OFFICES OF PUBLICATION IN THE UNITED STATES THE VIR PUBLISHING COMPANY 1601 Real Estate Trust Building philadelphia, pa IN ENGLAND THE VIR PUBLISHING COMPANY 7 Imperial Arcade, Ludgate Circus london, e. c Price, 4J. IN CANADA WILLIAM BRIGGS 29-33 Richmond Street West TORONTO, ONTARIO EMMA F. ANGELL DRAKE, M.D. Price 50c. Net. 4 s. Net. MATERNITY Without S u ffe ring These chapters do not promise to free the hour of mater- nity from all pain, but they do make suggestions which will prevent much sufiFering. Mrs. Emma F. Angell Drake, M. D. Author of "what A Young Wife Ought tb Know" ($1000 Prize Book), and "What A Woman of Forty-five Ought to Know." Graduate of Boston University Medical College; formerly Physician and Principal of Mr. Moody's School at North- field, Mass. ; Professor of Obstetrics at Denver Homeo- pathic Medical School and Hospital. Philadelphia, Pa.: 1134 Real Estate Trust Building the; vir pubivIShing company lyONDON : Imperial Arcade, I poses a certain culture, whether of the schools or attained at home, it makes little difference, an upward look for themselves and those placed under their care, a pride that their children shall stand well in the community and the world at large. Look up, and your children will follow your eyes ; look down, and they will do the same. Plain furnishings, if need be, always plain food, but with plenty 92 MATERNITY WITHOUT SUFFERING of good books and high companionship, and we may achieve great things. Such were the homes of many of our Puritan ancestors and these homes told in the lives of their children. Finally. By far the large majority of chil- dren are shaped, not by a carefully laid out plan of birth and development, but by scraps of influence and circumstance, that makes them neither this nor that in any strong, force- ful way, unless at some fortunate period of their early years a power takes hold of them in environment, or strong personality shapes them into purposeful characters fitted to do something for the race to which they belong. How much better for the parents to have the delight and glory of shaping and training their children into units of power and excel- lence rather than to feel that others outside the home have wakened their dormant im- pulses for good, and quickened them into development. CHAPTER X THE LYING IN CHAMBER The chamber chosen for the lying in should be the pleasantest in the house. It should be sunny, as large as possible, well aired, and neither too near nor too far away from the living rooms. When too far away, the occu- pant feels herself entirely shut out from the home life, and when too near she is disturbed by the trifling things that annoy the daily life of the family. There should be few unneces- sary things in the room, as all extras need care and dusting, of which there should be as little as possible. The heavy furniture, a few pretty and restful pictures, the baby hamper and basket for sleeping, and a low rocker are all that are needed. Flowers and trifling things for variety can be brought in from day to day, and will furnish pleasant diversion for the lying in patient. The room should be at a pleasant living temperature, and a good hymn for daily use in the room is, " Let a 93 94 MATERNITY WITHOUT SUFFERING Little Sunshine In." Finally, ventilate, as air is the most necessary article of furniture in the lying in room. Open the window at the bottom and put a screen before it, or an excel- lent method, and one that insures against draughts, is this : Fit a piece of board, from six to eight inches wide, either into the top or bottom of the window frame, which lowers or raises the sash, and the air enters between the two in the middle. The bed, preferably, should be a two-thirds iron bedstead, with a comfortable mattress, linen or cotton sheets and blankets. The blankets are easily washed if soiled, while quilts or comforts are more difficult to cleanse. The narrow bed is more convenient during the confinement, and in the after care of the patient. In preparing the bed for the confinement a few directions are necessary. Over the mat- tress pin a square of oil-cloth, or preferably, rubber sheeting, as the oil-cloth has an un- pleasant odor for some. This should be a yard and a half square, and pinned at each corner to the mattress with strong safety pins, to prevent wrinkling. A pin in the centre of each side is also needed to keep it quite MATERNITY WITHOUT SUFFERING 05 smooth. Over this is the sheet which must be "Well tucked in all around. Over this a second piece of rubber sheeting or oil-cloth, secured as the first, and over this the second sheet. This we term a double bed, and so prepared, the necessity of changing immediately after delivery is avoided. For the coverings a sheet and one pair of light blankets are sufficient. After the child is born, the change in the bed and the toilet of the woman can be quickly and easily made, as all that is necessary for the bed is to unpin and draw out the upper sheet and rubber protector and it is fresh and clean without much incon- venience to the attendant or weariness to the mother. If she has been in the habit of wear- ing more than her night dress for the night, she will need a light summer vest on, and added to this a cotton gown. During labor this can be folded and pinned smoothly above the waist, that it may not be soiled or need change immediately. After the gown is se- cured, a sheet folded twice, forming nearly a square, should be pinned around the woman, and fastened at one side. The breaking of the waters is usually a cause of alarm to a woman with her first baby, but 96 MATERNITY WITHOUT SUFFEBINQ need not be. It is simply the breaking of the sack which has enclosed the child, and the es- cape of the waters in which it has been resting so cozily. By placing a large piece of old soft cloth directly under the patient a large part of the waters are absorbed and the bed saved so much. A bag of sterilized cheese-cloth, two feet square and filled with wheat bran, is also excellent for an absorbent, placed under the hips. In the weeks before the confinement the woman can have prepared two or three dozens of napkins for herself. A piece of cheese-cloth eighteen inches long and ten wide is cut, and within this a piece of absorbent cotton, eight inches by six is placed, and the sides of the cheese-cloth folded over and secured. This makes a soft and antiseptic napkin. When they are all finished they may for greater se- curity be baked for an hour or two in a mod- erately heated oven and tied up in a bag to be kept clean until needed. There is no trouble in keeping the bed and room sweet and fresh all the time, if proper care is taken. The napkins should be changed often and the bed linen as well, and no odors will be retained in the room that should not be there. MATEBNITY WITHOUT SUFFERING 97 Following the advent of the baby the mother must be spared company for several days. It is far easier to keep out all company than to limit the number of callers, hence say no to all. The admiration of the baby by the fond rela- tives, and the apprehensions of the mother lest it will not come up to their plans and specifica- tions are a great cause of unrest and should not be allowed. After the getting up, there is time enough for the visits and the exchange of compliments and regrets. To the women in whose homes the coming of a little one is no more a matter of comment than the spring house-cleaning and for the coming of which no more preparation is made, matters are different. Such a case I attended two days ago, and on my visit to-day several of the neighbors' children were in to see the newcomer, and I know not how many neigh- borly calls had been made beside. The only care-taker, other than my patient, was one of the seven older children kept home from school to do the bidding of the mother. Up to the very last she had done the work for the entire family, and at the birth of the eleven pound boy she did not utter a loud noise. Do such perfectly normal births make it un- 98 MATERNITY WITHOUT SUFFERING necessary to write books of this character ? Not at all. The mothers in such an environ- ment are not moved by things that to a more shielded nature would be positively unbeara- ble. For the women who desire to know all that they should to make themselves and their children the best possible, we cannot say too much, and to get such books into the hands of the masses as speedily as possible is the aim of all writers on this and kindred subjects. With keener appreciation and finer susceptibilities the children of these mothers will read and profit by these books, and their children will enjoy the blessing of their added knowledge. For the comfort of the mother, all disturbing things should be kept from the " getting strong room," and she be left to the enjoyment of her baby undisturbed. In these days that are in- valuable to her, she will dream high dreams for her little one, and build wonderful castles that she shall make realities for her darling. She will in the days that she lies there take a mental account of stock of her ability, her ac- complishments, her failings, her possibilities for high achievement. She will give herself to improvement as she has never done before, for what an incentive she has for progress MATEBNITY WITHOUT SUFFERING 99 now. She would not have her little one dis- cover, before it can talk, or ever after, if she can help it, gross faults in its mother. Then how shall she guide the little untried feet up the steeps of life which she has herself learned a little to climb, and of which she shall learn more and more as her child grows. What plans and high purposes she has for her baby, none but her own heart and the dear Lord will ever know, and these dreams will come back to her many times to be strengthened, as she ministers to the wants of her child in the days to come. The hours spent with her husband, in plan- ning and thinking for the little one in these days, Avill be very precious to her, and profit- able to them both. CHAPTER XI SIGNS OF PREGNANCY AND THE BIRTH To EVERY young wife the question will come, " How may I know when I am indeed pregnant ? " There are what are termed ra- tional or presumptive signs, and sensible or positive signs. In the early months we have only the rational or presumptive signs, but since it can do no harm to make all our prepa- rations and follow habits of living that would be best did we have the positive signs, it is safe for us to put them into practice at once. The rational or presumptive signs are in evidence from the beginning, and are, first of all, cessation of the menses. When a married woman skips a monthly period, she may safely conclude that she is pregnant and make her plans accordingly. If following the cessation of the monthly, she after three weeks or more, is troubled with sickness in the morning, and a bloating of the abdomen, a tenderness of the breasts, and around the nipples a dark areola 100 MATERNITY WITHOUT SUFFERING 101 appears, she has all the presumptive signs, and may feel as reasonably assured, as it is possible for her to be, that she is pregnant. All these signs appear in the first half of the term. At any time from the sixteenth to the twentieth week quickening is felt, which is also one of the presumptive signs, although it is usually thought of as among the positive. The motion is so very slight at first that it may be easily simulated by a moving of gas in the bowels, and for this reason we class this among the presumptive signs. When however the movements persist and become more pro- nounced, it may be set down as a positive symptom, if all other presumptive signs are present. Quickening may not at first be recognized by one who is in her first pregnancy, for the first motion is often so slight that it is either unnoticed or unrecognized. It may be little more than a faint throb, but when this is felt its repetition should be looked for, which will occur soon again and be each time more pro- nounced, and soon be so evident as to be un- mistakable. By this time also the form has so changed that there is no reason any longer to be in doubt as to the condition. 102 MATERNITY WITHOUT SVFFEBINQ The time of birth is reckoned from the ap- pearance of the last monthly. From this date count backward three months or ahead nine months (which will bring the same result), and add seven days and you have what is deemed the probable time for the birth to take place. Why add seven days ? Because the most probable time for conception to take place is soon after the cessation of the flow, which is in round numbers accomplished in seven days from its appearance. It is possible, however, for conception to occur immediately before the monthly and not arrest the flow at all or only in part. When this is the case the birth will occur nearly or quite two weeks be- fore the other calculation. Again it may take place just before the following period, and hence be two weeks later than first calcu- lated. The duration of pregnancy is estimated usually as 280 days, though this may vary several days earlier or later. We name the period as nine calendar months or ten lunar months of twenty-eight days each. By any method of calculation one cannot always reckon the exact day upon which pregnancy will end, but can come approximately near it. MATERNITY WITHOUT SUFFEBINQ 103 SuiRciently near to make all plans and preparations. It quite frequently occurs that a woman menstruates once, and occasionally two or three times, after pregnancy has really begun. In such case it will be difficult to fix the date with any degree of certainty. She will do well then to make a careful note of the time of quickening, which she may reckon is about the middle of the period. Her increasing size will also be some little criterion, but too much cannot be assumed from this. "When this uncertainty exists it will be well to have two nurses in mind, lest in the failure of one, from other engagements, the expectant mother should be unprovided for. Following all the rules in the earlier chapter on Prepara- tion for Motherhood, she can safely count on coming to the birth in a well and happy frame of mind and body, and pass throughout this entirely natural experience with safety and without a great amount of difficulty. Let me repeat again, do not torture yourself with forebodings of evil, because you have heard of one or two cases which did not result as happily as was expected. These cases are the rare exceptions, and all Avomen who are 104 MATERNITY WITHOUT SUFFERING well, and have prepared themselves properly, go through the ordeal safely and surely. Is there a larger proportion of safe transits through any other experience in life ? Then why should a woman faint and lose courage ? She certainly has no reason to. Only those who can be cheerful and give courage should be allowed in the lying in room. Despondency has no place here and must not be permitted. Find a pretext for the banishment of all croakers or one who cannot go around with smiles, not tears. At the time of labor only those who can be of assistance should be in the room. A Bible text comes to me this moment, that ought to be framed and hung in every room where the advent of a little one is expected, and should be thoroughly believed in by all. " In quiet- ness and in confidence shall be your strength." Here as almost nowhere else can we claim this promise from the Maker of all souls. The bowels should be kept in good condi- tion, and as soon as indications show that labor is near, an enema or injection must be taken, and the lower bowels cleansed of all contents. Then no obstruction is offered by a full rectum. MATERNITY WITHOUT SUFFERING 105 Often about two weeks before your full time you may have pains that simulate labor pains, and which may be mistaken for them. Tbey are usually fleeting in character, and have not the true regularity of labor pains. They may occur for several days in succession at about the same hour, and the patient, if she feels at all nervous, should have the physician called that her fears may be relieved. These pains are usually located in the back or low down in the groins, or may be shifting and changeable in their character like a nervous woman, and their cause is the same, irritated nerves. Labor is divided into three distinct stages, the first of which is commonly denominated the getting-ready stage, that is, the contrac- tions are opening the mouth of the womb and preparing it for the egress of the child. In a well-regulated labor this stage gives little trouble, save as the woman becomes appre- hensive and nervous at the announcement that her child is about to be born. In quiet- ness and confidence shall be your strength. Remember, that if you allow yourself to lose control of your nerves they will surely control you. A further comfort I have to give. In 106 MATERNITY WITHOUT SUFFERING these clays of anEesthetics in labor, no woman has anything to dread. Do I always give it ? Ko : for in many cases labor is so easy and rapid that there is no need or opportunity. In my last eight or ten cases I have given it but twice. It is better during the first stage for the woman to keep about the house, and be occu- pied with some light work which will keep her mind from herself. If the pains are a little nagging and trying, a good, hot sitz bath will do wonders in quieting. When there is the first inclination to bear downward in the pains, the second, or expul- sive stage has begun. This, in the large ma- jority of cases is soon over. A few steady bearing-down pains will bring the little stran- ger, and at the same time great happiness and rest to the patient, for are not all the bugbears she had conjured up a myth, and she a blessed mother ? The third stage is completed with the expul- sion of the placenta, which is usually accom- plished in from fifteen minutes to a half hour after the child is born. Then the mother's toilet may be made and she allowed to rest to her heart's content. MATERNITY WITHOUT SUFFERING 107 ITow will be seen the convenience of having the bed prepared as already described, as the outer bed, or sheet and protective rubber, may be removed with little inconvenience to either patient or attendants. A glass of hot milk, or malted milk if the patient prefers it, may be administered and she is ready for a good sleep. As soon as the mother is prepared for her rest, the nurse may turn to the baby. Should there be a room adjoining, which is sufficiently warm, the baby had better be taken to it, as the mother will be less disturbed. When it is dressed it can be shown to the mother if she is not already asleep, and she will rest with greater delight. Now a word as to the propriety of giving anaesthetics in labor. If there is a sphere for it in surgery, there surely is such a sphere in labor. I have never heard a woman physician or patient dissent from this, but I have heard one male physician discourse learnedly upon the lack of necessity for it, that since the Lord ordained suffering at this time, it was hardly right to attempt to mitigate it with anaesthetics, etc., etc. I have sometimes wondered if the opinion would be changed were the tables turned and he were 108 MATERNITY WITHOUT SUFFERING the sufferer. As I recall experiences, men are not generally as patient under real suffering as are most women. As I have said in another chapter, I do not consider an anaesthetic always necessary, for many cases of labor are so normal and easy that no palliation is needed. Only in the second or expulsive stage is it best to adminis- ter it, as it will often retard the normal con- tractions of the first stage. When the second or expulsive stage is unusually prolonged and severe, it is but merciful to alleviate with enough of anaesthesia to deaden one to the sensitiveness of the pain. The best method of administering it is to half fill a drinking glass with absorbent cotton, and drop a few drops of the anaesthetic upon it, and hand it to the patient, who can, as soon as she feels the advent of a pain, take several long, full breaths, and she Avill go through it with little knowledge of its severity. She may seem to be suffering all there is to suffer, but will declare after it is all over that she had a very easy time. Where the woman has lived properly there is seldom reason for the administration of an anaesthetic, but we have to deal with women MATERNITY WITHOUT SUFFEBINQ 109 who have not always lived as they should, or who have begun so late that time has not been sufficient to effect a full reform, hence the necessity of a helper in destroying the sensa- tion of severe pain. In the better days which are coming, and are even now on the wing, when women shall have fully learned what nature if followed has in store for them, these things will not need to be given, save in ex- treme cases of deformity or abnormal de- velopment. CHAPTER XII baby's wardeobe "Whenever I approach the subject of baby's clothes and think of directing in the preparation of the wardrobe, immediately the desire is uppermost to say all the tenderest and softest and finest things possible, and my mind runs riot in extravagance of quantity and quality in regard to the choosing and making the little garments that are to wrap the delicate mites of humanity. I find other writers on the subject have the same propen- sity, as was evidenced recently by an article in one of our most widely read periodicals. The writer recommended nearly two hundred pieces, fine, delicate and soft, as necessary in the wardrobe to be prepared, and I, as well as many young mothers, no doubt, stood ap- palled when I measured the requirements of the list with the length of many pocketbooks, and the possibilities of the laundresses. When writing and reading in such a strain, 110 MATERNITY WITHOUT SUFFERING 111 I immediately think of the mother of ten chil- dren, the eldest just seventeen, and of the ■wardrobes prepared for them. In the last two births in which I have attended her, the meagreness of the preparation was pitiful in the extreme. A dozen diapers of heavy can- ton flannel, three or four little coarse pinning blankets, two or three little home-made shirts, and perhaps four cheap outing flannel wrap- pers, composed the outfit. The seams were all on the inside and roughly finished, but all this did not prevent the babies from being fat, rosy, and healthy. I say this for the little mothers who must limit the expenses for their expected darlings. All that heart could wish is by no means necessary to the well-being of the little lives. If you have time and money, dear mothers, it is very lovely to have all the pretty things you can well afford ; but do not forget to be happy in the promise of your baby, even if the preparation for it must be meagre. It is the baby, not its clothes, which most concerns you, and the world, and its little, blinking self. Wrapped in an Indian blanket, or clothed in purple and fine linen, it is all the same to the baby, if it can but eat and sleep to its heart's 112 MATERNITY WITHOUT SUFFERING content, and its future is not based on the con- tents, much or little, of its baby hamper. An elaborate wardrobe is not necessary, for the baby is not on exhibition for some months ; and wrapped in its dainty flannels, clean and wholesome, it is pretty enough for all who desire to see it for its own sake. Had I hundreds of dollars to spend for my children's wardrobes, still a small amount should suflflce. First, the diapers. I have found for these a medium weight canton flannel the best, and all should not be made of the same size. There should be at least two sizes, the smaller for the tiny baby, and the larger for the child grown older. The smaller size should be about eighteen inches square, and will do nicely for inner diapers when more than one needs to be worn on occasion. Inside these can be folded a small piece of soft, old cotton or linen for the first few weeks, and in this way a great amount of washing can be saved, as the small pieces can be burned whfen soiled. The larger diapers, of which two dozens will not be an extravagant number, while one dozen will suflice for the others, will need to be of the width of the cloth, which comes about three-quarters of a yard wide. This MATERNITY WITHOUT SUFFERING 113 number will prove ample as one should never be used the second time without washing, and a change is always ready. The little shirts can be bought for almost any price, from twenty-five cents upward. With careful washing, which should be in simply tepid water, and dried in an atmos- phere as warm as the water to prevent shrink- ing, three will be a sufficient number to last the baby through until they are outgrown. The pinning blankets I fashion from a square of flannel, or from the mixture of cot- ton and wool, or silk and wool, the latter two not shrinking as do all wool, and hence better for these garments which need such frequent washing. This is the simple pattern : Get the yard-square material, and cut from a square of it a corner, leaving a bias edge eight- een inches long, which should bo faced with a bias piece of the flannel an inch or an inch and a half wide, turned over on the right side of the garment and catch-stitched down. This finishes a square with one corner cut off. The remaining sides should be turned over once on the right side and caught neatly down. The middle of the faced corner is pinned in the middle of the little shirt in the back, and the 114 MATERNITY WITHOUT 8UFFEBINQ two ends lapped and pinned in front. This leaves a smooth, ungathered surface in the back, and the corners lap over the tiny, red feet in front, and the lower corner will pin up enclosing the feet and legs in a smooth pocket, which is comfortable and snug. These when soiled can be easily changed, whereas a gar- ment which goes over the shoulders and arms must necessitate the undressing of the baby when changing. These three garments, with the band and the flannel or outing flannel slip is all that will be needed for the first few weeks, making them comfortable for the night without changing entirely, as days and nights are the same to the little one. As much quiet and restfulness as possible is thus insured to the baby, who has made a great change from a decidedly tropical climate, to one of varying and changeable temperatures, and it should therefore not be exposed more than is neces- sary. The bands are simply a piece of flannel not more than six inches wide, with the edge turned over once and catch-stitched down on the right side. Three or four of these are all that will be needed, as after the cord has dropped and healed there is no longer any MATERNITY WITHOUT SUFFERING 115 need for the bands. A half dozen of the soft outing flannel wrappers are ample, and they, trimmed with soft lace at the neck and sleeves, are dainty and neat. All these garments may be fashioned of the finest and softest and costliest material, or made from the soft shaker or outing flannels of which there are so many pretty patterns. A yard square of flannel hemmed, embroid- ered, or otherwise trimmed handsomely upon the edge, furnishes a blanket to wrap the baby in, to insure it from draughts. The crocheted or knit jackets will be needed later, and are sometimes preferred to the blankets at first. Eemember the baby is to be made comfortable to eat and sleep, and further than this should be left quiet and in content for the first few weeks. Later the soft unstarched linen-lawn slips and flannel skirts may be added to its dress. The simpler they are made about the neck and shoulders the more comfortable they are for the tiny wearer, hence as little trimming as possible is best. Instead of the lawn, wash silk can be used for the slips if desired ; they are soft and pretty and need no trimming, save a finish of herastitchinn: at the bottom. The 116 3IATERNITY WITHOUT SUFFERING length of these long clothes should not be more than three quarters of a yard from shoulder to hem. The flannel skirts are best made in one piece, that is, the waist and skirt cut in one, and to insure equability of dress there should be sleeves made of the flannel. If however, one prefers to have the shoulders and arras covered with the jackets, for added warmth, of which admiring relatives usually furnish a sufficient number, then the waists of the flan- nel skirts may be made of muslin and the sleeves omitted. This garment and the dress an be slipped on together, thus saving the baby from unnecessary handling while being dressed. The feet should be always covered with the dainty w^ool socks, or if preferred, the wool stockings, as they cannot be suffi- ciently wrapped in the other garments to in- sure warmth. Eemeraber all the time that the child has hitherto inhabited a tropical climate, and must gradually become accus- tomed to the temperate one in which he finds himself. When the clothes are shortened, at least a dozen slips will be needed, unless laundering can be done oftener than once a week. MATERNITY WITHOUT SUFFERING 117 To-day in children's dress we have nearly reached perfection. Baby is dressed for com- fort and healthfulness, and all that formerly made his days miserable, has been abolished. Tight bands, low-necked and short sleeved dresses are things of the past, and babies no doubt laugh inwardly at the change. The cap and cloak are a necessary part of the outfit from the first, as it should be taken out daily, when a few weeks old. These may be simple and unadorned or of the elaborate garments which are found in the stores. CHAPTEK XIII WHAT SHALL I DO FOR THE BABY? The wardrobe of our baby has been pre- pared long before he opens his eyes, and be- gins his career of ups and downs. In the mother's room is the hamper or baby basket, small or large as the case may be, filled with all that shall go to make it happy and con- tented, in so far as the outer covering can do this for baby or man. If its first trunk be one of several tills, in each there is a place for the various garments, and they always find their place, that the nurse or mother may waste no precious time in hunting for things when needed. In one side of the upper tray will bo a place set aside for the wash cloths and tiny towels, which must be soft and smooth, for the baby has very delicate skin, and it cannot be treated harshly, if you would not be troubled with skin diseases by and by. The First Toilet. — When the mother has been made comfortable after the advent of the 118 MA TEBNITY WITHO UT SUFFERING 119 little stranger, then the nurse may turn her attention to the baby. "Wrapped in the square of old flannel, soft and warm, as it was when it was severed from its mother, and laid away in some sheltered corner, it has had already a good rest, and will as a rule be happy in its first dressing. In the low rocker, with the large bath apron, which should be of wool and quite heavy, that later it may not wet through when the baby is wrapped in it as it is taken from its bath, with her basket at her side, a saucer of lard on the hearth warming, and a basin of water at hand, she is ready for the first dressing of the little one. My babies are not treated to the harsh meas- ure of a full bath in their first week, but are washed only where oil is not sufficient to re- move the soil, and otherwise oiled with a soft cloth or bit of absorbent cotton dipped in the saucer of warm lard. Begin with the head and oil it well all over, when the cheesy sub- stance, called vernix caseosa, can be rubbed off readily with a bit of old flannel. Grease well in all the folds and creases, if you do not want your baby to chafe in the days to come. No powder is necessary at this first bath or oiling, but will be needed later, of which the best is 120 MATERNITY WITHOUT SUFFERING borated talcum. This comes in boxes with perforated tops, that it may be easily dusted in places where needed. As you oil and rub clean one part, cover, that the child may be kept as warm as possible, and take kindly to its change. Many a baby has been spoiled for its baths ever after, by harshness and lack of consideration in the first weeks of its life. By tenderness and care the bath may be made a delight to both baby and its care-taker, who, to my mind, should always be the mother. No woman who has given over her babies to the care of hirelings, can know the sweetness of ministry to its growing wants, and the blessedness of feeling that to her it turns as a steel to a magnet in all its after days for com- fort in its trials and for mothering, because it learned in its blessed first days of helplessness that it was mamma who made it happy and comfortable. Do you care, dear mother, to barter this nestling love, for the pleasures of society or for a few hours of ease daily ? Many things can be well turned over to the nurse, but the things that hold your baby to you and make it look to you, and to you only, for its clinging, cuddling content and mother- love, can be bartered for no price, if in after MATERNITY WITHOUT SUFFEBINO 121 years you hope to retain it, " As one whom his mother comforteth," and not the nurse. The cord is dressed by drawing the stump through a hole torn in a four inch square of absorbent cotton, which is then wrapped about it and turned up, and then we are ready for the band. For the first few days, or until the cord drops, the band is the strip of flannel previously described. This band should not be more than six inches wide and about eighteen long. This will be ample for the largest baby and can be wrapped around the smallest with- out hurt. I do not need to say to-day, that the band is not for the purpose of holding the baby together, as if the Creator had left a part of his fashioning for man to make good with girths and bands. iN'o ; the band is simply for keeping the dressing of the cord in place until the cord drops, and when this is accomplished the band has served its day, and should be laid aside for the next baby, or given to some other newcomer or expected one. Some writers advocate the knitted band to follow the flannel, "That the child may be supported lest a hernia (breech) result from crying," When you can prove to me that the soft elastic knit thing called a band, can have 122 MATERNITY WITHOUT SUFFERING any power to hold the baby from breaking or tearing, and when you can convince me that there has been a lack of finish that makes a support necessary, I too will advocate the band after the cord has healed. This I mean for the rule, to which, as to all rules, there are ex- ceptions. Occasionally it happens, that a baby from excessive crying, may so strain the mus- cles of the abdomen, that an umbilical hernia (a breach at or near the navel) may result. Where this is feared, a band of strong flannel, not the soft knitted thing, may be worn as long as necessary. When there is really a weak place at the navel, a wooden button mold an. inch or an inch and a half in diameter, can be sewed between the band and a small piece of flannel on the inside, with the rounding part of the mold toward the baby. You will find some difficulty in keeping this in place, but it can be done fairly well by fastening the band to the diaper each time a change is made. The little shirt is the next garment to be ad- justed, then the diaper. Care should be exer- cised in adjusting the diaper, as there is dan- ger of deformity if improperly done. If the diaper be too large, the quantity which is folded down between the little legs is very large, and MATERNITY WITHOUT SUFFERING 123 a spreading of the hips must result, which gives a bowed appearance to the legs. On the other hand if the diaper be pinned too tight the hips are drawn forward unduly and "knock knee" results. The pinning blanket and the wrapper are all that the baby will need save the blanket, and the bootees or long socks, which are better. By all means the last-named garments must not be omitted, as the little legs are moving about so much, and are kicked out of the cov- ers sufficiently to keep them anything but warm most of the time. Many colics are traceable to the omission of the bootees or socks. For purposes of warmth, the knitted band is not out of place in the first weeks of the baby's life, especially if it makes its advent in the winter. Baby's needs can be summed up in a few words, and these, to eat, to be made comfortable, and to sleep. From the first, the wise nurse or mother will accustom the baby to sleep through the night, from ten o'clock until five at least, and this insures a good night not only for the child, but for the mother as well. A little painsta- king at the beginning will establish this habit in 124 MA TEBNITY WITHO UT SUFFERING the child, and insure a better natured baby, and a more rested mother. It needs firmness and decision on the part of the care-tali:er to fix this rule, but the care will pay, as it will be made up many times in the ease of the after attention needed by the little one. The best cradle for the baby is one without rockers, a good clothes-basket serving the pur- pose admirably. This lined and padded inside, a hard pillow or folded pad for the mattress, a pair of small soft blankets and a light cover, will furnish it nicely. Hot water bottles can so easily be placed about the baby to supply needed warmth if the weather be cold or the tiny specimen of humanity be at all under tone, and the high sides are so sure a protection from all draughts, that the basket becomes an ideal resting-place, and the baby should be in it for a large part of the twenty-four hours of each day. Taken up at regular intervals to be made dry and comfortable and fed, and then returned to the bassinette, is the program for the ideal baby. But many babies are not ideal. The rule is, make them conform to right habits as far as possible, and if they do not take kindly to it at first they can be gradually coaxed into line. MATERNITY WITHOUT SUFFEBING 125 If the baby is to be exhibited at all, let it be looked at in its bassinette, but do not allow it to be disturbed. Yery much depends upon the habits of the child in its first days. If it be disturbed and irregular then, it will need weeks to adjust it to regular hours of eating and sleeping. While it has been quite scientifically demonstrated that babies can neither see nor hear in its first weeks, yet it is quite certain that it is highly susceptible to its surroundings, and can be taught many things which it must be made to forget in the weeks that follow, if there is to be comfort in the household. When the mother has had her first sleep it is well to put the baby to the breast, as nature has provided the first milk as a laxative, and it should be administered quite early. Once in two hours the child should be fed for its first two months, and then time lengthened a half hour each month until the growing child is upon three meals a day. If it cannot be nursed, the matter is one "which no book can settle, as the food chosen must be suited to the individual baby (and they are early very marked individuals). Do not depend upon the say-so of any old wife or neighbor in so important a matter as the proper 126 MATERNITY WITHOUT SUFFERING food for your child, but go to your physician at once and follow directions carefully. In the multiplicity of excellently prepared foods to- day, it is not a thing impossible to find one which will be suited to every child. THE END u Pure Books on Avoided Subjects Books for Men By Sylvanus Stall, D. D. '"What a Young Boy Ought to Know.'* ''What a Young Man Ought to Know." "What a Young Husband Ought to Know." "What a Man of 45 Ought to Know." Books for Women By Mrs. Mary Wood- Allen, M.D., And Mrs. Emma F. A. Drake, M. D. "What a Young Girl Ought to Know." "What a Young Woman Ought to Know." "What a Young Wife Ought to Know." "What a Woman of 45 Ought to Know." PRIOH AND BINDING The books are issued in uniform size and but one style of binding, and sell in America at |i, ii» Great Britian at 4s., net, per copy, post free, whether sold singly or in sets. PrrBliISHED BY IN THE UNITED STATES THE VIR PUBLISHING COMPANY 1134 Real Estate Trust Building Philadelphia. IN ENGLAND THE VIR PUBLISHING COMPANY 7 Imperial Arcade, I- bath, the Church and the Bible. Price I 4 *. r net, per copy, post free ''What a Young Man Ought to KnoV WHAT EMINENT PEOPLE SAY Francis E. Clark, D. D. "It is written reverently but very plainlv, and I believe will save a multitude of young men 1 rem evils unspeakable." John Clifford, D. D. "One of the best books for dawning manhood that has fallen into my hands. It goes to the roots of human living. It is thoroughly manly." J. Wilbur Chapman, D. D. "I bear willing testimony that I believe this book ought to be in the hands of every young man in this country." Paul F. Munde, M. D., LL. D. Professor of Gynescology in the New York Polyclinic and at Dartmouth College. "I most heartily commend not only the principle but the execution of what it aims to teach." The Right Rev. "William N. McVicfcar, D. D. "I heartily endorse and recommend 'What a Young Man Ought to Know.' I believe that it strikes at the very root of matters." Ethclbcrt D. Warfield, LL. D. "The subject is one of the utmost personal and social importance, and hitherto has not been treated, so far as I am aware, in such a way as to merit the commendation of the Christian public. Frank W. Obcr "It will save many a young fellow from the blast and blight of a befouled manhood, wrecked by the wretched blunderings of an ignorant youth." Frederick Anthony Atkins "Such books as yours have long been needed, and if they had appeared sooner many a social wreck, whose fall was due to ignorance, might have been saved." '*What a Young Husband Ought V to Know/* BY SYLVANUS STALL, D. D. Condensed Table of Contents PART I WHAT HE OUGHT TO KNOW CONCERNINd HIMSELF The true foundation for happiness in married life — Physical, intellectual and sexual differences between men and women — Each complemental to the other, and complete only when mated — The three theories regard- ing coition — The correct theory — The physical cost of procreation — Illustrated in insects, animals and man — What is excess — Effects of marital continence — The hus- band's duty to his wife — Physical defects and deficien- cies of husband or wife — Misery entailed by vice — Effects upon wife — Upon children — Purity and fidelity. PART II WHAT HE OUGHT TO KNOW CONCERNING HIS WIFE I THE BRIDE Marriage the most trying event in a woman's life — Earliest mistake which most young husbands make — Few intelligent guardians of^ their brides — Threefold classification of women— Causes of differences. H THE WIFE Her manifold duties as wife, mother and housekeeper — God has fitted her for her sphere — The mother-nature — Barrenness and sterility — Physical, social, intellectual and moral benefits of motherhood and fatherhood — Aversion and evasion — God's purpose in marriage — l,ini- itation of offspring — Marital excess — The wrongs which wives suffer because of ignorant and unthinking hus- bands — Repellant periods in the life of woman. Ill THE MOTHER Purposed and prepared parenthood — Conception — The marvels of fcEtal life and growth — Changes during the months of gestation — The husband's duty to wife and offspring — What the wife has a right to expect before and during confinement — Ignorant, unthinking and un- sympathetic husbands — The child in the home — Real life and genuine happiness — The mother while nursing — Protecuon of child from impure nurses. PART III WHAT HE OUGHT TO KNOW CONCERNING HIS CHILDREN Heredity — Prenatal influences — Physical conditions prior to and at conception — Stirpiculture — Essentials of seed, soil and care — "I