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Hygiene of Pregnancy.With regard to food, but two points need be especially mentioned : it should be abundant and taken at short intervals. As a rule the appetite is an ample guide and its promptings should be disregarded only when there is a craving for vinegar, chalk and similar useless articles. There is rarely danger that too much food will be taken, for especially in the latter part of pregnancy the demand for nourishment is really much greater than in the non-pregnant state. Preference should be and usually is naturally given to plain and wholesome food - meats, vegetables and fruits ; it is desirable to avoid stimulating food - condiments, wines and pastry. It is usually better to take four, five or even six meals a day rather than indulge very heartily at the ordinary mealtimes. In regard to clothing, especial care should be taken for the sake of the foetus. It may be laid down as a general rule that during pregnancy, especially during the latter months, flannel underclothing should be worn. It seems scarcely necessary to remark that the body should be allowed perfect freedom for expansion. During the first three or four months, it is true, there is but little apparent increase in size, but after that time the corset as usually used causes damage, not only by compression of the foetus and unfortunate changes in its position, but also by promoting swelling of the feet, varicose veins and the other difficulties resulting from impaired circulation. If the pregnancy must be concealed from motives of pride or delicacy, such concealment should not be attempted through tight lacing. The clothing everywhere should be loose and suspended so far as possible from the. shoulders. Compression of the limbs by garters or otherwise, induces swelling of the feet and troublesome enlargement of the veins. While cleanliness is of course especially important during pregnancy, yet the divers unnecessary features associated with bathing should be avoided. Very hot or cold baths, the shower and douche are undesirable, often dangerous ; sea bathing also has been known to cause miscarriage. As a general rule it is desirable to take only a sponge bath as the daily habit with a lukewarm full bath not oftener than once or twice a week. During pregnancy the woman usually requires more sleep than she is otherwise in the habit of taking ; the inclination to lie late in the morning has at this time a physiological basis, and should be indulged. The same disposition inclines her, also, to naps during the day, which ordinarily confer profit as well as pleasure, for it should be borne in mind that a considerable part of the mother's vitality, is now required for the development of the new being, and that this increased demand upon her strength must be met by additional hours of repose. It not infrequently happens, toward the close of pregnancy, that the woman experiences the sense of suffocation when she lies down ; this occurs merely from the pressure of the enlarged womb, and can be obviated by supporting the head and shoulders, keeping the patient in the semi-recumbent position. The mind of the woman requires not less attention than her body during pregnancy, since both the physical and mental welfare of the child is but a reflection - or rather continuation - of that of the mother. It is indeed a popular belief not only that the mental states of the pregnant mother are impressed upon the mind of her unborn child, but even that the sights which she may witness are sometimes impressed upon the child's body. We are all familiar with the stories of cases in which infants have presented at birth various marks and peculiarities corresponding with objects which had made a decided impression upon the mother's mind during the pregnancy. We are told, for instance, that a baker's wife, who had been accustomed to see every day during the early months of her pregnancy a child who had two thumbs on one hand, gave birth in due time to an infant which presented the same deformity on the corresponding hand. Another mother, who was shocked one day early in her pregnancy at seeing a child with harelip, gave birth also to an infant with a similar deformity. Another lady, who had fainted at seeing leeches applied to the neck of a relative, was delivered of a child on whose neck was a perfect picture of a leech. Another woman who had, during pregnancy, experienced a constant desire to look at a watch, was not surprised to see in the eyes of her new-born child a distinct image of the face of a watch. Maria Theresa, Queen of France, is said to have given birth to a black child, the color of which she attributed to the fact that she had been startled some months previously by the sudden appearance of a black page in her service. And so we might go on multiplying indefinitely these and still more startling instances of the influence of the imagination and emotional excitement of the mother upon her unborn offspring. Yet it is only just to say that not a single instance is recorded by which we are justified in believing that the imagination or inclination or emotion of the mother can exert any influence upon the physical conformation of the child. The widespread belief in such events is due chiefly to the innate love of mankind, and more particularly womankind, for the mysterious and incomprehensible. In all matters pertaining to the mysteries of life we take far more pleasure in indulging the imagination than in exercising the reason, and are always delighted with an opportunity of displaying our credulity. Most of the instances of the class already indicated are pure fiction ; and many of them clumsy fiction at that. It seems at first wonderful that a woman who had noticed a child with harelip should subsequently give birth to an infant similarly deformed ; but when we remember that a certain percentage of all infants are born thus mutilated whether their mothers have seen similar children or not ; and when we remember further that harelip is not, strictly speaking, a deformity, but merely an incomplete development exhibited by every foetus at a certain stage of its existence, the wonderful part of such stories is dissipated. And we can assure the youthful mother that she may gaze with impunity upon a whole museum of deformities and malformations, upon harelips, double thumbs, grinning monkeys, and similar attractions without the least danger of bringing a monstrosity into the world as a consequence. Yet at the same time it must be remembered that since the child is but the offshoot of the mother, its general mental qualities and habits will be determined largely by her mental qualities and habits during pregnancy. It is, therefore, desirable that the mother should be surrounded by all those influences which conduce to her contentment and gratification. The mother who is kept in a state of constant excitement and emotional disturbance during pregnancy will probably produce a peevish, irritable, or feeble-minded child ; and conversely, the infant's chances for a well-balanced and easy-going tempe'r are certainly improved if the mother have nothing to torment and worry her during her pregnancy. If this fact be borne in mind there is, of course, no occasion for specifying any rules about the matter. It is easy to understand that the physical condition of the mother influences to a marked extent both the mental and physical characteristics of the child ; if the mother be sick, feeble and but poorly nourished during pregnancy, it is scarcely to be expected that the infant will be robust and hearty. Yet there is a limit, doubtless, to the extent of this influence of the mother upon the physical condition of the child ; and we are not prepared to believe those marvelous tales of the repetition upon the unborn child of physical impressions made upon the mother. There is a list of stories not less wonderful than those to which reference has just been made, illustrating this supposed transmission of physical influences. Thus we are told that a woman was in the latter part of pregnancy bitten in the right hand by a dog ; and that two months afterwards she was delivered of a child whose right hand presented discolorations corresponding exactly to the marks made by the animal's teeth upon the mother's hand. It is only necessary to state that this and similar stories are not sufficiently authentic to warrant the conclusion indicated by them. A matter requiring attention, especially during the first pregnancy, is the care of the breasts. It will be found advantageous during the latter weeks to use gentle friction over these organs, rubbing from the body toward the nipple ; frequent bathing with salted water is also useful. In this way it will be usually possible to avoid the retraction of the nipple, which is not infrequent in the first pregnancy. For the nipples themselves it is desirable to use a mixture of glycerine and cologne water in equal parts ; to this may be added in the last week or two before delivery a little alum. If the nipples become sore and fissured, presenting an appearance like a raspberry, they may be kept moist with a mixture of equal parts glycerine and rose-water containing borax - a teaspoonful of the borax being added to four ounces of the mixture. A most important feature in avoiding soreness and cracks of the nipples is their mechanical protection against friction by the clothing. This may be accomplished in various ways, best, perhaps, by the use of nipple shields. But first, if you want to come back to this web site again, just add it to your bookmarks or favorites now! Then you'll find it easy! Also, please consider sharing our helpful website with your online friends.
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