Carolyn Conant Van Blarcom

“ But with the gradual growth of the race, with the beginning of the struggle for existence and the appearance and spreading of disease, all interfering with the natural growth and development of the body, the function of child bearing ceased to be a normal function, as designed by its Maker, and became one fraught with dangers to both mother and child. Nevertheless, through ignorance of these changes brought on by civilization, the idea that the function is a normal process, the risk slight and fatalities infrequent and when occurring, inevitable, is the almost universal belief to-day. ”

“ If your diet is faulty, your milk will be faulty in the same respect and your baby, being incompletely nourished, will start life with tissues that are lacking in those substances that are needed to make them sound and to promote health. That is what we have in mind when we say that the mother’s milk must be satisfactory not alone in quantity but in quality as well, if the baby is to be well nourished. ”

“ This makes us hope that before long good care during pregnancy, childbirth and young motherhood will be available to every woman in the land. But quite as earnestly do we also hope that every woman in the land who is looking forward to motherhood will seek this care. Certain it is that the expectant mother who does seek care, whether from a doctor in his office or through a prenatal clinic, is approaching her motherhood in the only way that is safe for herself and her baby. ”

“ A good many doctors think that for the sake of giving the nursing mother an opportunity to go out, mingle with her friends, take in some music or a play, it is often a good plan to replace one breast feeding, sometime in the course of each day, with a bottle feeding. The freedom which this long interval between two nursings gives the mother for diversion and amusement, will often affect her general condition so favorably that the quality of her milk is definitely better than it otherwise would be and the baby is benefited as a result. ”

“ We shall consider, for a moment, the more important details of the routine care that you should give yourself, for the baby’s sake, and then we shall be ready for the pleasantest task of all—the actual care of the baby himself. ”

“ It may surprise you to learn that you need not “eat for two,” in quantity, as is so commonly believed necessary, for during pregnancy you make so much better use of food materials than usual that an amount and kind of food that keep you in good condition will be adequate to meet your baby’s needs, too, until the latter part of pregnancy. On the other hand, it is very unwise for an expectant mother to cut down her diet, with the idea of keeping the baby small and thus make labor easy, except under the direction of her doctor. ”

“ The origin of the baby is exactly coincident with the fusion of the male and female cells. Furthermore, the sex of the child and any inherited traits and characteristics are also established at this decisive moment. No amount of dieting, exercise or mental effort on the part of the expectant mother can alter or influence them in the smallest degree, for the father has made his complete contribution toward the creation of the new being and the mother, also, has made hers, except for nourishment which she provides throughout pregnancy. ”

“ In general you should try to live just a normal, tranquil, unhurried kind of life that is unfailingly regular in its daily routine.
Diet. As was the case during pregnancy, the question of your diet is an important one. Throughout the entire nursing period your food should be such that it will nourish you and also aid in producing milk of a character that will meet the baby’s needs, the needs of a growing, developing body. The best producer of such milk is a diet consisting largely of milk, eggs, “leafy” vegetables and fresh fruit, all taken with an appetite made keen by constant fresh air. ”

“ But when the baby is ready to take up his life among the rest of us human beings, the contractions of your uterine muscles are altered in such a manner that you gradually become conscious of them and they become so purposeful that they are able slowly but steadily to force the baby down through that narrow part of the pelvis called the inlet, through the cervix, and finally out into the world. ”

“ It is very easy to allow the baby to develop the crying habit but very difficult to break it up. The first step toward prevention is general good care, for a baby who is properly fed and exercised, kept dry and warm, but not too warm, and whose clothes are comfortable, will usually cry very little if wisely handled in other respects. But a baby may cry because he is hungry, thirsty, wet, cold, overheated, sick or in pain or simply because he wants to be taken up and entertained and has learned that the way to realize his wish is to cry. ”

“ As you doubtless know, the process of your baby’s emergence into the world and separation from your body is termed labor. The onset of labor is usually marked by the expectant mother becoming conscious of the uterine contractions through dragging pains which are felt first in the small of the back and then in the lower part of the abdomen and thighs. In the beginning the pains are feeble and infrequent, but they gradually grow more severe and more frequent. ”

“ Doctors are not likely to use the word miscarriage, but will describe as an abortion a termination of pregnancy which occurs before the end of the seventh month and as premature labors those occurring from that time until the expected date of confinement. In the minds of lay people, however, the term abortion is often associated with criminal practice, miscarriage being a term loosely applied to all births occurring before the seventh month, while the premature baby is the one born after the seventh month of pregnancy but before the expected date of confinement. ”

“ Breast feeding is the most urgent single need of the baby, for whose coming we are making preparations, and practically every mother, excepting those with definite physical disability, can supply this need of her baby’s if she gives herself proper care both before and after his birth. You will be glad to know in this connection that everything that promotes your general health helps to prepare you to nurse your baby, but there is need also for care of the breasts and nipples themselves, to make the nursing satisfactory, and to prevent sore nipples and possibly even breast abscesses. ”

“ But probably of graver importance to the public welfare than the well defined nutritional disturbances, themselves, is the fact that between a state of good health and the level upon which a disease is recognizable is a long scale, along which is ranged an uncounted army of under-par, half-sick people. These are the ones who are tired, nervous, susceptible to infections, with feeble recuperative powers, and in general are more or less ineffective in the business of life. ”

“ Because of this reasoning, or lack of it, it has been a fairly general custom for the woman who expected a baby to seek her doctor’s aid only when she went into labor, or shortly beforehand, and to give no thought to the care of her baby until he was born. All too often the mother has died, because of this tardy care, been injured or become an invalid, while equally sad things have happened to the baby—and needlessly so. ”

“ This attitude seems to go back to a very old and deeply rooted conviction that, as women always have had babies and have had them through the working of one of Nature’s laws that has been operating over and over throughout the ages, they doubtless will continue to have them in the same old way, and the entire matter may well be left to take care of itself. As to the baby, when he comes, one may expect that the ability to care for him will come too. ”

“ And the incomparable, 141always deepening happiness of watching your very own baby grow lovelier and sturdier, day by day, because of the things that you, and no one else, are doing, will make you deny, even to yourself, that anything you do is hard. Particularly will this be true if you repeatedly remind yourself that the satisfactorily breast-fed baby is much more likely to live through the difficult first year than is the bottle-fed baby, and also is much less susceptible to disease and infection. ”

“ An early examination also enables the doctor to discover and correct any slight trouble which may exist at that time and which might grow worse if not treated, and to advise his patient about the general care which he wishes her to take of herself throughout pregnancy. In regard to this care, doctors are generally agreed that the average woman needs to do little more than observe the ordinary rules of personal hygiene, which as a matter of fact, should be followed by all of us; that is, she should live a simple, regular life as to diet, fresh air, exercise, rest, sleep, diversions, etc. ”

“ It is very important for a woman who is suffering from painful menstruation to consult a doctor about correcting the cause, in the interests of her future childbearing, if for no other reason, for this is one step toward preparing a good soil in which to plant the seed from which a baby may grow. For example, a misplacement of the uterus is a frequent cause of painful menstruation and if it remains uncorrected may make conception impossible; or if conception perchance does take place, the malposition of the uterus may, later, be the cause of an abortion or miscarriage. ”

“ The baby should have maternal nursing if possible, during the summer, for breast-fed babies fall victim to summer complaint much less frequently than de bottle babies. Quite evidently, then, you should regulate your own life with even more care than usual—for the baby’s sake. He should be fed with absolute regularity, and as a rule, no matter what the nature of his food, it should be reduced one quarter to one third in amount when the days are very hot, and he should have an increased amount of cool, boiled water to drink. ”

“ AIRING YOUR BABY An abundance of fresh air is one of the baby’s greatest needs as it increases his resistance to disease and his recuperative powers, improves his appetite and aids digestion. In general, the more the baby is in the open air and the more fresh air he has while in the house, the better.
The two factors which must be considered in supplying the baby with fresh air are the condition and vigor of the baby himself and the immediate temperature and state of the weather. ”

“ To sum it up in a word, your part in preventing an abortion or miscarriage after pregnancy has begun, consists largely of avoiding fatigue; resting when tired; avoiding physical shocks such as blows upon the abdomen, jolts or falls particularly during the first sixteen or eighteen weeks and at the time when menstruation would ordinarily occur if you were not pregnant, and avoiding overwork during the later weeks of pregnancy. ”

“ So much of proved value has been done, and still is being done, to safeguard you and your baby, that you have every reason to feel calm and secure, and it is of very practical importance that you cultivate this attitude. The woman who allows herself to become excited, nervous and apprehensive has much harder time than the one who asserts her self-mastery and preserves a tranquil state of mind. ”

“ There is evidently a close relation between the functions of the breasts and of the uterus and accordingly involution is likely to progress more satisfactorily in women who nurse their babies than in those who do not. The so-called “after-pains,” also, are affected by nursing, being more severe, as a rule, when the baby is at the breast than at other times. These pains are caused by alternate contractions and relaxations of the uterine muscles and are more common in women who have had other children than after the first baby. ”

“ Many women, nowadays, are taking just that kind of attitude toward motherhood. They begin by consulting a doctor as soon as they know that they are pregnant, because they appreciate the importance of doing so. They study eagerly the questions relating to motherhood; the structure and workings of those parts of their own bodies which are concerned with the baby’s creation; how he evolves within them; what he needs during those nine months of development; what practices, what conditions are bad for the baby and themselves ”

“ An expectant mother who has had an abortion will have to take even greater precautions, as she is in more danger than is a woman who has not had this experience. It is of prime importance, to begin with, that she have the cause of her previous abortion discovered, and if possible corrected. And since the accident is most likely to be repeated at about the same time, or a little earlier, in each succeeding pregnancy it is a wise precaution for the expectant mother to remain quietly in bed for at least a week before and after the time when an abortion may be feared. ”

“ One factor which keeps some expectant mothers from seeking medical care is the well-meaning but dangerous counsel so freely offered by older women who claim fitness to advise by virtue of having had several children of their own. Their lack of success, as evidenced by miscarriages, stillbirths, children dying in early infancy, as well as injuries and disabilities of their own, is usually overlooked as they press their superstitions and remedies upon the inexperienced and bewildered younger woman. ”