Chapter 17

"An eminent lady teacher, in talking to her pupils, once said: 'The greatest calamity that can befall a woman is never to have a child. The next greatest calamity is to have one only.' From my professional experience I am happy to testify that more women seek to overcome causes of sterility than to obtain knowledge of limiting the size of the family or means to destroy the embryo. Also, if consultation for the latter is sought, it is usually at the instigation of the husband. Believing in the rights of unborn children, and in the maternal instinct, I am consequently convinced that no knowledge should be withheld that will secure proper conditions for the best parenthood.

11. "MANY OF THE MEANS USED TO PREVENT conception are injurious, and often lay the foundation for a train of physical ailments. Probably no one means is more serious in its results than the practice of withdrawal, or the discharge of the semen externally to the vagina. The act is incomplete and unnatural, and is followed by results similar to and as disastrous as those consequent upon _masturbation_. In the male it may result in impotence, in the female in sterility. In both sexes many nervous symptoms are produced, such as headache, defective vision, dyspepsia, insomnia, loss of memory, etc. Very many cases of uterine diseases can be attributed solely to this practice. The objection to the use of the syringe is that if the sperm has passed into the uterus the fluid cannot reach it. A cold fluid may, in some instances, produce contractions to throw it off, but cannot be relied upon."

12. IS IT EVER RIGHT TO PREVENT CONCEPTION? We submit the following case of the _Juke_ family, mostly of New York State, as related by R. L. Dugdale, when a member of the Prison Association, and let the reader judge for himself:

"It was traced out by painstaking research that from one woman called Margaret, who, like Topsy, merely 'growed' without pedigree as a pauper in a village on the upper Hudson, about eighty-five years ago, there descended 673 {244} children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, of whom 200 were criminals of the dangerous class, 280 adult paupers, and fifty prostitutes, while 300 children of her lineage died prematurely. The last fact proves to what extent in this family nature was kind to the rest of humanity in saving it from a still larger aggregation of undesirable and costly members, for it is estimated that the expense to the State of the descendants of Maggie was over a million dollars, and the State itself did something also towards preventing a greater expense by the restrain exercised upon the criminals, paupers, and idiots of the family during a considerable portion of their lives."

13. THE LEGAL ASPECT.--By the Revised Statutes of the United States it is provided "that no obscene, * * * or lascivious book, picture, or any article or thing designed or intended for the prevention of conception or producing of abortion shall be carried in the mail, and any person who shall knowingly deposit or cause to be deposited for mailing or delivery any of the hereinbefore mentioned things shall be guilty of misdemeanor," etc. In New Jersey, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas and District of Columbia we find no local law against abortion. Nine states, viz.: New Hampshire, Connecticut, New York, Indiana, Wisconsin, Dakotas, Wyoming and California punish the woman upon whom the abortion is attempted; while Massachusetts, New York, Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Nebraska, Kansas and California punish the advertising or furnishing of means for the prevention of conception; and Ohio makes it a crime to even have such means in one's possession. There is exception made in favor of every case where the early birth of the infant is necessary to save the life of the mother. It will be noticed that the common law punishes the furnishing or advertising of means for the prevention of conception, and hence regards it as a crime. There is, however, no ban of the civil law on Nature's law as laid down by Nature's God and discovered by medical science, which we here make known.

14. IS NATURE'S METHOD RELIABLE?--Dr. Cowan says: "Sexual excitement hastens the premature ripening and meeting of the germ cell with the sperm cell, and impregnation may result, although intercourse occurs only in the specified two weeks' absence of the egg from the uterus."

This is just possible under certain peculiar circumstances of diseased conditions, or after long separation of husband and wife. However, it seldom happens, and married people in normal health, temperate in the sexual relation, desirous of controlling the size of their family, can usually depend upon this law.

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15. MODERATION.--Continence, self-control, a willingness to deny himself--that is what is required from the husband. But a thousand voices reach us from suffering women in all parts of the land that this will not suffice; that men refuse thus to restrain themselves; that it leads to a loss of domestic happiness and to illegal amour, or it is injurious physically and morally; that, in short, such advice is useless because impracticable.

16. NATURE'S METHOD.--To such we reply that Nature herself has provided, to some extent, against over-production, and that it is well to avail ourselves of her provision. It is well known that women, when nursing, rarely become pregnant, and for this reason, if for no other, women should nurse their own children, and continue the period until the child is at least nine months or a year old. However, the nursing, if continued too long, weakens both the mother and the child, and, moreover, ceases to accomplish the end for which we now recommend it.

17. ANOTHER PROVISION OF NATURE.--For a certain period between her monthly illness, every woman is sterile. Conception may be avoided by refraining from coition except for this particular number of days, and there will be no evasion of natural intercourse, no resort to disgusting practices, and nothing degrading. The following facts have been established, without a doubt: The Graafian Vesicle, containing the egg in the ovary, enlarges during menstruation and bursts open to let the egg escape usually on the first day after the flow ceases, and seldom, if ever, later than the fourth day. It then takes from two to six days for the egg to pass down through the Fallopian tube into the womb, where it remains from two to six days, when, if not impregnated, it passes down through the vagina from the body. After the egg has passed from the body, conception is not possible until after the next menstrual flow.

The period, therefore, from after the sixteenth to within three days of the following menstrual discharge is one of almost absolute safety. We say within three days of the next menstruation, because the male seminal fluid may be retained there till the egg leaves the ovary, and in that way impregnation might follow. Impregnation would, however, rarely occur if the period was extended to from the twelfth day after menstruation close up to one day before it began again.

The above is the only physiological method (and it is no secret to a great many people) by which conception can be limited, without the employment of such means as involve danger and serious evils.

18. WARNING.--Let women be warned in the most emphatic manner against the employment of the secret methods constantly advertised by quacks. Such means are the almost certain cause of painful uterine diseases and of shortened life. They are productive of more misery by far than over-production itself.

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VAGINAL CLEANLINESS.

1. The above Syringe has a patent tube known as the vaginal cleanser. This keeps the sides of the vagina apart and permits the water to thoroughly clean and cleanse the organ. It will be found a great relief in both health and sickness, and in many cases cure barrenness and other diseases of the womb. It can be used the same as any other syringe. The tube can be procured at almost any drug store and applied to either bulb or fountain syringe. Many women are barren on account of an acid secretion in the vagina. The cleanser is almost a certain remedy and cure.

2. CLEANLINESS.--Cleanliness is next to godliness. Without cleanliness the human body is more or less defiled and repulsive. A hint to the wise is sufficient. The vagina should be cleansed with the same faithfulness as any other portion of the body.

3. TEMPERATURE OF THE WATER.--Those not accustomed to use vaginal injections would do well to use water milk-warm at the commencement; after this the temperature may be varied according to circumstances. In case of local inflammation use hot water. The indiscriminate use of cold water injections will be found rather injurious than beneficial, and a woman in feeble health will always find warm water invigorating and preferable.

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4. LEUCORRHOEA.--In case of persistent leucorrhoea use the temperature of water from seventy-two to eighty-five degrees Fahrenheit.

5. THE CLEANSER will greatly stimulate the health and spirits of any woman who uses it. Pure water injections have a stimulating effect, and it seems to invigorate the entire body.

6. SALT AND WATER INJECTIONS.--This will cure mild cases of leucorrhoea. Add a teaspoonful of salt to a pint and a half of water at the proper temperature. Injections may be repeated daily if deemed necessary.

7. SOAP AND WATER.--Soap and water is a very simple domestic remedy, and will many times afford relief in many diseases of the womb. It seems it thoroughly cleanses the parts. A little borax or vinegar may be used the same as salt water injections. (See No. 6.)

8. STERILE WOMEN desiring offspring should seek sexual union soon after the appearance of the menses, and not use the vaginal cleanser till several days later. Those not desiring offspring should avoid copulation until the ovum has passed the generative tract.

9. HOLES IN THE TUBES.--Most of the holes in the tubes of syringes are too small. See that they are sufficiently large to produce thorough cleansing.

10. INJECTIONS DURING THE MONTHLY FLOW.--Of course it is not proper to arrest the flow, and the injections will stimulate a healthy action of the organs. The injections may be used daily throughout the monthly flow with much comfort and benefit. If the flow is scanty and painful the injections may be as warm as they can be comfortably borne. If the flowing is immoderate, then cool water may be used. A woman will soon learn her own condition and can act accordingly.

11. BLOOM AND GRACE OF YOUTH.--The regular bathing of the body will greatly improve woman's beauty. Remember that a perfect complexion depends upon the healthy action of all the organs. Vaginal injections are just as important as the bath. A beautiful woman must not only be cleanly, but robust and healthy. There can be no perfect beauty without good health.

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IMPOTENCE AND STERILITY.

1. Actual impotence during the period of manhood is a very rare complaint, and nature very unwillingly, and only after the absolute neglect of sanitary laws, gives up the power of reproduction.

2. Not only sensual women, but all without exception, feel deeply hurt, and are repelled by the husband whom they may previously have loved dearly, when, after entering the married state, they find that he is impotent. The more inexperienced and innocent they were at the time of marriage, the longer it often is before they find that something is lacking in the husband; but, once knowing this, the wife infallibly has a feeling of contempt and aversion for him; though there are many happy families where this defect exists. It is often very uncertain who is the weak one, and no cause for separation should be sought.

3. Unhappy marriages, barrenness, divorces, and perchance an occasional suicide, may be prevented by the experienced physician, who can generally give correct information, comfort, and consolation, when consulted on these delicate matters.

4. When a single man fears that he is unable to fulfill the duties of marriage, he should not marry until his fear is dispelled. The suspicion of such a fear strongly tends to bring about the very weakness which he dreads. Go to a good physician (not to one of those quacks whose {249} advertisements you see in the papers; they are invariably unreliable), and state the case fully and freely.

5. Diseases, malformation, etc., may cause impotence. In case of malformation there is usually no remedy, but in case of disease it is usually within the reach of a skillful physician.

6. Self-abuse and spermatorrhoea produce usually only temporary impotence and can generally be relieved by carrying out the instructions given elsewhere in this book.

7. Excessive indulgences often enfeeble the powers and often result in impotence. Dissipated single men, professional libertines, and married men who are immoderate, often pay the penalty of their violations of the laws of nature, by losing their vital power. In such cases of excess there may be some temporary relief, but as age advances the effects of such indiscretion will become more and more manifest.

8. The condition of sterility in man may arise either from a condition of the secretion which deprives it of its fecundating powers or it may spring from a malformation which prevents it reaching the point where fecundation takes place. The former condition is most common in old age, and is a sequence of venereal disease, or from a change in the structure or functions of the glands. The latter has its origin in a stricture, or in an injury, or in that condition technically known as hypospadias, or in debility.

9. It can be safely said that neither self-indulgence nor spermatorrhoea often leads to permanent sterility.

10. It is sometimes, however, possible, even where there is sterility in the male, providing the secretion is not entirely devoid of life properties on part of the husband, to have children, but these are exceptions.

11. No man need hesitate about matrimony on account of sterility, unless that condition arises from a permanent and absolute degeneration of his functions.

12. Impotence from mental and moral causes often takes place. Persons of highly nervous organization may suffer incapacity in their sexual organs. The remedy for these difficulties is rest and change of occupation.

13. REMEDIES IN CASE OF IMPOTENCE ON ACCOUNT OF FORMER PRIVATE DISEASES, OR MASTURBATION, OR OTHER CAUSES.--First build up the body by taking some good stimulating tonics. The general health is the most essential feature to be considered, in order to secure restoration of the sexual powers. Constipation must be carefully avoided. If the {250} kidneys do not work in good order, some remedy for their restoration must be taken. Take plenty of out-door exercise, avoid horseback riding or heavy exhaustive work.

14. FOOD AND DRINKS WHICH WEAKEN DESIRE.--All kinds of food which cause dyspepsia or bring on constipation, diarrhoea, or irritate the bowels, alcoholic beverages, or any indigestible compound, has the tendency to weaken the sexual power. Drunkards and tipplers suffer early loss of vitality. Beer drinking has a tendency to irritate the stomach and to that extent affects the private organs.

15. COFFEE.--Coffee drank excessively causes a debilitating effect upon the sexual organs. The moderate use of coffee can be recommended, yet an excessive habit of drinking very strong coffee will sometimes wholly destroy vitality.

16. TOBACCO.--It is a hygienic and physiological fact that tobacco produces sexual debility and those who suffer any weakness from that source should carefully avoid the weed in all its forms.

17. DRUGS WHICH STIMULATE DESIRE.--There are certain medicines which act locally on the membranes and organs of the male, and the papers are full of advertisements of "Lost Manhood Restored", etc., but in every case they are worthless or dangerous drugs and certain to lead to some painful malady or death. All these patent medicines should be carefully avoided. People who are troubled with any of these ailments should not attempt to doctor themselves by taking drugs, but a competent physician should be consulted. Eating rye, corn, or graham bread, oatmeal, cracked wheat, plenty of fruit, etc. is a splendid medicine. If that is not sufficient, then a physician should be consulted.

18. DRUGS WHICH MODERATE DESIRE.--Among one of the most common domestic remedies is camphor. This has stood the test for ages. Small doses of half a grain in most instances diminishes the sensibility of the organs of sex. In some cases it produces irritation of the bladder. In that case it should be at once discontinued. On the whole a physician had better be consulted. The safest drug among domestic remedies is a strong tea made out of hops. Saltpeter, or nitrate of potash, taken in moderate quantities, are very good remedies.

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19. STRICTLY SPEAKING there is a distinction made between _impotence_ and _sterility_. _Impotence_ is a loss of power to engage in the sexual act and is common to men. It may be imperfection in the male organ or a lack of sufficient sexual vigor to produce and maintain erection. _Sterility_ is a total loss of capacity in the reproduction of the species, and is common to women.

There are, however, very few causes of barrenness that cannot be removed when the patient is perfectly developed. Sterility, in a female, most frequently depends upon a weakness or irritability either in the ovaries or the womb, and anything having a strengthening effect upon either organ will remove the disability. (See page 249.)

20. "OVER-INDULGENCE in intercourse," says Dr. Hoff, "is sometimes the cause of barrenness; this is usually puzzling to the interested parties, inasmuch as the practices which, in their opinion, should be the source of a numerous progeny, have the very opposite effect. By greatly moderating their ardor, this defect may be remedied."

21. "NAPOLEON AND JOSEPHINE.--A certain adaptation between the male and female has been regarded as necessary to conception, consisting of some mysterious influence which one sex exerts over the other, neither one, however, being essentially impotent or sterile. The man may impregnate one woman and not another, and the woman will conceive by one man and not by another. In the marriage of Napoleon Bonaparte and Josephine no children were born, but after he had separated from the Empress and wedded Maria Louisa of Austria, an heir soon came. Yet Josephine had children by Beauharnais, her previous husband. But as all is not known as to the physical condition of Josephine during her second marriage, it cannot be assumed that mere lack of adaptability was the cause of unfruitfulness between them. There may have been some cause that history has not recorded, or unknown to the state of medical science of those days. There are doubtless many cases of apparently causeless unfruitfulness in marriage that even physicians, with a knowledge of all apparent conditions in the parties, cannot explain; but when, as elsewhere related in this volume, impregnation by artificial means is successfully practised, it is useless to attribute barrenness to purely psychological and adaptative influences."

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Producing Boys or Girls at Will.

1. CAN THE SEXES BE PRODUCED AT WILL?--This question has been asked in all ages of the world. Many theories have been advanced, but science has at last replied with some authority. The following are the best known authorities which this age of science has produced.

2. THE AGRICULTURAL THEORY.--The agricultural theory, as it may be called, because adopted by farmers, is that impregnation occurring within four days of the close of the female monthlies produces a girl, because the ovum is yet immature; but that when it occurs after the fourth day from its close, gives a boy, because this egg is now mature; whereas after about the eighth day this egg dissolves and passes off, so that impregnation is thereby rendered impossible, till just before the mother's next monthly.--_Sexual Science._

3. QUEEN BEES LAY FEMALE EGGS FIRST, and male afterwards. So with hens; the first eggs laid after the tread give females, the last males. Mares shown the stallion late in their periods drop horse colts rather than fillies.--_Napheys._

4. IF YOU WISH FEMALES, give the male at the first sign of heat; if males, at its end.--_Prof. Thury._

5. ON TWENTY-TWO SUCCESSIVE OCCASIONS I desired to have heifers, and succeeded in every case. I have made in all twenty-nine experiments, after this method, and succeeded in every one, in producing the sex I desired.--_A Swiss Breeder._

6. THIS THURY PLAN has been tried on the farms of the Emperor of the French with unvarying success.

7. CONCEPTION IN THE FIRST HALF of the time between the menstrual periods produces females, and males is the latter.--_London Lancet._

8. INTERCOURSE in from two to six days after cessation of the menses produces girls, in from nine to twelve, boys.--_Medical Reporter._

9. THE MOST MALE POWER and passion creates boys; female girls. This law probably causes those agricultural facts just cited thus: Conception right after menstruation give girls, because the female is then the most impassioned; later, boys, because her wanting sexual warmth leaves him the most vigorous. Mere sexual excitement, a wild, fierce, furious rush of passion, is not only not sexual vigor, but in its inverse ratio; and a genuine insane fervor caused by weakness; just as a like nervous excitability indicates weak nerves instead of strong. Sexual power is deliberate, not wild; cool, not impetuous; while all false excitement diminishes effectiveness.--_Fowler._

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ABORTION OR MISCARRIAGE.

1. ABORTION OR MISCARRIAGE is the expulsion of the child from the womb previous to six months; after that it is called premature birth.

2. CAUSES.--It may be due to a criminal act of taking medicine for the express purpose of producing miscarriage or it may be caused by certain medicines, severe sickness or nervousness, syphilis, imperfect semen, lack of room in the pelvis and abdomen, lifting, straining, violent cold, sudden mental excitement, excessive sexual intercourse, dancing, tight lacing, the use of strong purgative medicines, bodily fatigue, late suppers, and fashionable amusements.

3. SYMPTOMS.--A falling or weakness and uneasiness in the region of the loins, thighs and womb, pain in the small {254} of the back, vomiting and sickness of the stomach, chilliness with a discharge of blood accompanied with pain in the lower portions of the abdomen. These may take place in a single hour, or it may continue for several days. If before the fourth month, there is not so much danger, but the flow of blood is generally greater. If miscarriage is the result of an accident, it generally takes place without much warning, and the service of a physician should at once be secured.

4. HOME TREATMENT.--A simple application of cold water externally applied will produce relief, or cold cloths of ice, if convenient, applied to the lower portions of the abdomen. Perfect quiet, however, is the most essential thing for the patient. She should lie on her back and take internally a teaspoonful of paregoric every two hours; drink freely of lemonade or other cooling drinks, and for nourishment subsist chiefly on chicken broth, toast, water gruel, fresh fruits, etc. The principal homeopathic remedies for this disease are ergot and cimicifuga, given in drop-doses of the tinctures.