Chapter 10

PREGNANCY, ITS SYMPTOMS, DISEASES, ETC.

=Sometimes Difficult to Tell.=--Even the most skilled physicians sometimes make mistakes in stating that pregnancy exists when it does not.

=The First Sign.=--The most valuable and striking sign of pregnancy is the cessation of the monthly periods; yet even this is not always reliable. Sometimes menstruation continues for three or four months, especially during the first pregnancy, although this is exceedingly rare. As a rule, to which there is hardly an exception, if menstruation ceases in a married woman who has previously been regular, she is, in all probability, pregnant.

=Other Signs.=--Another important sign is the enlargement of the abdomen, although this cannot be detected much before the fourth month. A valuable sign, also, is the enlargement of the breasts, with a widening and browning of the pink ring around the nipples. Enlargement of the breasts often begins as early as the second month, and is quite marked by the fourth or fifth month.

=Morning Sickness.=--Morning sickness is a symptom present in the majority of cases. It usually consists of a marked nausea upon rising, and perhaps vomiting. This may last only a few hours in the early morning, or continue through the greater part of the day. It generally appears in the second month and lasts only through the third month, although, in bad cases, it may continue through the whole period, and very seriously affect the health.

=Treatment.=--There are any number of remedies recommended for the treatment of this morning sickness. What will cure one case seems to be perfectly useless in another.

It has been my experience that the best way to manage these cases is as follows: Have the person take a slice of toasted bread, or a toasted cracker, with a little coffee if desired, while in bed, remaining there at least half an hour after eating. Or, the person may take a glass of milk to which two tablespoonfuls of lime water have been added. Then, by rising slowly and moving about carefully, it is often possible to go through the day without any sickness whatever. I have known many cases to be entirely relieved by eating a little ordinary pop-corn.

=The Morning Meal.=--The morning meal may consist of milk to which a little lime water has been added; or a poached or soft-boiled egg. Sometimes scarped beef, lean and rare, salted and spread on very thin bread, quiets the stomach at once, while it is highly nourishing.

=Only One Medicine Needed.=--It is surprising what happy changes Lydia E. Pinkham's Vegetable Compound brings about in this condition. The irritability subsides, the digestion is greatly improved, the nervous system is strengthened, and all these uncomfortable and disagreeable symptoms pass away. The Compound should be taken in small doses three times a day, after meals.

=A Bandage May Relieve Nausea.=--An abdominal bandage will sometimes relieve the morning sickness, if placed snugly, but not too tightly, about the body. It need be worn only a week or two, for a trial, and should always be taken off at night. If the nausea persists during the day, then let the food be light and taken in small amounts, at frequent intervals.

="Quickening."=--This is another sign of pregnancy. The word refers to the detection by the mother of the movements of the child. Although, without doubt, the child moves within the mother at a much earlier period, yet these movements are too feeble to be noticed until pregnancy has advanced four or four and a half months.

=Other Symptoms of Pregnancy.=--Other symptoms are morbid longings for unusual articles of food, as sour apples, vinegar, charcoal, clay, slate pencils, etc. These longings, however, should not be satisfied, as they do not represent the demand of nature for these substances. They belong to the same class of changes which are shown by a marked difference in the disposition of a person whereby the lively and cheerful woman becomes melancholy, gloomy, and irritable.

=Diet During Pregnancy.=--The diet during the whole of pregnancy should be generous, yet easily digestible. A great many women do not change their diet at all, and if the person is in good health and does not suffer in any way, there is no reason whatever why the diet should be changed, unless the evening meal be made somewhat lighter.

=Eat Sparingly of Meat.=--It is always wise not to eat meat more than once a day. This is because a meat diet throws more work upon the kidneys, and any failure of the kidneys increases the probability of serious trouble at childbirth.

So far as is known, there is no foundation for the belief that any special article of diet has any particular effect upon the development of the child.

=Care of the Breasts.=--The care of the breasts during pregnancy must be commenced early. All pressure of the clothing should be removed, in order to give them full opportunity to develop. They should be kept warm, however, and well supported, if the size renders them uncomfortable.

=Mothers Should Nurse Their Children.=--Statistics show that the summer diarrhoeas and dysenteries, which carry off such immense numbers of children each year, are almost unknown among babies that nurse. It is the artificially fed child which suffers from wasting diseases and disturbances of the digestion which are so fatal to life. Therefore, every prospective mother should do everything in her power to prepare for the proper nursing of her child.

=Care of the Nipples.=--If the nipples are flat, they can be pulled out gently each day with the fingers, and thus the difficulty entirely remedied. At the beginning of the last month of pregnancy, the nipples should be hardened in order that nursing may be painless, and that all fissures, or cracks, may be avoided.

Every morning and night apply the following solution to the nipples with a piece of absorbent cotton:--

Glycerite of Tannin, 1 fluid ounce. Water, 1 fluid ounce.

Allow this to remain on the nipple. This cannot be used after confinement, for the bitter taste would be objectionable to the child.

=Can Sex Be Foretold?=--Mothers often wish to know if it is possible to determine the sex of the child before it is born. Although a great deal has been written on this subject, and a number of so-called rules have been made, yet it is absolutely impossible to tell whether the child will be a boy or a girl; and it is also equally impossible to do anything that could in any way exert an influence in producing a child of the desired sex.

=To Tell Time of Confinement.=--For two hundred and eighty days, or forty weeks, the prospective mother has been conducting herself in the best way she thought possible, that all good might be exerted upon the new life. The question now comes, When may the day of confinement be expected? I give here a table for calculating this day, which I am sure will be found very convenient.

OBSTETRICAL TABLE.

--------+---------------------------------------------- January | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Oct'r | 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 --------+---------------------------------------------- Feb'y | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Nov'r | 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 --------+---------------------------------------------- March | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Dec'r | 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 --------+---------------------------------------------- April | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Jan'y | 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 --------+---------------------------------------------- May | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Feb'y | 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 --------+---------------------------------------------- June | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 March | 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 --------+---------------------------------------------- July | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 April | 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 --------+---------------------------------------------- August | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 May | 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 --------+---------------------------------------------- Sept'r | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 June | 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 --------+---------------------------------------------- October | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 July | 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 --------+---------------------------------------------- Nov'r | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Aug | 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 --------+---------------------------------------------- Dec'r | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Sept'r | 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 --------+----------------------------------------------

---------------------------------------------+------ 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 | 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 |Nov. ---------------------------------------------+------ 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 | 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 1 2 3 4 5 |Dec. ---------------------------------------------+------ 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 | 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 1 2 3 4 5 |Jan. ---------------------------------------------+------ 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 20 27 28 29 30 | 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 20 30 31 1 2 3 4 |Feb. ---------------------------------------------+------ 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 | 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 |Mar. ---------------------------------------------+------ 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 | 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 1 2 3 4 5 6 |April. ---------------------------------------------+------ 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 | 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 |May. ---------------------------------------------+------ 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 | 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 |June. ---------------------------------------------+------ 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 | 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 |July. ---------------------------------------------+------ 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 | 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 |Aug. ---------------------------------------------+------ 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 | 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 1 2 3 4 5 6 |Sept. ---------------------------------------------+------ 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 | 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 |Oct. ---------------------------------------------+------

As labor occurs in the larger proportion of cases between 270 and 290 days from the first day of the last menstruation, 280 days is the average. The table presents at a glance the beginning and end of 280 days for every day in the year. Find the date of menstruation in the upper line of the horizontal column, and the figure below, with the corresponding month, will indicate 280 days.

=To Avoid Miscarriage.=--The pregnant woman must be very careful as the usual time for menstruation approaches. It is then that any undue effort, unusual lifting, excessive grief, or shock to the system, may bring on a miscarriage. This is especially true if such a misfortune has previously occurred.

=A Great Preventive.=--The most abundant testimony shows that Lydia E. Pinkham's Vegetable Compound is an almost certain preventive to miscarriage or abortion. It gives strength to the uterine walls, quiets the first approach of pain, controls any spasmodic contractions, and brings about such a healthy condition that all danger is averted. I cannot speak too strongly of this Vegetable Compound for these cases. So many mothers have written us that they are now happy in the possession of a child, when, for time and time again, they would have a miscarriage at the third or fourth month.

=Keep it in the House.=--Every pregnant woman should always keep in the house a bottle of Lydia E. Pinkham's Vegetable Compound. She does not know the day when she will need it, and when that day comes she will require it promptly.

At any time when there is soreness, tenderness, unusual pain, any unnatural discharge, or any symptom whatever that shows pregnancy is not pursuing a perfectly natural course, she should begin to use the Vegetable Compound at once. It should be taken in small doses two or three times a day, just enough to produce its strengthening, quieting, and healing effects.

If she finds she has been overdoing, has strained herself in any way, or fears that some unfortunate result will follow an extra hard day's labor, let her take a few doses of Lydia E. Pinkham's Vegetable Compound as a certain preventive to future trouble.

=The One Universal Cure.=--In other words, I repeat what I have already said so many times, that whenever there is trouble of any kind with any part of the female generative organs, whenever these do not act in a perfectly natural manner, then the Lydia E. Pinkham Vegetable Compound is indicated; for it is the one great, universal and never-failing cure for all the affections which fall to the lot of womankind.

=Makes Mother and Child Strong.=--Many thousands of wives owe the fact that they are mothers to-day to this grand remedy, and thousands upon thousands of children are happy, strong and robust because their mothers were wise enough to use it. Keep it in the house. Do not be a day without it. Have it where you can reach it at any time. Put your confidence in it. 'Twill prove a never-failing friend to you in time of need.

=Mothers' Marks.=--There is a wide belief among women that any strong impression made at a certain time during pregnancy will exert a powerful influence in producing some defect or deformity in the child. The opposite is also held, to the effect that beautiful objects, delightful music, and everything elevating and ennobling will have a favorable effect upon the body or mind of the child.

An immense amount of testimony can be produced on both sides of this question. The weight of evidence, however, is rather in favor of these so-called "maternal impressions." In other words, it seems possible that under very unusual conditions the mother may affect her unborn child because of some powerful impression made upon the system.

Yet hundreds of thousands of mothers become frightened and undergo the most terrible experiences without having the slightest unfavorable effect upon the child; while other mothers give birth to deformed children when they have been surrounded with every comfort and have not been disturbed in any way. No one understands this subject, and but little can truly be said about it.

=Hereditary Influences Are Strong.=--On the other hand, we all know how strong is heredity. Therefore it is only acting the part of ordinary wisdom for every pregnant woman to avoid all disagreeable things possible and cultivate everything that is good and true.

=Early Training Necessary.=--When we come to study the theory of heredity, we see that it is impossible for any mother to completely change her course of life simply during pregnancy and have a corresponding effect upon her child. To produce the best results on the offspring it is necessary that the mother should have cultivated her own mind and body through many years of training.

=Were Cured Early in Life.=--Lydia E. Pinkham's Vegetable Compound has done untold good to the present generation. There are hundreds of thousands of children living to-day who are healthy and happy because years before they were born their mothers, when young girls, took this grand household medicine. They were restored to health, a great load was lifted, and things again looked cheerful and bright, and in this condition a happy baby was born into the world. =If you do not understand your ailments write to Mrs. Pinkham, Lynn, Mass. Her advice is free and always helpful. Such letters are strictly confidential and answered with the help of women only.=