Roxey Ann Caplin

“ Nature in her beneficence has given to every organ the inherent power to perform its functions without pain; and the organs of reproduction are no ex­ception to this rule. There is no reason why the muscles should become soft, flabby, and relaxed, the pelvis diseased, and the figure spoilt, except it be in the want of adapting the external conditions of the body to the requirements of Nature. ”

“ A young, slightly-built mother with her first child, will require a very different adaptation from a lady who is the mother of several children, and been subject to painful labour, and has perhaps met with some accident, or is suffering from some dis­order or infirmity, in whom the muscular relaxation is great, the bulk heavy, and the abdomen pendu­lous. It must be obvious, at first sight, that par­ticular adaptations are necessary to meet her case, and that no rule, except that of giving support where support is needed, can be followed here. ”

“ The most casual observer will, by bearing those two considerations in mind, perceive that what is required will be the elasticity of the upper and central portions of the corset, and the contraction of that part which supports the lower abdomen. In accomplishing this we aid Nature in the performance of her operations; when less than this is done, we either labour in vain, or else inflict a positive injury. ”

“ HAVING spoken of the various phases of woman's life up to her maturity in the preceding chapters, we have now to consider one of the most interesting of all the circumstances of her life, at once pleasing and endearing, when she is called upon to give birth to her offspring. ”

“ The nature of our work, which is designed for the Public, compels us to exclude much that is interesting and important to the afflicted mother, as being unsuited to our pages. The reader must not, however, suppose that those matters have been neglected by us. We have, indeed, carefully studied every form of uterine disorder and deformity, and have special adaptations for every period and for every complaint that woman is peculiarly liable to. ”

“ The natural elasticity which is given to all the organs concerned, the slow and beautiful process by which it proceeds, all prepare for the last and final effort. Immediately that this is effected, another set of organs come into action to supply the offspring with nutrition. The mammary glands begin to secrete a fluid which they have never yielded before, and the organs which have been distended during the previous nine months resume again their normal propor­tions, and it is to this ebb and flow of the vital force that we have adapted our Gestation Corset. ”

“ It is unwise to tamper with, or to attempt to interpose or interrupt these sanatory proceedings; for in the operations of Nature, as well as in the productions of man, there are limits to the special power applied for a given purpose. In the marvellous arrangements of fœtal gestation there is no waste of power, but every process is calculated with unerring certainty, and definite proportions regulate the amount of strength required; therefore any foreign agent which would prevent the abdomen from expanding must be a cause of pain, suffering, and disappointment to the incipient mother ”

“ The putative mother should feel all the responsibility which attaches itself to the future life and happiness of her child, and ever study the conditions necessary to its healthy and proper development. But unfortunately it too often happens that the mother is as little acquainted with the first prin­ciples of physiology as the child, and the consequence is, long suffering and affliction to both parties. ”

“ Throughout the whole range of animated nature, there are no organisms so perfect and beau­tiful as those which, in their collected form, are adapted to this purpose; whilst their extreme delicacy renders them sensitive, and predisposes them to inflict severe pain on any who knowingly or otherwise do violence to them. ”

“ How great then must be the injury sustained during gestation under such circumstances! Whatever affects the mother's health must exert a deleterious influence on her future offspring; and as ill-fitting corsets not only induce these sad consequences, but press on the abdomen and tend to displace its important contents, they cause complex suffering to her whose health and mental calmness are important conditions to the child's future health. ”

“ For example, in the instance of the expectant mother, it must be important to give her support without any undue pressure in any part, and at the same time to insure the perfect exercise of the vital organs.
In our corset the wearer can breathe freely, and the pulsation of her heart is not the least interfered with, whilst the various motions of the body can be performed without any extra exertion or fatigue. If she take a walk she derives important support from the closely-fitting corset ”

“ A minute study of the human frame shows us that the form of the female differs from that of the male on purpose that it may be adapted to the necessities of this interesting period. The breadth of the pelvis, the structure of the tissues, and a number of other phenomena, are all modified in her for the purpose of giving life and health to her pro­geny. ”

“ It is here that we are enabled to demonstrate what the real changes are, which take place in the figure during the whole period of gestation—to point out the particular parts which have to sustain the burden, and the manner in which our external adaptations give support to the internal organs. It is here that we always take the sufferer, that she may see with her own eyes what it is that afflicts her. ”

“ The great dis­tension of the abdomen which must necessarily have taken place has severely tried the muscles which form its walls, and this evil is in too many cases aggravated by the use of corsets that, instead of supporting the body, add to the stress already upon it. ”

“ The reason why the ordinary stays are so injurious may be demonstrated by tying a piece of thread tightly round the finger. Immediately that this is done, the circulation of the blood is impeded, and the finger becomes blue and painful, and this simply because an unyielding substance is pressing upon it. ”

“ Any interruption of this circulation by a pressure upon the soft pipes through which the fluid is carried, must, as a natural consequence, lower the natural action of the organs, and by increasing the sensibility, give rise to pain and disease. Hence the headache, the giddiness, dul­ness, depression, and languor, the numbness of the extremities, the enlarged veins, and other painful sensations which too often accompany gestation; and when all these have passed away with parturition, it too, frequently happens that the figure is spoiled for life. ”

“ As the softer passions, however, become developed, the man puts on that robust energy and daring which marks him out as the protector of the other sex; and his manly voice, the deepened tints upon his cheek, and the whole muscular system, show an excess of energy sufficient to qualify him for his position. ”

“ We have had mothers to consult us whose sufferings were very great prior to their doing so, and who have expressed to us, in language of the warmest gratitude, the ease and comfort they have derived from our adaptations. ”

“ Hitherto we have considered gestation only; it remains now to follow the consequences which result from it. Those ladies who have already passed through the ordeal know by experience what the discomforts are that result from the old routine of bandages; how imperfect, clumsy, heavy, and heating they are; they know the inconvenience of pins; how often they require regulating, and upon the whole, how loose, shifting, and disagree­able they become. ”

“ The construction of this article has, perhaps, caused us more thought, care, and anxiety, than any invention which we have ever submitted to the public; but it is a consolation to feel that we have attained the most absolute success. Our belt has now been in exten­sive use for a long time, and the fact that it has won the patronage of the first medical authori­ties of the land, and been adopted by the highest personages of the empire, is a guarantee of its utility. It is indeed one of those boons for which mothers have long sighed. ”

“ In mentioning the above facts, we desire above all things to impress it upon the mind of the reader that we have exaggerated nothing, as many ladies can unfortunately testify. We have, how­ever, only pointed out the evil for the purpose of suggesting the remedy, which is to have the corsets specially adapted to every occasion in life. ”

“ It is a very simple problem to comprehend why these results are induced; for if the resisting agent is greater than the organic power supplied by Nature, the latter succumbs, and the consequences we have indicated must follow. ”

“ When its vitality has been exhausted, the colour of the blood is changed from a bright red into a very dark hue, and it is then taken up by the other set of vessels, and carried back again to the heart and lungs, to undergo another process of purifi­cation. ”

“ The vital power inherent in the organs of gestation tends to push upwards, and if a greater resistance prevents its development by pressing it on all sides, it must dis­tend the parts where there is the least antagonism ”