1. ITS IMPORTANCE.--Menstruation plays a momentous part in the
female economy; indeed, unless it be in every way properly and duly
performed, it is neither possible that a lady can be well, nor is it
at all probable that she will conceive. The large number of barren, of
delicate, and of hysterical women there are in America arises mainly
from menstruation not being duly and properly performed.
2. THE BOUNDARY-LINE.--Menstruation--"the periods"--the appearance of
the catamenia or the menses--is then one of the most important epochs
in a girl's life. It is the boundary-line, the landmark between
childhood and womanhood; it is the threshold, so to speak, of a
woman's life. Her body now develops and expands, and her mental
capacity enlarges and improves.
3. THE COMMENCEMENT OF MENSTRUATION.--A good beginning at this time
is peculiarly necessary, or a girl's health is sure to suffer and
different organs of the body--her lungs, for instance, may become
imperiled. A healthy continuation, at regular periods, is also much
needed, or conception, when she is married, may not occur. Great
attention and skillful management is required to ward off many
formidable diseases, which at the close of menstruation--at "the
change of life"--are more likely than at any time to be developed. If
she marry when very young, marriage weakens her system, and prevents
a full development of her body. Moreover, such an one is, during the
progress of her labor, prone to convulsions--which is a very serious
childbed complication.
4. EARLY MARRIAGES.--Statistics prove that twenty per cent--20 in
every 100--of females who marry are under age, and that such early
marriages are often followed by serious, and sometimes even by
fatal consequences to mother, to progeny, or to both. Parents ought,
therefore, to persuade their daughters not to marry until they are
of age--twenty-one; they should point out to them the risk and danger
likely to ensue if their advice be not followed; they should Impress
upon their minds the old adage:
"Early wed,
Early dead."
5. TIME TO MARRY.--Parents who have the real interest and happiness
of their daughters at heart, ought, in consonance with the laws of
physiology, to discountenance marriage before twenty; and the nearer
the girls arrive at the age of twenty-five before the consummation of
this important rite, the greater the probability that, physically and
morally, they will be protected against those risks which precocious
marriages bring in their train.
6. FEEBLE PARENTS.--Feeble parents have generally feeble children;
diseased parents, diseased children; nervous parents, nervous
children;--"like begets like." It is sad to reflect, that the innocent
have to suffer, not only for the guilty, but for the thoughtless
and inconsiderate. Disease and debility are thus propagated from
one generation to another and the American race becomes woefully
deteriorated.
7. TIME.--Menstruation in this country usually commences at the ages
of from thirteen to sixteen, sometimes earlier; occasionally as early
as eleven or twelve; at other times later, and not until a girl be
seventeen or eighteen years of age. Menstruation in large towns is
supposed to commence at an earlier period than in the country, and
earlier in luxurious than in simple life.
8. CHARACTER.--The menstrual fluid is not exactly blood, although,
both in appearance and properties, it much resembles it; yet it never
in the healthy state clots as blood does. It is a secretion of
the womb, and, when healthy, ought to be of a bright red color in
appearance very much like the blood from a recently cut finger. The
menstrual fluid ought not, as before observed, clot. If it does, a
lady, during "her periods," suffers intense pain; moreover, she seldom
conceives until the clotting has ceased.
9. MENSTRUATION DURING NURSING.--Some ladies, though comparatively
few, menstruate during nursing; when they do, it may be considered not
as the rule, but as the exception. It is said in such instances,
that they are more likely to conceive; and no doubt they are, as
menstruation is an indication of a proneness to conception. Many
persons have an idea that when a woman, during lactation, menstruates,
her milk is both sweeter and purer. Such is an error. Menstruation
during nursing is more likely to weaken the mother, and consequently
to deteriorate her milk, and thus make it less sweet and less pure.
10. VIOLENT EXERCISE.--During "the monthly periods" violent exercise
is injurious; iced drinks and acid beverages are improper; and bathing
in the sea, and bathing the feet in cold water, and cold baths are
dangerous; indeed, at such times as these, no risks should be run, and
no experiments should, for the moment, be permitted, otherwise serious
consequences will, in all probability, ensue.
11. THE PALE, COLORLESS-COMPLEXIONED.--The pale, colorless-complexioned,
helpless, listless, and almost lifeless young ladies who are so
constantly seen in society, usually owe their miserable state of
health to absent, to deficient, or to profuse menstruation. Their
breathing is short--they are soon "out of breath," if they attempt to
take exercise--to walk, for instance, either up stairs or up a hill,
or even for half a mile on level ground, their breath is nearly
exhausted--they pant as though they had been running quickly. They
are ready, after the slightest exertion or fatigue, and after the
least worry or excitement, to feel faint, and sometimes even to
actually swoon away. Now such cases may, if judiciously treated, be
generally soon cured. It therefore behooves mothers to seek medical
aid early for their girls, and that before irreparable mischief has
been done to the constitution.
12. POVERTY OF BLOOD.--In a pale, delicate girl or wife, who is
laboring under what is popularly called poverty of blood, the
menstrual fluid is sometimes very scant, at others very copious, but
is, in either case, usually very pale--almost as colorless as water,
the patient being very nervous and even hysterical. Now, these are
signs of great debility; but, fortunately for such an one, a medical
man is, in the majority of cases, in possession of remedies that will
soon make her all right again.
13. NO RIGHT TO MARRY.--A delicate girl has no right until she be made
strong, to marry. If she should marry, she will frequently, when in
labor, not have strength, unless she has help, to bring a child into
the world; which, provided she be healthy and well-formed, ought not
to be. How graphically the Bible tells of delicate women not having
strength to bring children into the world: "For the children are come
to the birth, and there is not strength to bring forth."--2 Kings XIX,
3.
14. TOO SPARING.--Menstruation at another time is too sparing; this is
a frequent cause of sterility. Medical aid, in the majority of cases,
will be able to remedy the defect, and, by doing so, will probably
be the means of bringing the womb into a healthy state, and thus
predispose to conception.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
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