Every woman who is desirous of preventing conception will follow this
advice:
Don't wait to see if you do _not_ menstruate (monthly sickness) but
make it your duty to see that you _do_.
If you are due to be "sick" on the eighth of August, do not wait until
the eighth to see, but begin as early as the fourth to take a good
laxative for the bowels, and continue this each night until the
eighth.
If there is the slightest possibility that the male fluid has entered
the vagina, take on these same nights before retiring, five or ten
grains of quinine, with a hot drink. The quinine in capsule form is
considered fresher, but if this is taken do not use alcoholic drinks
directly after, as it hardens the capsules, thus delaying the action
of the quinine.
By taking the above precautions you will prevent the ovum from making
its nest in the lining of the womb.
Women of intelligence who refuse to have children until they are ready
for them, keep definite track of the date of their menstrual periods.
A calendar should be kept, on which can be marked the date of the last
menstruation, as well as the date when the next period should occur.
Women must learn to know their own bodies, and watch and know
definitely how regular or irregular they are: if the period comes
regularly every twenty-eight days (normal) or every thirty days as is
in the case of many young girls.
Mark it accordingly on your private calendar; do not leave it to
memory or guess work.
Only ignorance and indifference will cause one to be careless in this
most important matter.
A very good laxative (though it is a patent medicine) is Beechams
Pills. Two of these taken night and morning, four days before
menstruation, will give a good cleansing of the bowels, and assist
with the menstrual flow. Castor oil is also a good laxative.
The American Physicians may object to this advice because Beechams
Pills are a patent medicine. But until they are willing to give open
advice on this subject, we must resort to such as the least harmful,
until such time as they do.
If a woman will give herself attention BEFORE the menstrual period
arrives, she will almost never have any trouble, but if she neglects
herself and waits to see if she "comes around," she is likely to have
difficulty.
If the action of quinine has not expelled the semen from the uterus,
and a week has elapsed with no signs of the menstrual flow, then it is
safe to assume conception has taken place.
Any attempt to interfere with the development of the fertilized ovum
is called an abortion.
No one can doubt that there are times where an abortion is justifiable
but they will become _unnecessary when care is taken to prevent
conception_.
This is the _only_ cure for abortions.
There is current among people an idea that conception can take place
only at certain times of the month. For instance: ten days after the
menstrual period, and four or five days before the next period. This
is not to be relied upon at all, for it has been proven again and
again that a woman can conceive at any time in the month. Do not
depend upon this belief, for there is no reliable foundation for it.
There is also the knowledge that nursing after child-birth prevents
the return of the menstrual flow for several months and conception
does not take place. It is well not to depend upon this too much,
especially after the fifth or sixth month, for often a woman becomes
pregnant again without having "seen anything" or without her realizing
that she has become pregnant. She thus finds herself with one at the
breast and another in the womb. Use some preventative.
Again, it is believed that conception cannot take place if the woman
lies upon her left side at the time of the act. It makes no difference
which side she lies upon; she can become pregnant if the semen is not
prevented from entering the womb.
Perhaps the commonest preventive excepting the use of the condom is
"coitus interrupts," or withdrawal of the penis from the vagina
shortly before the action of the semen. No one can doubt that this is
a perfectly safe method; and it is not considered so dangerous to the
man as some authorities have formerly viewed it, but it requires a man
of the strongest willpower to be certain that he has withdrawn before
any of the semen has been deposited in the vagina. It is very
difficult to determine exactly whether this has been done. The
greatest objection to this is the evil effect upon the woman's nervous
condition. If she has not completed her desire, she is under a highly
nervous tension, her whole being is perhaps on the verge of
satisfaction. She is then left in this dissatisfied state. This does
her injury. A mutual and satisfied sexual act is of great benefit to
the average woman, the magnetism of it is health giving. When it is
not desired on the part of the woman and she has no response, _it
should not take place_. This is an act of prostitution and is
degrading to the woman's finer sensibility, all the marriage
certificates on earth to the contrary notwithstanding. Withdrawal on
the part of the man should be substituted by some other means that
does not injure the woman.