PART II MOTHERHOOD (Part 2)

Nourish- ing and sufficient food to meet the strain upon the body What proper food is at this time The same fact— that double duty is being laid upon the system — must also be borne in mind when we take up the question of diet. If the ordinary food served in the family is carefully chosen, for its nutritive value, and properly prepared, there is no reason why any deviation from it should be made. The tissues are under tremendous strain with repairs of the old and construction of the new. Since our food is the source of our bodily heat and energy, and since by means of it our bodies are built up and maintained in health, we can see that the stomach must now be given proper and sufficient material for its work. Proper material means wholesome, digestible food. It does not mean an excessive amount of stimulant like coffee or tea, which gives an artificial vigor, and lessens the desire for food. Neither does it stand for a specified diet of any one kind. The system needs now in excess THE HYGIENE OF PREGNANCY 195 more than ever the variety in food that will bring to each part the nourishment it especially requires. The claim that the use of a strictly vegetable diet will assure an easy labor is only a theoretical supposi- The fan tion, based on the idea that the bones of the child about a ' would then be less well developed. If this were true, J^etable it would seem a more far-seeing plan to choose food which would keep the mother robust and able to endure * the extra pain of bringing into the world a well-nour- ished, sturdy child. Rich, fatty foods, fried dishes and pastry or sweets in excess are to be avoided, not only during pregnancy. Avoid but at all times. We all recognize that these things are dishes, bad for children, and in the majority of households, sweets' where the children eat with their parents, it is well nigh impossible to restrict their fare. The simpler method is to choose healthful, digestible food, and to exclude altogether the forbidden fruits. During the course of pregnancy, there are frequent- ly abnormal longings for some one kind of food. It is ciratirfyilJg often perfectly possible and legitimate to indulge this jong- o « ings of appetite. Sometimes it may mean that the system appetite needs the acid of certain fruit, or other material which the desired food contains. It will be found, however, that gratification is not always essential, and it is not wise to let the longing hold too important a place, for the more constantly it is kept before the mind, the more fixed it becomes. When the appetite is diseased and demands such things as slate pencils, chalk, or starch, the physician can generally correct it with drugs. It seems to be necessary at all times, in season and out of season, to urge the free use of water. This fits from applies in health and in disease, to the pregnant woman ^water no more than to every one. Water is cleansing inside 196 MOTHERHOOD as well as outside. It helps sweep away the waste matter which is disposed of by the kidneys. It reg- ulates the body-heat by its effect on the sweat glands, and it is a great aid in correcting constipation, one of the special ills of pregnancy. BATHING The reasons for frequent bathing have already been Repetition given in the chapters on Home Nursing, but I should of rea- jj^e to review them here. We are constantly shedding sons for J & bathing tiny scales of scarf-skin. The sweat glands are also continually pouring out their fluid, the perspiration, in greater or less abundance, and the oil glands are all the time adding their secretion. These pores serve an important purpose in keeping stoppage our bodies in a state of health. If this mixture of oil, poresie0f perspiration, and scales of skin is allowed to accumu- the skm jate tjie mouths 0f the pores will be more or less stopped and their work will be interrupted. The oil-glands keep the skin smooth and flexible. inh<winterS Through the sweat glands the heat of the body is reg- and in ulated. In winter, when extra heat is needed in the summer , . body to resist the cold, the openings of these pores are narrowed, and very little perspiration is secreted. In warm weather, on the contrary, perspiration is poured out in quantities, and the heat of the body is reduced. This statement in itself proves the importance of giving these glands free play, which cleanliness cer- tainly will do. . The tepid bath is the safest for the pregnant wom- The tepid an. The cold plunge or shower is liable to prove too safest great a shock to a system which is carrying a double load, and the healthful reaction is less likely to follow. A hot bath may have a tendency to stimulate the uterus before it is time and may bring on miscarriage. THE HYGIENE OF PREGNANCY 197 SLEEP AND REST If the simple, healthful life is an accomplished fact, and not a pleasant theory, the question of sleep will generally take care of itself. The exercise in the open air gives one the desire for sleep ; the bath, if taken at night, quiets the nerves and relaxes the muscles, and insomnia is rarely a serious difficulty.. Various de- vices to induce sleep are found in a preceding chapter. The importance of rest is not at all appreciated by the American woman. She regards Nature as an im- The impor. 0 . tance of pertinent mentor if Nature ventures to step in and rest to the make demands in return for the many burdens that mother11 are laid upon her. Our bodies always have a right to consideration, but never more than when the well-being of another life is dependent upon them. Physical and mental health are all-important to the expectant mother, and she should take her rest as conscientiously as she does her work. Even if sleep during the day is impossible, relaxa- tion with the clothing loosened will refresh her and Jhe <iuiet should have its plan in the routine of each day. The nights will be more restful if the days are not over- crowded, and an hour in a quiet room, with the mus- cles resting, and the mind unoccupied as far as may be, will do much toward keeping the nine months a normal period. We are too much afraid of resting. We feel that the lagging nerves must be spurred on, and that it is weak yielding if we obey their warning, and stop when they call. Consequently we do apply arti- ficial stimulants in the way of excitement and the Falsity of strength of our wills, and we do not feel conscious of stimuia- failing nerve power until after the strain is off. Then tlon 198 MOTHERHOOD A rule of living for the pregnant woman "The gos- pel of re- laxation" we awake to the fact that our reserve is gone, and we find ourselves much less useful members of society, and much less happy women than we might have been. The pregnant woman should keep early hours, oc- cupy a bed by herself and sleep eight or nine hours out of the twenty-four. There is "power through repose," and relaxation is a safeguard that not only brings more complete rest in our unoccupied moments, but will lessen pain or dis- comfort to a remarkable degree. Pain gains its hold through our tense rigid muscles and nerves. The non- resistant is a "more elusive foe than the aggressive, and in health or disease, under normal or abnormal con- ditions, the "gospel of relaxation" is the gospel of healthful living. About ante-natal influences Birth- marks HEREDITY The question comes up in the mind of every expec- tant mother as to how much she can influence the phys- ical and moral well-being of her child before birth. Sentimentalists tell her that she can impress the grow- ing life within her through the influence of her own mind ; that she can "mark" the child with beauty, with love for music, with a cheerful or a despondent dis- position ; that she can give him a bent toward a given end by turning her energies in that direction during his fetal life. As a matter of fact, the deformities and birthmarks that sometimes disfigure a baby result from some ex- citing circumstance which took place before the child was fully formed in the uterus. After this, the de- velopment of the child has proceeded so far that no external event except actual violence can affect the physical make-up. The mechanism of the nervous system is more com- THE HYGIENE OF PREGNANCY 199 plex and more delicate, but it seems hardly possible that mental processes of the mother should be able to react at all on the nerve centres of the child. The essential fact is that her general well-being does The moth- tell directly on the child through its influence on the era* weii- quality of the blood supply upon which his develop- Jj""^ J£els ment depends. child This is true before birth, when his life is literally a part of hers, but is almost as important a fact, when the I1Is ?nd fact that she furnishes his food supply is their only affect the vital connection. Even then we find the nervous and ^Sk Yto° physical condition of the mother reflecting directly the chlld upon him, as her bodily ills or emotional excitement affect the secretion of milk. All this goes to show that she can help in giving Thus she him the inheritance of a healthy body which will in- }.e]ps \° . J J the inhen- crease his chances for full normal mental development, tance of and it is to this end that she may best devote her en- body ergies. Biologists have investigated, discussed, and dis- agreed upon the subject of heredity, and many the- ories that were held true in years gone by are now believed to be without foundation. In spite of the differences of opinion on many tech- nical points the general supposition at the present time Direct - , . r . , . , , . transmis- on the subject of inheritance seems to be that there is sion of in most cases no direct transmission of disease. This fr0mSe means that the child of a consumptive parent, for in-3S5nJe stance, is not necessarily born a consumptive. It does not mean, however, that he is no more liable to develop tuberculosis. Disease is not transmitted, but the weak- ness of a part, with a tendency to become diseased, may be. Heredity, then, is a question of inherited tendencies, rather than of definite characteristics, and may be over- 200 MOTHERHOOD Heredity is inher- ited ten- dencies The birth- right of every American child balanced by hygienic surroundings and wholesome living. This puts more responsibility rather than less upon the shoulders of the parent, both as regards bringing children into the world with the handicap of inherited weakness and as to their care after birth. If the first responsibility is assumed, the second should not be shirked. Especial advantages in the way of proper exercise in pure air, good food, and watch- ful care are demanded, and no effort should be spared to give to a child its proper birthright — the chance of development into normal, healthy, efficient manhood or womanhood. II AILMENTS OF PREGNANCY Nausea— Constipation— Increased Salivation — Varicose Veins and Hemor- rhoids— Decay of Teeth — Palpitation — Sciatica — Pruritus — Irritation of Bladder— Abdominal Bandage— The Physician— Midwives— Advice of Friends— Receipts for Special Diet I HAVE asked you to take the attitude of regarding pregnancy as a normal state, indicating the devel- opment of organs and the fulfilment of the purpose for which they were largely made.* Now in seeming con- tradiction to this, I suggest in the heading of the chap- ter that there are ills which we must consider. If all women had always lived in accordance with hadMived Nature's laws, if they had never wrorn clothing that ^nit£c<g^d changed the shape of their bodies, if their food had al- ture's laws ways been wholesome, so that the digestion was un- impaired, and if they had plenty of vigorous out-of- door exercise, so that all the muscles were supple and well developed, probably child-bearing would be an in- cident rather than an end in their lives, and children would be given a fairer start and less of a handicap in inherited weakness. Since, however, it is not perfectly normal woman- hood which we have to consider, we shall find certain ailments which are almost universal accompaniments of pregnancy. These ills, the nausea, the discomfort of increasing size, and the intestinal difficulties, seem * Scientists now believe that the ovaries play an important part in the organism, in helping to establish and maintain vital force, quite aside from their function of reproduction. (201) 202 MOTHERHOOD Uterine growth during pregnancy Ailments this growth induces Freeing the mind from un- necessary alarm sometimes like unnecessary burdens, till we realize what a wholesale adjustment to new conditions there is throughout our bodies, and see how wonderfully Nature has planned. The normal size of the uterus is three inches long by one and a half wide. Its weight is about one ounce. In nine months these dimensions change to twelve' inches in length by nine inches wide, and the weight to two pounds, not including the contents. This in- crease means growth, we must remember, not a mere stretching of elastic tissue, so that the contents of the uterus may be accommodated, as is shown by the fact that the walls are thicker, rather than thinner, toward the end of pregnancy. As the position of this organ changes, the other organs in the abdomen must adjust themselves. The uterus presses backward against the rectum, and con- stipation results ; it pushes forward against the blad- der, and there are difficulties in the retention or the passing of the urine ; as it rises in the abdominal cavity, the stomach is affected and we have the nausea of "morning sickness," while later the heart is forced to accommodate itself to the new conditions, and retal- iates by palpitation. This is the rational point of view, and if the woman who is to become a mother keeps these physiological changes in mind, she will understand better many of the ills attendant on pregnancy, and will be saved un- necessary alarm. We can very well balance up our physical ills in two columns of cause and effect, and this period is no exception to the general rule. We have already remarked that nausea, constipa- tion, irritation of the bladder and palpitation follow in natural sequence the increasing size of the uterus. AILMENTS OF PREGNANCY 203 NAUSEA The nausea usually passes away in a short time. If it persists, various experiments in diet must be tried, if nausea Often liquid food and rest in bed will entirely correct the trouble. It is usually the early meal which the stomach refuses to retain, and sometimes if this meal is prepared and served in an unusual way it will be digested. Prepare it entirely out of the sight of the patient, and serve' it very early in the morning, before it is fh^rfak- time for her to get up. After she has eaten it, imme- fast vefy ° . early diately darken the room, and leave her to sleep again. If extreme care in diet fails to overcome the nausea, it may be worth the attempt to give the patient the first solid food she craves. Sometimes a diet that seems entirely unsuitable may check nausea, which ap- pears almost to have become a habit. Ices and ice- cream may be given, and the latter, especially if made ices and with a custard, furnishes considerable nourishment, devices Pop-corn sometimes can be retained and will help cor- rect the trouble. A mustard plaster over the stomach, an ice-bag at the back of the head, or bits of ice taken by the mouth, are other devices that may be tried. An entire change of surroundings will often effect a sudden and complete cure, and it is advisable if the Break in nausea does not readily yield to the ordinary treatment t0med life to go away from home' and one's immediate family, to make an absolute break in the accustomed life. As the stomach becomes used to the increased pres- sure, and to the extra demands made on its blood sup- ply, it generally resumes its normal function. If, how- ever, none of these devices is successful, and the strength seems to be failing, the patient can be nour- ished for weeks by nutrient enemata. 204 MOTHERHOOD CONSTIPATION of consti pation by diet Constipation is liable to be manifest throughout the Correction nine months. Much can be done to correct it by means of diet and exercise, and this method should be used before drugs are resorted to. Fruits, cereals, coarse bread, like graham or rye, help the action of the bowels, because of the amount of fibre, which, not being acted upon by the digestive juices, serves as a slight irritant to the intestinal wall. If one will stop to consider, one can easily find a varied dietary which tends to relieve constipation. All the cereals (except rice), graham, rye, corn, and brown bread, fresh meats and fish, vegetables and fruits of all kinds, certainly offer a choice of which one need not tire, while toast, cooked milk, soda crackers, tea, and spirituous liquors, sweets, nuts, cheese, and rice are distinctly constipating and should be avoided. Add to all this, and above all this,