISH OR THERMAL BATH affords one of the best, surest and
safest sanative and therapeutic agents known to medical science. In
a well-appointed establishment for this bath, the subject enters a
room heated from 130° to 160° Fahrenheit; remains there until copious
perspiration is induced. He is then taken to a room, temperature
about 90° deg., where he is laid upon a slab or table and thoroughly
shampooed with soap and water. This is followed by a spray, douche,
shower or plunge bath; then he is dried and thoroughly manipulated by
an attendant, after which he lies upon a couch from half to one hour
to cool and rest. This bath is an expensive luxury, and not within the
reach of rich or poor in any but our larger towns and cities.
A TURKISH OR THERMAL BATH AT HOME, with a simple and inexpensive
apparatus, has equal value as a hygienic or therapeutic agent. Any
woman with ordinary _common_ or _nurse sense_ can give these baths
satisfactorily by observing the following directions:
Take a chair with a wooden seat, an armed office chair preferable,
place in it a piece of flannel blanket so folded that it will fall
down in front; under the chair put a coffee cup one-third filled with
alcohol. If any other vessel is used, be sure the opening is no larger
than a cup, as this gives sufficient surface for the combustion of the
amount of alcohol; have a foot tub in front of the chair, with warm
water for the feet.
The patient is seated in nature’s raiments only, or as Mark Twain says,
“in her complexion,” enveloped closely in woolen blankets. One of these
is put over her in front and the other at the back, outside of the
chair. After she is seated and covered, light the alcohol with a taper.
Don’t risk burning yourself by using a match. The subject will begin to
perspire in from three to five minutes. If blood rushes to the head,
giving a red face and feeling of fullness in the brain, put a napkin
round the neck, wrung from tepid water. This is better than wetting the
head, and it has the advantage of not taking the “crimp” out of her
hair.
If she is faint or sick at the stomach, as one may be with the first
bath, or very _bilious_, let her drink copiously of hot water or very
weak ginger tea. If the perspiration is slow in starting, or if the
heat is excessive, the surface may be bathed with a sponge dipped in
cold water. Let her remain fifteen to twenty minutes, or longer if
necessary, to induce copious perspiration. She can then be bathed and
rubbed sitting in the chair. If weak, or if longer perspiration is
desired, let her lie upon bed or couch enveloped in the blankets, where
she can be bathed under cover if necessary. Let the manipulation be
thorough. Squeeze, press and pinch every muscle in the body and spat
the surface with the ends of the fingers, having the wrist free. Using
the entire arm and palm of the hand makes hard work, and does not give
good results. If the attendant is magnetic, the fingers cause tingling,
like hundreds of needles. Let the patient lie for an hour after this
treatment to rest, cool and sleep.
How readily and easily this luxury and remedial agent can be carried
into every home! The apparatus required is simply a wooden-seated
chair, two and a fraction woolen blankets, an old cup, a foot tub and
five cents’ worth of alcohol.
This bath should be taken at least two hours after eating. If taken
sooner, it is nearly impossible to induce perspiration, besides
interfering with digestion. For invalids, the preferable time is about
ten or eleven in the forenoon. The business man or woman can take it
upon rising in the morning, or just before retiring. If necessary, one
can go out immediately after the bath. There is no _danger of taking
cold_ if one is bathed in cold or tepid water, and has thorough massage.
As a _sanative measure_ the _Thermal Bath_ can be taken at least once a
week; for diseases, the frequency depends upon the case.
It is not weakening. Invalids, unable to sit up, gain strength with
the daily use of this bath. In the first renovating process that is
induced, one may have a _sense_ of weakness or faintness, similar to
the effects of medicine that rouses up the vital functions, but the
cases are rare that this does not pass off in a few hours, leaving
a corresponding gain. The _Thermal Bath_ is valuable in health and
disease.
1. It cleanses and promotes the healthy action of the skin as no other
bath can do, thus relieving the other excretory organs.
2. It equalizes the circulation of the blood, and removes all local
congestions of any and every part, which is one of the most important
things to be accomplished in the treatment of diseased conditions.
3. It is the quickest, easiest and most effectual means known to
man for purifying the blood. It literally washes the blood of its
impurities. The patient drinks pure water, it is absorbed, passes
into and mingles with the blood, by which it is carried to the
capillary network of the skin and poured upon the surface in the form
of perspiration; not pure as when it was taken into the stomach, but
mingled with the impurities of the blood. If this were its only use,
the Thermal Bath would be invaluable.
4. It soothes and tranquilizes the nervous system, sweeps the cobwebs
of care from the brain, leaving it clear and refreshed.
The Thermal Bath is _specially_ useful in the treatment of all diseases
arising from impurity of the blood, inactivity of the skin, local
inflammations, or unbalanced nervous action. It is invaluable for
Drug Poisoning, Scrofula, Consumption, Diseases of the Skin, Dropsy,
Remittent and Intermittent Fevers, Coughs, Colds, Catarrh, Croup, Gout,
Rheumatism, Neuralgia, Diseases of the Liver and Kidneys, Bronchitis,
Chronic Diarrhea, etc.
THE THERMAL BATH will break up a cold in its first stages, and at any
time it will give certain alleviation. For ague it should be taken
about the time the chill is anticipated, and given thoroughly. The
cases are rare that will resist the third or fourth bath, using no
other means.
In chronic rheumatism it has no equal in therapeutics. For this it can
be taken every day. Some have taken twice a day with benefit. Cases
long resisting all other methods of treatment have been entirely cured
by this bath.
Most eruptive diseases are helped by it. A lady had salt-rheum all
over her body. A ten-cent piece could not be laid on a spot free from
eruption. She took these baths _daily_ for three months, without any
other remedy, and cured herself. She gained in strength, flesh and
appetite, and besides, found herself freed from many minor ailments.
The Thermal bath is valuable in pregnancy, when there is dryness of
the skin, coldness of the surface, with sensitiveness to cold. If the
pregnant woman has any of the diseases mentioned above, she will find
this bath just as efficacious as if she was not _enciente_. She should
have a good, skillful attendant, and take ample time to rest after
it. Do not fear disastrous results. Ladies have taken them once or
twice a week during the entire pregnancy with benefit. The following
testimonials only emphasize what they have written.
They purify and invigorate.--_D. Wark, M. D._
Unsurpassed, as combining luxury and utility.--_R. M. Lackey, M. D._
The Turks have always considered the public baths of Constantinople
as supplying the place of a certain number of hospitals, which would
otherwise have to be built.--_Dr. Haughton._
Ladies, note this: The use of the Turkish bath renders the complexion
more delicate and brilliant--the eye becomes clearer and brighter--the
whole person is rendered fragrant, and all personal charms are
enhanced.--_Dr. Barter._
After a day of labor and care, which had quite exhausted me, I have
just taken one of the Turkish baths, and come out feeling as completely
rested as when I arose from my bed in the morning--in short, as good as
new.--_L. H. Thomas, M. D._
The only sure cure for a cold is the Turkish bath. It opens the pores
and starts the system afresh into working order. I cheerfully commend
it, even to persons in good health, as the best means to keep the
secretions healthy.--_Dr. D. F. Clinton._
Rely upon it, it is the _ne plus ultra_ of baths.--_Dr. J. E.
Westervelt._
CHAPTER IX.
HYGIENE IN PREGNANCY--DIET.
PROPER FOOD in pregnancy is not more necessary for health and strength
of the mother, than for giving normal development to the child. If
the food does not afford suitable nourishment, or is not properly
assimilated, pathological conditions inevitably result. Besides, few
have learned that the _kind_ of nutriment taken has much to do with the
ease or severity of labor.
The food of the pregnant woman should consist of articles that are
nutritious, but not stimulating or heating to the blood. It should be
eaten at regular intervals and under favorable conditions.
An important matter is to avoid fluids while eating. Liquid, taken
into the stomach, must be removed by absorbents before the gastric
fluid can be secreted to dissolve the food and convert it into chyle. A
strong, healthy stomach may perform both processes easily. One weakened
by dyspepsia or the reflex action in pregnancy may not be able to
accomplish this double duty; consequently very much is gained by taking
the food dry. Drink, if there is thirst, half an hour before a meal,
and not within three hours after. Eat less salt and there will be less
thirst.
Avoid all condiments, and for the most part _fats_ and _sweets_. The
two latter are pure carbon, therefore cause and increase febrile
conditions. Sufficient carbon can be obtained in the farinaceous food.
Lean meats, the very best beef, mutton boiled, roasted or smothered,
cooked quickly and rare, and wild game may be eaten by some without
injury. But owing to their stimulating elements, and their effects upon
the formation of character, parents desiring to give the world the best
reproduction of themselves will avoid the use of animal food.
A woman has for her diet a choice from all the grains, all the
vegetables and all the fruits. When a working animal thrives and
retains its strength upon two articles only, viz., corn and straw or
oats and hay, can not the human make a bill of fare of sufficient
variety to please the most fastidious out of all the grains, fruits
and vegetables? If foods were ordinarily chosen to supply the _needs_
of wasted tissues rather than to pander to perverted and capricious
appetites, there would be less necessity of a special diet for
pregnancy.
Physiologists have within a few years advanced the theory that if a
pregnant woman avoids food rich in elements that nourish and develop
bone, labor would be comparatively easy and painless. This theory was
first made known in a small pamphlet published in England in 1841. It
was written by Mr. Rowbotham, a practical chemist of London. His wife
had been such a sufferer in two confinements that he had reason to
fear she would not survive the third. The work gives an account of an
experiment which met with such favorable results that he felt it his
duty to publish it for the benefit of others. His theory was that “in
proportion as a woman subsists during pregnancy upon aliment that is
free from earthy and bony matter, will she avoid pain and danger in
delivery; hence the more ripe fruit, acid fruit in particular, and
the less of other kinds of food, but particularly of bread or pastry
of any kind is consumed, the less will be the danger and suffering in
childbirth.
“The subject of this experiment had, within three years, given birth
to two children; and not only suffered extremely in the parturition,
but for two or three months previous to delivery her general health
was very indifferent, her lower extremities exceedingly swelled and
painful; the veins so full and prominent as to be almost bursting;
in fact to prevent such a catastrophe, bandages had to be applied;
and for the last few weeks of gestation, her size and weight were
such as to prevent her attending to her usual duties. She had on this
occasion, two years and a half after her last delivery, advanced _full
seven months_ in pregnancy before she commenced the experiment at
her husband’s earnest instance; her legs and feet were, as before,
considerably swelled; the veins distended and knotty, and her health
diminishing.
“She began the experiment in the first week of January, 1841. She
commenced by eating an apple and an orange the first thing in the
morning, and again at night. This was continued for about four days,
when she took just before breakfast, in addition to the apple and
orange, the juice of a lemon mixed with sugar, and at breakfast two
or three roasted apples, taking a very small quantity of her usual
food, viz., wheaten bread and butter. During the forenoon she took
an orange or two, and an apple. For dinner took fish or flesh in a
small quantity, and potatoes, greens and apples, the apples sometimes
peeled and cut into pieces; sometimes boiled whole with the potatoes;
sometimes roasted before the fire and afterward mixed with sugar. In
the afternoon she sucked an orange or ate an apple or some grapes, and
always took some lemon-juice mixed with sugar or treacle.
“At first the fruits acted strongly on the stomach and intestines,
but this soon ceased, and she could take several lemons without
inconvenience. For supper she again had roasted apples or a few
oranges, and rice or sago boiled in milk; sometimes the apples peeled
and cored, were boiled along with the rice or sago. On several
occasions she took for supper apples and raisins, or figs with an
orange cut among them, and sometimes all stewed together. Two or three
times a week she took a tablespoonful of a mixture made of the juice
of two oranges, one lemon, half a pound of grapes, and a quarter of a
pound of sugar or treacle. The sugar or treacle served mainly to cover
the taste of the acids, but all saccharine matter is very nutritious.
The object in giving the acids was to dissolve as much as possible the
earthy or bony matter which she had taken with her food in the first
seven months of her pregnancy.
“She continued this course for six weeks, when to her _surprise and
satisfaction, the swelled and prominent state of the veins_, which
existed before she began this regimen, had _entirely subsided_; her
legs and feet, which were also swelled considerably, had returned to
their former state; and she became so light and active she could run
up and down a flight of twenty stairs, with more ease than before she
was pregnant. Her health became unwontedly excellent, and scarcely an
ache or a pain affected her up to the night of her delivery. Even her
breasts, which at the time she commenced the experiment, as well as
during her former pregnancies, were sore and tender, became entirely
free from pain, and remained in the very best condition after delivery
and during nursing.”
It is evident Mr. Rowbotham obtained more than he anticipated for his
wife. He had only expected to arrest or decrease the development of
bone, but by eating so largely of acid fruits, the inflammatory or
“bilious” condition was overcome. The oxygen of the acids united with
the excess of carbon previously taken, thus relieved the pathological
symptoms under which she was suffering. It is doubtful whether the
final favorable results would have been attained had this not been
the case, as prolonged suffering often accompanies a premature labor,
even when there is little osseous development. The fact that Mrs. R.’s
general health was so much improved adds to the interest and importance
of the experiment.
He continues: “At nine o’clock A.M., after having cleaned her
apartments, she was in the yard shaking a carpet, which she did with as
much ease as any one else could have done. At half-past ten she said
she believed her ‘time was come,’ and the accoucheur was sent for. At
one o’clock the child was born, and the surgeon had left the room. He
knew nothing of the experiment being made, but on being asked on paper
by the husband two days afterward if he could ‘pronounce it as safe and
as easy a delivery as he generally met with,’ he replied on paper: ‘I
hereby testify that I attended Mrs. Rowbotham on the 3d inst., and that
she had a safe labor and more easy than I generally meet with.’ On his
asking the midwife if she thought it as easy as usual, she replied:
‘Why, I should say that a more easy labor I never witnessed--I never
saw such a thing, and I have been at a great many labors in my time!’
“The child, a boy, was finely proportioned and exceedingly soft,
his _bones resembling gristle_. He became of large size and very
graceful, athletic and strong as he grew up. The diet of his mother was
immediately changed, and she ate bread and milk and all articles of
food in which phosphate of lime is to be found, and which had been left
out before. She also got up from her confinement immediately and well.
After her previous delivery, July, 1838, full ten days elapsed before
she could leave her bed, and then she swooned at the first attempt; on
this occasion, March, 1841, she left her bed the fourth day, and not
only washed, but partly dressed herself. Had she not been influenced by
custom and also been somewhat timid, she might have done so sooner. To
be assisted appeared like a burlesque to her, not to say annoyance. She
had no assistance from medicine.
“During former pregnancies, she had subsisted very much on bread,
puddings, pies, and all kinds of pastry, having an idea that solid food
of this kind was necessary to support the fetus. Nutritious food can be
had without this hard and bony element, which is so large an ingredient
of wheaten flour. Sago, tapioca, rice, etc., have little of it.”
This is a remarkable case, indeed, in some respects seems almost
incredible. The theory expounded certainly deserves consideration. If
there is any reasonable method by which the throes of parturition can
be mitigated, women want to and ought to know it.
I have tested this theory thoroughly, and know many physicians who
have instructed their patients accordingly. For a number of years
I have been teaching it to women in _conversations_, and have many
testimonials of good results. One commencing to practice this method at
the beginning of pregnancy need not eat so plentifully of the fruit as
did Mrs. R.
A woman who, all her life, has violated natural laws, and consequently
has been an invalid, is diseased by deleterious diet and deformed by
unnatural modes of dress, can not expect to have a perfectly painless
labor. Even such can, however, do much to mitigate her suffering by
fidelity to these teachings. Like Mrs. R., comfort, health, strength
and vivacity can be obtained during pregnancy, and the _agony_ of
parturition, that usually continues from twenty-four to forty-eight
hours, can be reduced both in duration and violence. The consequence
will be a speedy restoration of the organs to a normal condition.
For further proof of this theory, the reader’s attention is called to
the following notable experience: A Mrs. W., the wife of a prominent
judge, in the northern part of Michigan, is a woman of fine physique
and apparently robust health. She is the mother of four children.
With the first three, she suffered prolonged and agonizing labor,
lasting in the expulsive stage from thirty to fifty hours. Becoming
pregnant again, her heart was filled with terror lest she should not
survive the ordeal. She was four months advanced in pregnancy when she
became acquainted with the “fruit diet” theory, and lived accordingly,
subsisting almost entirely upon fruits, rice and vegetables.
Her health became unusually good. The pains, aches and discomforts she
had experienced during the last months of previous pregnancies were
entirely wanting. The time of delivery had arrived. At five o’clock in
the morning she was suddenly awakened with a severe cramp in her limbs.
She arose and walked the floor without relief. Returning to the bed,
she obtained ease by applications of warmth and friction.
She fell into a quiet sleep, which lasted, perhaps, half an hour. From
this she was awakened by a labor pain. The doctor was hastily summoned,
and although he lived across the street and came at once, the child
was born before his arrival. This occurred before seven o’clock, less
than two hours from the time she was awakened with the cramps. She
avers that the effort that expelled the child could not be called a
pain, only a sense of discomfort, or of continued pressure. Her child
is now three years old, is unusually healthy and robust. The bones
were pliable at birth, but soon solidified. When it is known that many
of the bones of the human body under any circumstances are not fully
ossified until about the 20th year, it need be no source of uneasiness
that the osseous structure is more than usually pliable at birth. In
most cases the gain for the child is as great as for the mother.
Mrs. K. with her first child had the usual three months of “morning
sickness,” which, in her case, continued the entire day. She suffered
fearfully from bloating and lameness, so much so that she was unable to
leave the house during the last weeks of gestation. She bathed in warm
water only frequently enough to answer the demands of cleanliness. Her
labor was both severe and prolonged. She had convulsions, and after
forty-eight hours of agony the child was removed with instruments. Her
confinement was followed by broken breasts, metritis and cellulitis,
and she was unable to sit up a moment until the child was five weeks
old.
With her second child she bathed freely in cold water and lived upon
the “fruit and rice” diet. She had no morning sickness, no heartburn,
no neuralgia, and scarcely any bloating or lameness. It may be said
that the child was born _without any labor_ as she _had no sensation
of pain_. She had slept unusually well, awakened about three o’clock
with the “breaking of the waters,” called her husband, who sprang
from the bed, but could not get dressed to call her mother who was
upstairs, before the lusty cry of the little stranger pressed him into
the work of an amateur accoucheur. She used cold water freely after her
confinement, and had no gathered breasts, no inflammation, or trouble
of any kind. Felt able to get about the house the following day; seemed
quite absurd to lie in bed. She speaks of it joyfully as one of the
greatest triumphs of her life, and preaches the doctrine to all she
meets. She could not be convinced that there is any need of childbirth
being accompanied by severe pain.
The following case came under my notice, and proves the efficacy of the
“fruit diet.”
Mrs. L. T. Colburn, living in Eureka, Kansas, is a woman, short,
fleshy, and what is called _solid built_. She has five children: with
the first four, her labors were severe and prolonged. Some of them only
terminated with instrumental interference. Relays of neighboring women
were worn out in rendering her the customary aid, and some of her male
relatives had to be pressed into service. During her last pregnancy,
_accidentally_, she lived upon fruit and rice, and her experience was
as unlike the former deliveries as night is unlike day. Her husband
kept a grocery and provision store, and the family lived over the
store; Mrs. C. was in the grocery frequently. She had a _craving_ for
lemons and oranges, and ate of them very freely, often consuming half a
dozen of either at one time. Her greediness for these fruits became the
by-word of friends and neighbors.
Previous to this time her eldest son, showing symptoms of irritation
of the brain, subsisted upon rice. From this the entire family came
to living almost totally upon rice. As usual, she made very elaborate
preparations for her confinement; her physician, nurse and friends were
engaged. At the end of nine months she was awakened with the “breaking
of the waters.” She aroused her husband. He thought he had better go
for a doctor. “Why, there is no use,” she said, “I have not a particle
of pain.” However, he feared there was something wrong, and after
calling her sister, went with all possible haste for medical aid.
The sister, too, was alarmed, and went to the next door to call a
neighbor. Before either returned, while Mrs. C. was entirely alone, the
child was born, _without the sensation of pain_.
Mrs. C. had talked her experience over many times with her husband and
friends, and was never able to account for the very marked difference
in her confinements until at my _conversations_ she heard me expound
the “rice and fruit diet” theory. With tears streaming from her eyes
she recounted her story; she said: “I am so glad to know that this is
not the result of chance--that it is the truth and philosophy by which
all may profit.”
Mrs. C. is a true woman; she told me she was willing her name and
experience should be used for the benefit of others, and handed me this
testimony:
“This is to certify that I know what Dr. Stockham teaches in regard to
‘Fruit Diet’ is true. When pregnant with my last child, I accidentally
lived upon rice and fruit, and my child was born with comparatively no
pain or sensible effort; could not get a physician in time, nor did I
need one. In four previous deliveries I had physicians with me over
twenty-four hours, and had prolonged and severe labors. I can account
for the difference only through the fruit and rice diet.
L. T. COLBURN,
May 2, 1882.
_Eureka, Kansas._
Food and drink should be chosen that lack in bone forming materials.
The carbonaceous elements of the grains are not objectionable, while
to prevent inflammation the free use of _fats_ and _sweets_ should
be avoided. Of the legumina and grains: beans, barley, rye and
oats, in order, contain the largest amount of mineral product; wheat
not quite so much; corn, almost none. Lean meat, chicken, oysters,
clams, lobster, crab, etc., abound in the mineral salts. All garden
vegetables, save beans, are desirable. Eggs, wheat and milk can be used
moderately.
_Feast on fruits freely_ should be the pregnant woman’s motto. The
oxygen of acid fruits unite with the carbon, hence besides dissolving
the phosphates tends to prevent inflammation.
That the _fruit diet_ prevents the diseases of pregnancy and the
sufferings of parturition, is a _boon to every woman_, and all knowing
this ought to preach it.
THE BILL OF FARE below suggests dishes desirable in pregnancy. Remember
always to add fruit. Next to lemon and oranges, apples, peaches
and plums should be chosen. For supper it is better to take simply
rice or corn gruel, or, if in summer, a dish of ice cream. It must
be understood that this bill of fare is _merely_ suggestive, being
intended to show that a variety of attractive dishes can be made
entirely compatible with the theory.
BREAKFAST FOR EACH DAY OF THE WEEK.
MONDAY.--Rice balls, baked apples, baked potatoes, corn muffins, corn
tea.
TUESDAY.--Japanese rice, apple sauce, creamed potato, corn-meal griddle
cakes, barley coffee.
WEDNESDAY.--Rice muffins, fresh fruit, rhubarb on toast, breakfast
patties, wheat coffee.
THURSDAY.--Hominy, stewed fruit, rice omelet, potato balls, corn
muffins, hot milk.
FRIDAY.--Rice griddle cakes, stewed potatoes, milk toast, sago and
cream, barley coffee.
SATURDAY.--Corn mush, tomato on toast, egg omelet, graham muffins, hot
milk.
SUNDAY.--Fresh fruit, codfish balls, baked potatoes, rice muffins,
chocolate, maple syrup.
DINNER FOR EACH DAY OF THE WEEK.
MONDAY.--Macaroni soup, asparagus on toast, mashed potatoes, sago-apple
pudding or rice snow.
TUESDAY.--Noodle soup, raw oysters, potato puffs, succotash, baked
macaroni, cold slaw, baked rice pudding or apple-tapioca pudding, fruit.
WEDNESDAY.--Tomato soup, fresh fish, mashed potatoes, beets, baked
Indian pudding or rhubarb pie.
THURSDAY.--Vegetable soup, tomatoes on toast, creamed potatoes, stewed
macaroni, corn, cracked-wheat pudding or cornstarch blanc-mange, fruit.
FRIDAY.--Rice soup, creamed codfish, green peas, spinach, boiled
potatoes, strawberry shortcake or fruit blanc-mange.
SATURDAY.--Potato soup, macaroni and cheese, vegetable oysters, creamed
cabbage, baked rice omelet, fruit shortcake, fruit.
SUNDAY.--Baked chicken, sweet potatoes, celery, unleavened bread,
potato puffs, corn, farina blanc-mange with jelly, nuts and fruits.
Copy this bill of fare and paste in the kitchen, where it will be handy
to refer to. If one is not accustomed to the use of grains it requires
some patience to learn to prepare the food so that it will prove both
nourishing and satisfactory to a delicate appetite. See chapter on
dietetics for recipes.
The following table has been carefully prepared from Payen’s food
analysis. It will afford assistance in selecting appropriate diet, and
should be studied with care.
ANALYSIS OF FOOD.
====================================================================
ARTICLES. | Nitrogenous | Carbonaceous |Mineral | Waste.| Water.
| | | Salts. | |
----------+-------------+-----------------+--------+-------+--------
Wheat[1] | 18 | 77 | 2 | 3 |
Rye[1] | 13 | 81 | 3 | 3 |
Barley[1] | 13 | 79 | 3 | 5 |
Oats[1] | 14 | 75 | 3 | 8 |
Maize[1] | 12 | 80 | 1 | 7 |
Buckwheat | 13 | 67 | 2 | 4 | 14
Rice | 5 | 82 | 0 | 4 | 9
Beans | 30 | 57 | 4 | 1 | 8
Lean Meat | 19 | 4 | 5 | | 72
Potatoes | 2 | 24 | 1 | | 73
White Fish| 18 | 3 | 1 | | 78
Eggs | 16 | 30 | 2 | | 52
Milk | 4 | 9 | 1 | | 86
Sugar } | | 100 | | |
Butter } | | | | |
----------+-------------+-----------------+--------+-------+--------
[1] A dry state. In any ordinary state grains contains 11 to 18 per
cent. water.
CHAPTER X.
HYGIENE IN PREGNANCY.--EXERCISE.
_Motion is a law of nature._ All animal life is full of activity.
Remaining quietly in closely heated rooms frequently causes disease in
the pregnant woman. Without exercise, food cannot be assimilated, the
processes of depurition are imperfect, the muscles lose tone and power,
and the nervous system becomes prostrated. On the other hand, excessive
labor often proves injurious. Some muscles are overtaxed and local
strains produced. It is difficult to give directions applicable to all
cases. Exercise should not be carried to actual fatigue. A weariness
that _makes the bed feel good_ can do no harm.
General housework is desirable, avoiding the more laborious portion,
like washing, scrubbing and heavy lifting. In housework one brings into
action nearly all the muscles of the body, with the exception of some
of the trunk and those used in deep respiration. Even these would not
lack development if clothing caused no restrictions. In the home work a
woman reaches, stoops, turns, walks, lifts and climbs stairs.
Housekeeping usually interests a woman during pregnancy if at no other
time. She is _nest building_, and the home work is a labor of love. She
rests in the quiet of a cozy, retired home. How easy to perform the
duties that the heart sanctions and impels!
If a woman has no functional derangement, walking and carriage riding
are invaluable. _She cannot be too much in the out-door air._ Properly
clothed, brisk walking brings into action nearly every muscle, and is
invigorating to every function. American women, as a rule, walk too
little. Wearing common sense shoes, having the arms free, the dress
short and loose, one can accustom herself to walking long distances
with positive benefit.
_Light gardening_ can not be too highly recommended. It has the
advantage of being _out doors_. It gives postures that bring into
action the unused muscles of the trunk and abdomen.
Coming in contact with the earth carries off any excess of electricity.
Besides, the result, either in a supply of fresh vegetables for the
table, or in floral decorations, are always satisfactory. My own
experience proves that getting out and working in the ground is a
cure-all for _ennui_, indigestion, torpid liver, anxiety, despondency;
indeed, any slight physical derangement or mental disturbance.
Possessing no garden to cultivate, lying flat upon the ground without
blanket or pillow answers a good purpose. More rest can be obtained
in five minutes than in five hours upon lounge or bed in the house.
Although this is contrary to all tradition and teaching, many have
proved its value.
What is the object to be gained by exercise in pregnancy? Evidently
absorption, nutrition and excretion. All the functions must be kept to
a normal standard, so that the processes of assimilation and waste can
be perfectly performed.
The involuntary muscles of respiration must be educated. Those
required in parturition must be developed and strengthened. There are
the muscles of the abdomen, pelvis, perineum and groin, also some of
the muscles of the trunk.
_Full and deep breathing_ is not only necessary to perfectly oxygenate
the blood and by the attendant motion to promote digestion, but it
makes room for the fetus as well. It expands the wall of the abdomen
and chest, and strengthens the sustaining power of the uterus. Is it
not possible, too, that it gives a needed _exercise_ to the fetus,
a constant gentle motion promoting the functions necessary to its
development and growth?
Breathing for the most part is an involuntary action, and in children
and animals is performed naturally from the abdomen or flank. “Look
upon that quietly sleeping cat on the rug. Its sole indication of
vitality is the bellows-like motion of its body in breathing. You must
also have observed that in _all_ domestic animals, at each respiration,
an undulating motion extends quite through the whole trunk, and that
this motion terminates only at the hindermost limbs. This is natural
respiration as it is performed throughout quadruped existence.
“Have you a perfectly healthy lady friend? Lay your hand upon her
and you will find that her abdomen rises and falls in exactly the
same way at every respiratory act; not only so, but that this act is
involuntarily performed in a more profound manner every few moments,
and that this increased motion operates _particularly_ upon the lowest
portion of the trunk.
“Observe in the same way your own person. If you are an invalid, you
will find this motion diminished, perhaps suppressed. When one half
breathes he only half lives.”
The lungs or air receptacles are enclosed within the walls of the chest
or thoratic cavity; beneath the lungs is the great breathing motor, the
diaphragm, of a convex shape when in repose. In all correct inhalation
the air filling the lungs flattens the diaphragm. This must result in
the expansion of the body adjacent to and surrounding the diaphragm.
Natural breathing should be accomplished without any upheaval of the
chest or hoisting of the shoulders.
That adults, and especially women, have not this deep _waist_
breathing is on account of disuse of the muscles. The young man who
is stoop-shouldered, walks the streets with his hands in his pockets
or sits bent over his desk, soon diminishes the action of these
muscles. The girl, deprived of pockets, may keep her head and shoulders
erect, yet by faulty dress, compresses and fixes the lower muscles of
respiration and breathes only with the top of the lungs. When either
man or woman has lost the ability to breathe deeply, a long road must
be traveled to educate the muscles back to natural use.
A man in Colorado had broncorrhœa and occasional lung hemorrhage.
Although he could walk six or seven miles he could not breathe below
the eighth rib. I said: “I did not know a man could live, and breathe
no deeper. By all your hopes of life, you must learn to breathe. To
be sure you can walk, but the muscles of your legs don’t help your
respiration. You must take exercises that develop the diaphragm and
abdominal muscles. Breathe down, _down_, and relieve the congestion
of the upper lungs.” He said: “I have consulted many physicians the
last six years, and why have none told me this before?” Several months
afterward he wrote me that by simply developing the lower muscles of
respiration, he had saved funeral expenses.
The gymnast and vocalist take pains to teach deep breathing, which is
simply restoring natural processes. The cow will low all day for her
lost offspring without fatigue or hoarseness, because she does it with
expiration, and breathes from her waist or flanks. The boy who roams
the woods, gathers nuts and hunts squirrels and keeps his hands out of
his pockets, can _hallo_ hours without weariness. He breathes naturally
and uses his voice naturally. He does only what the singer and orator
are taught to do, because through disuse this has become a _lost art_
to them.
The blacksmith or stone-cutter desiring to strike a heavy blow, does it
with expiration, and the breath is driven from the lungs with an _ugh!_
that is almost a groan. No matter what knotted muscles he may have upon
his arm, if the great converging muscle below the lungs is not equally
strong and powerful, he can not strike an effective blow. It is said
that out of three hundred recent candidates for the Navy school, two
hundred and twenty-five were rejected simply because of contracted
chests and inefficient breathing. Manhood, womanhood, endurance and
longevity depend upon lung power, and this is within the reach of all.
EDUCATE THE MUSCLES OF RESPIRATION. “To learn deep breathing be as
passive as possible; that is, assume a position in which all the
voluntary motor muscles are inactive. Lie flat on the back, perfectly
horizontal, without even an elevation of the head. Shut the mouth and
draw the air in through the channel provided by nature--the nose. As
a result of bad habits, most persons will raise the upper ribs, yet
this expansion will soon yield to a movement of the lower ribs, and
this again will gradually cease by continued practice, as will also
every distension of the ribs. All these faulty movements will be
superseded by a bulging out of the abdomen, which will be proportioned
to the amount of air inhaled.” Exhale also through the nose, letting
the breath out slowly. Alternate costal and abdominal breathing. That
is, with one inspiration swell out the sides; _burst the belt_; this
retracts the abdomen; with the next bulge out the abdomen, which is
done by pressing the diaphragm down.
MASSAGE is a most desirable mode of exercise, especially for invalids
and delicate people. This is a thorough manipulation by an attendant of
all the muscles.
Massage is one of the most effective of all manipulations to promote
nerve currents and blood circulation. It renders the skin soft and
elastic. The action extends deeply in the body, thus promoting the
activity of all the blood-vessels. It restores the circulation to the
extremities, thus relieving the plethora of the viscera generally
attendant upon chronic diseases.
The _muscle-beater_ is a convenient and inexpensive substitute for the
hand, in Massage and Swedish movement cures, as it gives excellent
muscular treatment without the aid of an assistant. This little
instrument consists of three rubber tubes, fastened together toward
the handle. With this, one can treat the skin and muscles in any part
of the body.
Always in standing and walking, assume the
MILITARY POSITION.
1. Heels in line, and together.
2. Feet turned equally outward, forming an angle of forty-five degrees.
3. Knees straight.
4. Body square to the front.
5. Chest expanded and advanced, but without constraint.
6. Arms hung easily to the side. (Swing them out and let them drop like
a pendulum).
7. Shoulders equal height.
8. Shoulder blades flat.
9. Head erect, raised at the crown (as if suspended by a cord), not
tipped in any direction.
10. Chin _slightly_ drawn in.
11. Form raised to full height.
12. Body poised slightly forward, so that the weight bears mainly on
the ball of the foot.
13. Eyes straight to the front.
14. Whole figure in such a position that a line will pass through ear,
shoulder, hip, knee and ankle.
Get this position before a glass and practice it, until it can _always_
be maintained. It gives ease, grace and strength. Teach it to every
child.
The following exercises, as well as those in Chap. V will be found
invaluable to equalize the circulation, to aid digestion, as well
as to promote natural breathing and develop the muscles required in
parturition. Begin cautiously with the first five, increasing the
number and time devoted to them as strength is gained.
EXERCISES ADAPTED TO GESTATION.
1. Standing position. Carry the weight of the body as far forward and
backward as possible, without lifting heels or bending knees. Count
four to each movement.
2. Same position. Bend body slowly from side to side. Keep knees
straight and feet firm.
3. Hands forward on hips, bend trunk at hips slowly forward; rise
slowly and bend backward, always keeping the head in position with the
body.
4. Inflate the lungs. Touch the shoulders lightly with the tips of the
fingers. Bring the elbows slowly in front of the body, touching them
together. Lift them as high as possible. Throw elbows back and up,
the fingers still touching shoulders. Bring them back to commencing
position. Expel air. This exercise elevates the ribs and expands lower
part of chest.
5. Erect position. Inhale. Finger tips to shoulders. Hold the breath
to count twenty, then with clenched fist strike downward and forward.
Stop suddenly as if striking an object. Expel breath forcibly with the
motion. If the motion is decisive the breath will naturally be expelled
by the diaphragm.
6. Kneel on a cushion, knees far apart, stretch arms upward, parallel
with each other by the side of head, bend trunk slowly backward as far
as possible, remain to count four, return forward as far as possible,
keeping knees and feet firm. This is one of the best exercises for
strengthening the muscles of the back and pelvis.
7. Same position, hands clasped on top of head, move the body from side
to side slowly, count four with each movement and then rest. In the
same position twist the body from right to left.
8. Same position, arms extended horizontally forward, throw them
backward in a direct line as far as possible. This may be practiced
quickly or slowly as if carrying a weight.
9. Reclining upon back, flex the knees and sway them from side to side.
10. Same position, flex and thrust the limbs downward alternately.
11. Reclining, face downward, flex knees and sway feet from right to
left.
12. Same position, with the help of an assistant flex and extend the
limbs, using resistance.
13. Same position, rest on elbows and sway shoulders from right to left.
14. Same position, elevate the body slowly, resting only on toes and
elbows.
15. Recline on back and make hand thrusts, with or without weights,
upward, outward, forward and downward.
In all these exercises it is persistent, patient effort that gives
decided results. One will not see their effects in one day, nor one
week, unless it is in greater freedom of breath. At first soreness may
follow the use of muscles unaccustomed to exercise. A wet compress or
a warm bath will relieve this. These exercises should always be taken
in a loose wrapper and at stated hours. The best time is before the
forenoon bath and before retiring at night.
The following is a heresy but nevertheless is a truth. A pregnant woman
having a comfortable degree of health, _will derive as much benefit
by going up and down stairs as by any other exercise_, providing she
observe the following conditions:
1. Wear a dress that is loose, light and short.
2. Keep the mouth closed.
3. Fill the lungs with air, hold the breath until the top is reached,
and then expel slowly.
4. Maintain the erect position.
Notice what has been accomplished. The diaphragm and abdominal muscles
have been brought into action by the deep breath, while the muscles
of the thigh, pelvis, perineum and groin are all engaged in elevating
the body. Each time the thigh is raised, pressure is made upon the
abdominal viscera, which, if there is no outside counteracting force,
are pushed outward and upward, and with the opposite movement resume
their place.
The _reason climbing stairs_ may injure women is, that with each upward
movement, as the bowels are pushed out, they come in contact with the
outside constricting pressure of corset and bands. Where can they go?
Not being able to go outward they must go upward, arresting the breath,
or downward, pressing the pelvic viscera upon the perineum. Is it not
unjust to attribute the mischief to the stairs, when all the time it is
the clothing that does the harm? Who would ever think of its hurting
a boy to go up stairs, even if he takes three steps at a time, and
goes up three flights without catching his breath? Dress a girl as
sensibly; neither will it hurt her, for really the little anatomical
difference in their organization is in the girl’s favor.
Going up stairs is the best way to get desired exercise in a short
time. A successful, self educated man of this city said that, when
studying, and his brain became weary and stupid, he left his books and
ran up and down stairs three or four times, accomplishing more for
himself than by half an hour’s walk, or by gymnastics.
When I was in medical college, some of our lecture rooms were on the
fourth floor, and my own room was also on the fourth floor; both of
these buildings had high ceilings. I used to pride myself in starting
at the first floor, and running to the top without stopping. I then
wore the “American costume,” and was nearly as free in my dress as a
man. Ever since, stairs have presented no more difficulties to me than
a level floor.
A lady told me that with her third child she practiced going up and
down stairs on purpose for the exercise. The result was the easiest
labor and the best recovery she ever had experienced.
In climbing hills, observe the same rules--_keep the mouth closed_,
expel slowly through the nose, and stand erect. Not long since I read
a long letter, upon running, written to boys (and why not to girls
as well?) The writer claimed that the whole secret of being able to
run and defy all competitors, was to _keep the mouth closed_. Why?
Simply because it _forces deep breathing_, and compels the use of the
diaphragm. Any one can prove this. So with any exercise, but especially
in climbing hills or stairs, _keep the mouth closed_.
Let me urge and emphasize that the pregnant woman must walk, ride,
take gymnastics, climb hills and stairs, beginning according to her
strength, and increasing the amount from day to day. Upon strength,
power and vigor of muscles, largely depends easy labor.
The _Delsarte_ system of esthetic gymnastics is a method of physical
training leading to the cultivation of grace and strength. Truthful or
natural expression of one’s individuality is the key-note of Delsarte’s
thought. This is really a desirable means of obtaining rest, for it
teaches giving up all unnecessary tension. In this it is quite the
opposite of other methods of gymnastics. This _letting go_ or _giving
up_, can not be done all at once. The teachers of the system give a
series of exercises to free the different parts of the body; first the
head, then the hands and feet, then the muscles of the waist and chest.
Deep breathing aids in freeing the vital organs. _All_ forces of the
body are thus allowed a natural and graceful expression.
Annie Payson Call, in her tract on the Regeneration of the Body, says:
“The soul can be regenerated and the body remain disorderly; the body
can be trained to a fine physical life and action and the soul remain
unregenerate; but certainly the _fulness of life_, both for this world
and the next, must come from a more perfect harmony of the material
body with the soul.”
CHAPTER XI.
CHASTITY IN THE MARRIAGE RELATION.
“So dear to heaven is saintly chastity,
That when a soul is found sincerely so,
A thousand liveried angels lackey her.”
--MILTON.
Many years ago during a visit to my cousin, a young married woman
called with her four months old baby--a thin-necked, bloodless, blue
looking child. After she left, cousin observed, “Is it not a shame that
young people have so little knowledge? That poor child is suffering
because the parents too frequently practice the privileges accorded
in the marriage relation. The milk is deprived of its vitalizing
and nutritious elements.” So little of such matters had come to my
knowledge that all she meant was not comprehended. From what my
instincts had taught me, and what had been seen in animal life, I had
no thought that this relation ever was frequent, especially during
child-bearing.
To this day the picture of that wan, pale baby is impressed upon my
memory, its very emaciation making an eloquent plea for the rights
of children. Soon after this, I heard H. C. Wright’s lecture upon
“Marriage; its Duties and Responsibilities.” He urged men and women to
transmit the best of themselves to their children, and to be certain
that offspring were not deprived of vitality and strength by lustful
indulgence. For the sake of the improvement and progress of posterity,
the life of married people must be temperate. After this I read his
“Marriage and Parentage,” and “Unwelcome Child,” with increased
interest in this subject.
At that time the need of such lectures and books was not understood. In
long years since, the agonizing cries of heart-broken, suffering women,
the terrible death rate of little children have proven that in the
marriage relation there is such a perversion of nature, such grievous
wrongs committed that one needs a pen of fire to express the living,
burning thoughts, and carry the conviction of truth into the very lives
of men and women. Unless by some divine miracle, the eloquence of a
thousand inspired pens cannot stay the floodtide of wrong and injustice
now done to women and children under the cover of the marriage law.
Among animals, except in rare instance under domestication, the female
admits the male in sexual embrace, only for procreation. Among some
savage tribes this same rule has few exceptions. Is it not true that
civilized people, boasting of their moral and religious codes, hold,
teach and practice that sexual union shall occur in season and out of
season, averring this to be the fulfillment of nature’s law?
Briefly consider different views upon this subject.
_First._ Those who hold that sexual intercourse is a “physical
necessity” to man but not to woman.
_Second._ Those who believe the act is a _love relation_, mutually
demanded and enjoyed by both sexes, and serving other purposes besides
that of procreation.
_Third._ Those who claim the relation should never be entered into save
for procreation.
Physicians and physiologists teach, and most men and women believe:
That sexual union is a _necessity_ to man, while it is not to woman.
That there is implanted in his being demands that cannot be restrained
without injury to health.
That restraint is followed by absorption of the elements of generation,
producing effects not unlike the absorption of a virulent foreign
element.
That woman naturally has not so much passion as man, has not so much
secretion, also has an outlet in menstruation, consequently has not the
same demands nor the same injury if not gratified.
Are these claims based upon truth? What are the facts from which to
infer what men and women _naturally_ are?
When woman _only_ is taught that virtue is the brightest jewel in her
crown, when the popular verdict is that womanliness and modesty are
synonyms for repression, when she lives in fear of maternity, and
believes restraint on her part prevents vitality of life germs, when,
too, erroneous habits pervert every function, how can we tell what is
natural for her?
Then, on the other hand, when man is taught that virtue is _not_
synonymous with manliness, when the passions are stimulated by
unnatural habits of living, by impure conversation, thoughts, books and
practices, can we say this strength of passion is purely natural and
healthy?
A. E. Newton says: “They who have never carefully noted the effects
of alcoholic stimulants, of coffee, oysters, eggs, spices and animal
food, as well as they who find pleasure in filthy conversations, can
not surely, with any justness, charge _nature_ with the exuberance of
their amatory desires.”
We teach the girl _repression_, the boy _expression_, not simply by
word and book, but the lessons are graven into their very being by all
the traditions, prejudices and customs of society.
What are some of the results of this theory?
Notably, in the first place, we have what is called the “social evil.”
Women, licensed by men, make a business of prostitution, selling
their bodies that this demand--this _necessity_--of the male shall be
supplied. In visiting these women, men simply yield to this supposed
necessity of their nature; consequently commit no violation of law.
Women not having the same demands, by entering this life, or even
permitting the act once, violate the laws of their being; according to
the social codes, perpetrate the greatest crime in the calendar! They
become outcasts. If they fill their lives with noble and philanthropic
deeds, this one sin is so foul and rank, is such an offense, they have
little hope of remission, even from a just and all-loving God.
Can the fact that men are upheld, their crime even condoned, while
women, as partners in this terrible evil, are not only ostracised, but
irretrievably lost, be explained in any other way?
Witness the effect of this same theory in the marriage relation! The
man who has been accustomed to gratify his passions promiscuously,
seeks and marries a lovely, virtuous girl. She is not supposed to have
needs in this direction. Neither has she learned that her body is
her own and her soul is her Maker’s. She gives up all _ownership_ of
herself to her husband, and what is the difference between her life
and the life of the public woman? She is sold to one man, and is not
half so well paid. Is it too strong language to say she is the one
_prostitute_ taking the place, for the man, of many, and not like
her, having choice of time or conditions? In consequence she not only
suffers physically, but feels disgraced and outraged to the depths of
her soul.
She is liable to a chance maternity and the _unwelcome_ child is
deprived of physical vigor, and may be endowed with lustful passions
and morbid appetites, if he does not indeed curse his own existence.
At the close of one of my health _conversations_ after speaking upon
this subject, a lady tremblingly, but touchingly, gave her experience.
She said: “Ladies, when I was married two years I was the mother of
a puny, sickly baby; it had required incessant care and watching to
keep it alive. When it was only seven months old, to my surprise,
astonishment and horror, I felt _quickening_, and for the first time,
I knew I was pregnant again. I was abased, humiliated. The sense of
degradation that filled my soul, cannot be described. What had been
done? The babe that was born and the babe that was unborn were robbed
of their just inheritance. Remorsefully and tearfully I told my mother.
She says: ‘Why child, you should not grieve; don’t you know your
children are legitimate?’ My whole being arose in protest; I stamped
my foot and almost screamed; ‘Although my husband is the father of my
children, they are not legitimate. No man-made laws, nor priestly rites
can ever make an act legitimate that deprives innocent children of
their right to life and health.’ With sobs and moans, reaction came and
I fainted in her arms. What was the sequel? Two years later both of
these children after a brief existence lay in the ‘city of the dead,’
and until my husband and I learned _the law_ we could not have children
to live.”
Parties holding the _second theory_ claim:
That coition is a love act.
That it should never occur except when there is mutual participation on
the part of both man and woman, and should be governed and guarded so
as to control the creative power.
Thus this act is the emblem of love; by it there is a mutual exchange
of subtle elements which gives health and vigor, and more firmly
cements the union.
That if the lives of married people accorded to this theory, the demand
of the man would be no more frequent than that of the woman.
That the husband cannot sustain this relation satisfactorily and
without injury to himself unless there is reciprocation on the part of
the wife.
That under this mutual relation there is _no loss_ to either party, but
a mutual compensation.
This theory has its arguments and certainly is more humane than the
first.
A woman once consulted me who was the mother of five children, all born
within ten years. These were puny, scrofulous, nervous, and irritable.
She herself was a fit subject for doctors and drugs. Every organ in her
body seemed diseased, and every function perverted. She was dragging
out a miserable existence. Like other physicians, I had prescribed
in vain for her many maladies. One day she chanced to inquire how she
could safely prevent conception. This led me to ask how great was the
danger. She said: “Unless my husband is absent from home, few nights
have been exempt since we were married, except it may be three or four
immediately after confinement.”
“And yet your husband loves you?”
“O, yes, he is kind and provides for his family. Perhaps I might love
him but for this. While now--(will God forgive me?)--I _detest_, I
_loathe him_, and if I knew how to support myself and children, would
leave him.”
“Can you talk with him upon this subject?”
“I think I can.”
“Then there is hope, for many women cannot do that. Tell him I will
give you treatment to improve your health, and if he will wait until
you can respond, _take time for the act, have it entirely mutual from
first to last_, the demand will not come so frequently.”
“Do you think so?”
“The experience of many proves the truth of this statement.”
Hopefully she went home, and in six months I had the satisfaction of
knowing my patient was restored to health, and a single coition in
a month gave the husband more satisfaction than the many had done
previously, that the creative power was under control, and that my lady
could proudly say “I love,” where previously she said “I hate.”
If husbands will listen, a few simple instructions will appeal to their
_common sense_, and none can imagine the gain to themselves, to their
wives, and children and their children’s children. Then it may not be
said of the babes that their “Death borders on their birth, and their
cradle stands in the grave.”
_The third theory_, that the sexual relation should never be sustained,
save for procreation, has many adherents. They teach that there
are other uses for the procreative element than the generation of
offspring--far better uses than its waste in momentary pleasure.
This element, when retained in the system, the mental powers being
properly directed, is in some way absorbed and diffused throughout the
whole organism, replacing waste, and imparting a peculiar vivifying
influence. It is taken up by the brain and may be coined into new
thoughts--perhaps new inventions--grand conceptions of the true, the
beautiful, the useful, or into fresh emotions of joy and impulses of
kindness, and blessings to all around. It is a procreation on the
mental and spiritual planes instead of the physical. _It is just
as really a part of the generative function as is the begetting of
physical offspring._
They claim that men eminent for grand achievements in fields of
science, philosophy, invention, religion and philanthropy, have been
men whose lives accorded to this theory, referring us as illustrious
examples to Plato, Newton, Lamb, our own Irving and Whittier, and
always remembering the humble Nazarene.
They also claim that to woman belongs the “creative power,” that she
must choose when a new life shall be evolved, and only by adhering to
this law can she be protected in the highest function of her being--the
function of maternity. Mrs. Chandler in “Motherhood,” says: “Every
mother from the hour when the new life commences, is overshadowed by
the Most High. Could she understand her needs and powers, and secure to
herself respect due to her sacred office, and, free from all polluting
intrusion upon herself, bathe her spirit in the influxes which the
life within attracts, very rapidly would disappear the loathesome
deformities, the discordant spirits now blotting the fair proportions
of humanity.”
She claims that in the Scripture statement in reference to the parents
of the child Jesus, that Joseph “knew not” Mary from the hour when the
announcement of the new life was made until the birth of the child, is
involved a deeper and more important meaning than the Christian world
or the medical profession have discovered. Thus this “undisturbed
maternity, which was essential to the ushering in of the Prince of
Peace, is equally in all cases a vital and indisputable necessity for
the improvement of humanity. Motherhood should be a shrine unpolluted
by selfishness. O woman! This would be thy recompense for all the
sufferings and agonies which pertain to physical womanhood and
motherhood.”
It is encouraging for those who believe this thought to know that not
only woman but men standing high in learning and literature espouse
and teach it. “The Science of a New Life,” by Dr. Cowan, gives what
he terms the _law of continence_ as a central thought. It is full of
practical lessons for married people, and has had a large sale.
“The Better Way,” a pamphlet, by A. E. Newton, teaches that only
through continent lives can we hope for progress.
“_Plain Facts_,” by Dr. Kellogg, has had an immense sale. He, too,
teaches the same thought.
Note, all these books are written by _men_--not by women, with some
fancied wrongs to redress; but by men strongly in sympathy with the
needs of the race. They claim that a better and higher generation can
only be attained through continent lives. This is a subject demanding
the serious consideration, at least, of scientists, philosophers and
philanthropists.
If the law of continence is not the law to govern one’s entire life,
it is natural and reasonable that the mother should be exempt from the
sexual relation during gestation. The husband should ever be ready to
comfort and cheer with his sympathy. He should bear in mind that at
this time his wife and child need the conservation of all forces, and
consequently he should “observe all laws that will _let reason reign
and passion serve_.”
The observance of the law of continence will do much to palliate the
many nervous symptoms of pregnancy. I have known women so sensitive
during gestation that even a touch or a kiss from the husband caused
nausea and other distressing symptoms.
“The sexual relation at this time exhausts the mother and impairs the
vitality of the child, inducing in its constitution precocious sexual
development. The mind should be free from the subject, and every
circumstance that has a tendency to promote desire should be studiously
avoided. For this reason separate beds and even sleeping rooms for
husband and wife are to be recommended.”
It is worth investigating, whether the cause of suffering in pregnancy
and much of the pain at parturition may not also be removed by the
practice of continence during gestation.
Cannot those in charge of hospitals and charitable institutions
make a study of the subject? A collection of statistics would help
to establish or refute this theory. The influence of continence on
offspring invites the serious thought of all who desire the progress
of purity. Thoughtful parents will question whether by living during
the mother’s gestation on the low plane of physical love, they are not
implanting in their child the seeds of sensuality. Keeping their lives
in the higher spiritual love they may have offspring to whom a life of
purity and self-control will be natural.
“In brief, the law seems to be that, such is the intimate connection
between the mother and the embryo, the exercise of any faculty of her
mind or soul, or of any organ of her brain or body, stimulates and
develops in proportionate degree the corresponding faculty or organ in
the incipient child.”
Of what use is it to teach the young lessons of purity and morality,
when by prenatal culture, they have graven in their very lives lessons
of prostitution? Many men violate this law of reproduction through
ignorance. Were they taught the results, and how to live lives of
self-control, many would gladly accept the lesson.
To live continent lives, avoid food containing aphrodisiac stimulants,
such as coffee, eggs, oysters, and animal food. _Omit the evening
meal_; for the purpose desired this stands paramount to all other
means. Let the life be temperate in every respect, and with a strong
will the victory can be won. Remember that it is the action of the
_mind_ chiefly, that stimulates excessive seminal secretion. The
husband being the devoted lover, with similar untiring, delicate
attentions, can attain the same self-control he practiced during
courtship. The wife will more surely retain her health and youthful
charms in bearing welcome children. Women will rejoice in a glad
maternity, and a higher, nobler and more God-like posterity will people
the earth.
A few years since I read a paper entitled, “The Hygiene of Pregnancy,”
before a Medical Association. In it were sentiments similar to the
above. It was read hesitatingly, anticipating only adverse criticism
from the men composing that body. Previous to the reading of my paper,
the members had taken but little interest in the convention except
to promulgate pet theories. The weather was warm, and groups were
sitting on the piazza, smoking cigars, indifferent to subjects under
discussion. The reading had not proceeded far, however, when cigars
were thrown away, and the entire convention were listeners. Judge of
my surprise when the thoughts expressed received a long and hearty
applause. Most of those men used tobacco, some drank beer, and all ate
animal food. They were not the class of men from whom recognition of
such radical sentiments would be expected.
Let the justness of this subject be properly presented to them, and
most men will be convinced of its truth. Men naturally reverence the
maternal in woman, and if taught that _continence_ serves the best
interests of motherhood and posterity, will cheerfully accord their
lives with it.
A principal of a high school in Iowa was a married man many years
before he knew that the sexual relation was ever sustained during
pregnancy. When he learned it, he asserted that his whole soul was
filled with shame and disgust that his sex had no better knowledge of
their protective duties relating to maternity.
Those desiring the best reproduction of themselves should learn:
That motherhood is the central fact of human life.
That the first right of a child is to be well born.
That every mother should be set apart during pregnancy for the
ante-natal culture of her child.
That control of appetite is the first step in human culture.
That no man should become a father who can not and will not observe the
demands of temperance in all things for the benefit of his child.
CHAPTER XII.
VENTILATION.--REST.
_The pregnant woman breathes for two._ While pure air is desirable for
all persons under every condition, it is doubly so for her. Nothing is
more essential to the healthful nourishment of the fetus than that the
blood be thoroughly oxygenated. Otherwise the child may be weak and
feeble, and liable to disease.
_Everywhere_, in railroad cars, streets, shops, public halls and
dwelling houses, there is _foul air_--air that is loaded with
_exhalations_ from the lungs, _emanations_ from the body, and is often
vitiated by _tobacco_ and _alcohol_. Architects, builders and occupants
pay but little attention to ventilation. The most important purpose of
a building is evidently to keep the heat in during the winter, and keep
it out in the summer.
With every breath a person exhales quite a large proportion of
carbonic gas, which is a deadly poison, and at the same time inhales
the life-giving oxygen, constantly exhausting the supply. Yet the
great fear of drafts, as well as need of economizing heat, causes most
persons to breathe the same air over and over again. Gases that are
inimical to health and life are constantly inhaled. If one breathed
deeply and only pure air it would atone for violation of many other
physiological laws. The proof of this is seen in the effects of a
hunter’s or a pioneer’s life.
The following from the _Lancet_ gives some practical ideas upon the
ventilation of bedrooms:
“If a man were deliberately to shut himself for some six or eight hours
daily in a stuffy room, with closed doors and windows (the doors not
being open even to change the air during the period of incarceration)
and were then to complain of headache and debility, he would justly be
told that his own want of intelligent foresight was the cause of his
suffering. Nevertheless, the great mass of people do this every night
of their lives, with no thought of their imprudence.
“There are few bedrooms in which it is perfectly safe to pass the night
without something more than ordinary precautions to secure an inflow of
fresh air. Every sleeping apartment should, of course, have a fireplace
with an open chimney, and in cold weather it is well if the grate
contains a small fire, at least enough to create an upward current to
carry off the vitiated air of the room. In all such cases, however,
when a fire is used, it is necessary to see that the air drawn into the
room comes from the outside of the house.
“Summer and winter, with or without the use of fires, it is well to
have a free ingress for pure air. This should be the ventilator’s
first concern. Foul air will find an exit if pure air is admitted in
sufficient quantity, but it is not certain that pure air will not also
be drawn away. So far as sleeping rooms are concerned it is wise to
let in the air from without. The aim must be to accomplish the object
without causing a great fall of temperature. The windows may be drawn
down an inch or two at the top with advantage, and a fold of muslin
will form a ‘ventilator’ to take off the feeling of draft. This with
an open fireplace will generally suffice, and produce no unpleasant
consequences, even when the weather is cold.”
While the open fireplace, ’tis true, gives splendid ventilation, at
the present price of fuel it is a luxury within the reach of few. Yet,
taking into consideration how effectually it “slams the door on the
doctor’s nose,” it is an economical investment.
Recently there have been open stoves constructed on a new principle,
that are very desirable. They are cheerful and decorative in
appearance, equal to other stoves for cleanliness, economical of heat,
and what is so needful in every dwelling, furnish a constant change of
air--are in themselves ventilators.
One building a new house can easily have ventilation by making a
dry well of good dimensions in the yard and filling it with coarse
charcoal. There should be an air-shaft leading to it and one from
it into the house. The air from it must go directly to the furnace.
It should be so constructed that water will drip slowly through the
charcoal. In this way the moisture and charcoal purify the outside air,
freeing it from dust and smoke, while the pit cools it in the summer,
and modifies the temperature in the winter. Better air is obtained than
if let in by windows and doors.
The house should have flues for the escape of impure gases. Common
grates will answer the purpose. An abundance of pure air constantly
supplied.
In regard to fresh air in sleeping rooms, Dr. James H. Jackson says:
“There appears to be a want of a clear understanding of the difference
between the terms cold air and pure air, and many persons do not seem
to comprehend that the air of a room may be both pure and warm. They
seem not to know that the temperature does not affect the purity of the
air so long as there is opportunity for proper circulation. Pure air is
not necessarily cold, nor is cold air always pure.
“In order to have good ventilation, provision should always be made for
a _circulation of air_. It is not sufficient to provide an entrance for
outside air; exit through an opposite door or window or flue should
also be secured. A good way to do this is to let down a window two
or three inches at the top, and the air thus let in becomes somewhat
warmed by the heat which rises. Here then you have warm fresh air. Now
bad air, being loaded with carbonic acid gas, sinks to the bottom of
the room. Some way must therefore be provided for its escape. A transom
near the bottom of the door would answer the purpose; an open fireplace
furnishes an outlet for impure air, or if both these are wanting, the
door may be left slightly ajar, or a simple or inexpensive ventilator
may be made by fitting into the stove-pipe, above its damper, another
piece of pipe that shall be cut off within two inches of the floor;
this pipe also to be provided with a damper which can be opened at
will. A very effective draft is thus created near the floor, which
takes all foul air up into the chimney.
“I do not approve, on the contrary I condemn the habit of sleeping,
even in the coldest weather, in a small room, windows closed, weather
strips on the doors and sashes, and every possible device used to
keep out the outside air. In such a room one must necessarily respire
the same air many times, and the fact that it is cold does not make
it the less injurious. Nature throws off by the breathing process
certain poisonous elements which to re-breathe and re-absorb is most
pernicious. No one who is not robust should sleep in a room so cold
that the windows and doors must all be closed to keep warm. A much
more healthful way is to have the temperature of the sleeping room the
same as that of the living room; under no circumstances do I deem it
advisable for an invalid to sleep in a room that can not have pure,
warm air.
“Remember that the important point is _circulation_, and that this may
be had without letting in a great volume of cold air.”
A small amount of outside air can be let into a room by raising the
window four or five inches and fitting a board at the bottom. There is
a space left between the sashes that allows some air to enter. This,
however, is not sufficient in a small bedroom, unless for the coldest
weather. “The only objection to a draft is, that the draft is generally
not strong enough. An influx of fresh air into a room is a ray of light
into darkness, a messenger of Vishnu visiting an abode of the lost.”
Even the weak and enfeebled can accustom themselves to plenty of pure
air, and also to drafts.
To test the condition of a sleeping room, leave it closed in the
morning, go into the fresh air for ten or fifteen minutes, return
to the room, and if the air seems less pure than the outside air
the ventilation is imperfect. _The nose is a sentinel to warn us of
danger._ It should be educated to tell the condition of the air we
breathe. What a benefit to mankind if some one would invent a gauge
to determine the amount of impurities in the air, as heat is tested
by a thermometer. Would it not on many occasions give us startling
revelations?
To aid in improving the air of a house, and especially of a sleeping
room, we have a safe, efficient and economical means in the use of
unslaked lime and charcoal. A small basket of these should be placed
in every invalid’s room, or where children sleep, for the purpose of
absorbing the carbonic acid gas of the lungs, and the effluvium of the
human body.
The discovery of this simple method is attributed to Dr. Bonizzardi,
of Italy. He claims, “That people die much more rapidly through the
deleterious effects of miasma and carbonic acid gas than by the want
of oxygen in the air. To prove his theory, he put three fowls on a
perfectly even floor, under three glass cases, and placed in the case
containing the first bird nothing but the fowl, in the second one
a piece of unslaked lime, while the third contained some pieces of
charcoal. In half an hour after the birds were confined he examined
them, and found that the bird having neither lime nor charcoal was
dead, that the one in the second case containing the unslaked lime was
barely alive, while the bird in the case containing charcoal was quite
active, and showed no sign of suffering.
“The first fowl, having neither lime to absorb the carbonic acid gas of
the lungs, nor charcoal to collect on its surface the effluvium of the
surrounding air, died of blood poisoning, produced solely by the action
of the carbonic acid expelled from the lungs.
“The fowl that was supplied with the lime was only quite ill, because
the lime had removed one of the causes of death by absorbing the
carbonic acid gas; while the bird confined in the case containing the
charcoal was only slightly indisposed or ill, because the charcoal
absorbed all the exhalations of the lungs and body.
“These experiments prove that people die far more quickly from the
deleterious action of bodily exhalations than from any deficiency of
oxygen in the air. The moral of these experiments is: That a small
basket of charcoal should be placed in the room of every invalid, in
order that it may absorb the carbonic acid gas floating in the air, and
thus render the atmosphere purer and more wholesome.”
REST.
A daily _siesta_ ought to be taken by the pregnant woman. Even if she
feels well and is not accustomed to rest during the day, it would be
far better for her to take it regularly. She should plan for it as for
any other duty, and will gain by the ability to accomplish more.
Near noon is the best time for resting; let it follow the bath. She is
then refreshed for her dinner and afternoon occupations. This habit
cannot be too religiously observed. If she rests better alone, she
should go by herself, and never be disturbed. Some people can sleep
better to lie down where others are talking or reading. The hum of
voices quiets them by diverting their own thoughts. I knew one mother
that could only get a nap in the daytime, even if she had been deprived
of much sleep, by lying down in the room where her children were
playing. Nothing they could do, except to quarrel, would disturb her.
They could laugh, sing, scream and jump--she would sleep soundly, but
if one wrangling word passed between them she was instantly aroused.
Do not acquire the habit of sleeping in a chair, more speedy
restoration is given by lying flat upon the back, without a pillow.
RECAPITULATION.
To give a woman the greatest immunity from suffering during pregnancy,
prepare her for a safe and comparatively easy delivery, and insure a
speedy recovery, all hygienic conditions must be observed.
THE DRESS must give:
1. Freedom of movements;
2. No pressure upon any part of the body;
3. No more weight than is essential for warmth, and both weight and
warmth evenly distributed.
These requirements necessitate looseness, lightness and warmth, which
can be obtained from the union under-clothes, a princess skirt and
dress, with a shoe that allows full development and use of the foot.
While decoration and elegance are desirable, they should not sacrifice
comfort and convenience.
LET THE DIET be light, plain and nutritious. Avoid fats and sweets,
relying mainly upon fruits and grains that contain little of the
mineral salts. By this diet bilious and inflammatory conditions are
overcome, the development of bone in the fetus lessened, and muscles
necessary in labor nourished and strengthened.
EXERCISE should be sufficient and of such a character as will bring
into action gently every muscle of the body; but must particularly
develop the muscles of the trunk, abdomen and groin, that are
specially called into action in labor. Exercise, taken faithfully
and systematically, more than any other means assists assimilative
processes and stimulates the organs of excretion to healthy action.
BATHING must be frequent and regular. Unless in special conditions the
best results are obtained from tepid or cold bathing which invigorates
the system, and overcomes nervousness. The sitz-bath is the best
therapeutic and hygienic measure within the reach of the pregnant woman.
Therefore, to establish conditions which will overcome many previous
infractions of law, _dress_ naturally and physiologically; _live_ much
of the time _out of doors_; have _abundance of fresh air_ in the house;
let _exercise_ be _sufficient_ and _systematic_; pursue a _diet of
fruit_, rice and vegetables; _regular rest_ must be faithfully taken;
_abstain_ from the sexual relation. To those who will commit themselves
to this course of life, patiently and persistently carrying it out
through the period of gestation, the possibilities of attaining a
healthy, natural, painless parturition will be remarkably increased.
If the first experiment should not result in a painless labor, it,
without doubt, will prove the beginning of sound health. Persisted in
through years of married life, the ultimate result will be more and
more closely approximated, while there will be less danger of post
partum diseases; and better and more vigorous children will be produced.
Then pregnancy by every true woman will be desired, and instead of
being a period of disease, suffering and direful forebodings, will
become a period of health, exalted pleasure and holiest anticipations.
Motherhood will be deemed the choicest of earth’s blessings; women
will rejoice in a glad maternity, and for any self-denial will be
compensated by healthy, happy, buoyant, grateful children.
ELIZABETH CADY STANTON, in a lecture to ladies, thus strongly states
her views regarding maternity and painless parturition: “We must
educate our daughters to think that motherhood is grand, and that God
never cursed it. That the curse, if it be one, may be rolled off, as
man has rolled away that of labor; as it has been rolled from the
descendants of Ham. My mission among women is to preach this new
gospel. If you suffer, it is not because you are cursed of God, but
because you violate his laws. What an incubus it would take from woman
could she be educated to know that the pains of maternity are no curse
upon her kind. We know that among the Indians the squaws do not suffer
in childbirth. They will step aside from the ranks, even on the march,
and return in a short time bearing with them the new-born child. What
an absurdity, then, to suppose that only enlightened Christian women
are cursed.
“But one word of fact is worth a volume of philosophy; let me give
you some of my own experience. I am the mother of seven children. My
girlhood was spent mostly in the open air. I early imbibed the idea
_that a girl is just as good as a boy_, and I carried it out. I would
walk five miles before breakfast, or ride ten on horseback. After I was
married, I wore my clothes sensibly. Their weight hung entirely on my
shoulders. I never compressed my body out of its natural shape. When
my first four children were born, I suffered very little. I then made
up my mind that it was totally unnecessary for me to suffer at all;
so I dressed lightly, walked every day, lived as much as possible in
the open air, ate no condiments, and took proper care of myself. The
night before the birth of the child I walked three miles. The child was
born _without a particle of pain_. I bathed it and dressed it myself,
and it weighed ten and one-half pounds. The same day I dined with the
family. Everybody said I would surely die, but I never had a moment’s
inconvenience from it. I know this is not being delicate and refined,
but if you would be vigorous and healthy, in spite of the diseases of
your ancestors, and your own previous disregard of nature’s laws, try
it.”
Every woman can not attain to as perfect health as Mrs. Stanton, for
all have not as good conditions of heredity, nor did all learn early
that “A girl is as good as a boy.” Mothers in earnest for the best good
of their children, will by constant purpose and deliberate effort,
approximate the high standard she established, and emulate her example
in using the means to enhance desired results.
“For life is not to live, but to be well.”
CHAPTER XIII.
PARTURITION.
The hour arrives, the moment wished and feared;
The child is born by many a pang endured!
And now the mother’s ear has caught his cry;
Oh! grant the cherub to her asking eye!
Labor is effected by dilatation of the _cervix uteri_ and contraction
of the uterine and abdominal muscles. This dilatation is the first
stage. In the second, expulsive efforts occur, causing the advance and
birth of the child. The action of the uterus in expelling the fetus
is analagous to that of the rectum in expelling its contents. In each
case the abdominal muscles powerfully co-operate with the peristaltic
action of the organ. Uterine contractions, once established, continue
intermittently until the contents are expelled. These contractions are
usually attended and recognized by pain. They are called _labor pains_.
It is well established by physiologists that the suffering attendant
upon labor is abnormal, and only a result of the violation of nature’s
laws; that by a more or less thorough compliance with those laws,
most women can approximate to a condition in which there shall be no
suffering in childbirth.
A few days preceding labor, there is usually a muco-sanguineous
discharge from the vagina. This is called the show. It indicates
dilatation of the cervix and relaxation of the vagina. It is often
accompanied by _malaise_ and restlessness, and in some by headache and
loss of appetite.
In 96 per cent. of all cases, the head of the child is the presenting
part. At first the long diameter of the head is in the oblique
diameter of the pelvis; as it passes the pelvic brim, it turns so as
to lie across from back to front, the chin pressing upon the breast,
and the crown of the head advancing. The first pains are _grinding_,
_scattered_ and irregular, felt mostly in the anterior portion of the
pelvis and groin. With these, dilatation of the os progresses, which
is often accompanied by severe sufferings, especially when diseased
conditions exist. Afterward the pains are in the abdomen. As the head
advances there is great suffering in back, hips and groin, with a
disposition to _bear down_.