Maternity; a book for every wife and mother

Preface

The time has arrived when a more diffusive knowledge of the laws of health, will be appreciated by the women of our land. It is said, " A little knowledge is a dangerous thing." I contend that no knowledge is a greater calamity. Women of this age are seeking earnestly to familiarize themselves with all the arts and sciences, and the leading questions of the day, and are now filling, creditably, positions of trust, which require scholarly attainments.

Yet it may be said with truth, that there is no subject about which the masses of women are so ignorant, as the Anatomy and Physiological laws of their own being. And the result is that there never was a time in the history of American women, when there was such an alarming prevalence of special diseases as at this day.

The important object of this work is to show that this universal suffering is not the result of excessive mental development, but a lack of physical culture, a want of balance between excitement and rest, especially before maturity has been reached, improprieties of dress, and sedentary habits of life. The greatest need of the age is a better understanding of the laws of our being ; it is a point

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IV PREFACE.

upon which the future of our race depends. I believe in the enlightenment of mothers and daughters upon this, and all topics pertaining to the physical, mental and moral conditions of women, as the surest means of correcting the glaring evils which to-day embitter the lives of our sex.

With a better knowledge of the physiological life of woman, and a practical application of its laws, a higher type of womanhood will be developed.

This work is designed to supply a long felt necessity in this direction, and it is devoted to a practical consideration of woman and her diseases — their nature, cause, and the rational cure of them.

It does not supplant the necessity of professional skill, in grave cases ; but it is designed to make woman intelligent as to the nature of her maladies and the proper means of relief.

If this work shall create a desire on the part of the reader, for a better knowledge of the laws governing her being, coupled with a determination to make a practical application of them, the aim of the book will have been accomplished. I bespeak for it, then, a warm welcome in every home in our land.

Prudence B. Saur, M. D.

Chapter I. The Young Wife

An ideal woman. — Health essential — Important advice — Life without health a burden — Means to promote health — Walking a glorious exercise — Evil effects of tight lacing — Pleasure in moderation necessary to health and happiness — A wife's work — Home the kingdom, and woman the king — Happy the man who has a contented wife — Pages - 11-16.

Chapter II. The Organs Of Generation

How divided — General physiology — The breasts, nipple and areola — The vagina — The uterus or womb, description — Round cords — Round ligaments — Broad ligaments — Anterior and posterior ligaments, arteries, veins, etc. — The ovaries, the most important of the generative organs — What they contain — Development of the egg — The law of conception — Ovulation — The Fallopian tubes — Description — Their utility — Nourishment and development of the embryo — The chorion — The allantpis — The placenta — Plan of foetal circulation — Pages 17-30.

Chapter III. Menstruation

Of what does menstruation consist — A law of nature — Every living thing comes from an egg — Marvelous regularity of the periods — Symptoms denoting appearance — Relation of menstruation to health, beauty and perfection — Disorders of menstruation — Suppression of the menses

VI CONTENTS.

— Various forms of suppression — Symptoms — Treatment — Chlorosis — Treatment — Profuse menstruation — Causes — Symptoms — Treatment — Painful menstruation — Causes — Symptoms — Treatment — Change of life — Symptoms — Treatment — Pages 31-55.

Chapter IV. Pregnancy

Signs of Pregnancy — Morning sickness — Appearance of .the breasts — Quickening — Flatulence — Other symptoms — Sleepiness — Heartburn — Increased flow of saliva — Toothache — Loss of appetite — Likes and dislikes in eating — Clothing — Evil effects of lacing — Another crying evil — Rational dress — Bathing — Air and exercise — Things to be avoided — Ventilation — Necessity of rest — Sleep, etc. — Pages 56-80.

Chapter V. Constipation

Results of constipation — General description — The sudject an important one — Evil effects of constipation — Peristaltic action — Causes of constipation — Injurious use of laxative medicines — Habitual neglect — Earth closets — Effect of Fashionable dress — Treatment — Food an important item — The wet compress — The enema — Abundance of exercise — Massage treatment — Special exercises — General remarks — Pages 81-100.

Chapter VI. Diseases Of Pregnancy

Pregnancy should not be a source of disease — Previously acquired disorders responsible — Mental disorders — Diarrhoea — Muscular pains in the abdomen— Sleeplessness — Heartburn — Water-brash — Wind in the stomach and bowels — Piles —Varicose veins — Pendulous abdomen — Toothache — Morning sickness — Means to harden the nipples — The breasts — The bladder — Fainting — Cramps — The whites — Irritation and itching of the external parts — False labor pains — The period of gestation — A pregnancy table — The nurse — etc — Pages. .. .101-143.

CONTENTS. Vll

Chapter VII. Miscarriage And Abortion

Miscarriage, a serious calamity — How prevented — Causes — Symptoms — More serious symptoms — Decided symptoms — Treatment — Early hours indispensable — Cold baths — Gentle exercise desirable — Criminal abortion — Influences of Christianity — A monstrous heresy — Evils of excessive child-bearing — A law of Nature — Children conceived and nurtured in love — Pages 144-153.

Chapter VIII

A common belief — An important subject to loving mothers — The possibilities of appropriate means — Effect of sudden mental emotions — The law of embryonic moulding— A teacher's observation — A reasonable theory — The last shall be first — Importance of order — Antecedent preparation — The right to be well born — Some pertinent suggestions — The sacred rights of mothers — Like begets like — Some specific directions — Hope for all — Cause and effect — Mothers should know themselves — The noblest use of art — Things to be avoided — The father's duty — The influence of inspirations — A God-like privilege — Pages. , 154-194.

Chapter IX. Parturition Without Pain

The pains and perils of maternity — Nature thwarted — Reasons for believing that parturition may be made painless — Testimony of emiinent physicians — Pain in child-birth a morbid symptom — Experience of Elizabeth Cady Stanton — A mistaken notion — Benefits to be derived from a fruit diet — Mrs. Rowbotham's experiment-— Value of different foods — Other cases — Diet, bathing and other exercise essential — Pages 195-213.

Chapter X. Child-birth

The first labor — Symptoms of labor — Child-birth a natural pro- * Adapted from Pre-Natal Culture by A. E. Newton.

Vlll CONTENTS.

cess — Nature needs no assistance — Duration of confinement — Successive stages of labor — Dress for the occasion — Things to be avoided — The use of chloroform in hard and lingering confinements — Hints to attendants — How to restore animation — Rest after delivery — Bandage after labor — Treatment of the bowels — Cleanliness necessary — Dietary — Water a valuable aperient — Nature's physician — Pages. ..214-248.

Chapter XI. Nursing

A true mother — Care of the breasts — Milk fever or weed — Stated times for nursing — Clothing to be worn — Diet while nursing — Fresh air and exercise — Ailments, etc. — Retracted nipples — Sore nipples — Cracked and fissured nipples - Gathered breasts — Causes of gathered breasts — Laxatives while nursing — Weaning, the time and manner of — Treatment of the breast — Warning symptoms — Pages. . . .249-274.

Chapter XII. Infants And How To Care For Them

A mother's duty — The bathing of infants — Cleanliness an incentive to health — Care of the navel — Rupture of the navel — Clothing — Some new ideas — Qualities required —Diet hints on nursing — How to select a wet nurse — Mortality of hand-fed children — Artificial human milk — Other artificial foods— Dentition -Painful dentition — Exercise — Sleep — Causes of suffocation — Chafing — Convulsions — Constipation — Flatulence — Cholera infantum — Diarrhoea — Dysentery — Nettle Rash — Red-gum — The thrush — The language of a cry — Concludingremarks on infancy — Pages 275-350.

Chapter XIII. Children And Their Diseases

Bathing — Clothing — Diet — Milk as food — Objectionable food — Overfeeding — Poisonous sweetmeats — The nursery — Childhood's ideal home — On frightening children — Night terrors— A long remembered kindness — Home treatment of children — Exercise — Amusements — Education — Advice to fathers — Sleep— Morning treatment — Second dentition — Disease — Water on the brain — Croup — Child crowing — In-

CONTENTS. IX

flammation of the lungs — Bronchitis — Diphtheria — Measles — Scarlet fever — Chicken-pox — Whooping-cough — The Mumps — Earache — Chilblains — Chapped hands — Chapped lips — Worms — Milk crust — Warm baths — Accidental poisoning — Important advice, etc., etc. — Pages 351-386

Chapter XIV. Youth

Bathing — Management of the hair— Clothing — Corsets — Development of muscles— Amusements — Choice of profession Fresh air during sleep — Early rising — Care of the teeth — Precocious children — Scrofula — Round shoulders — Hemorrhage of the lungs — Consumption — Sore throat — The tobacco habit — Nose bleed — Fainting — Constipation — Hydropathy — Pimples on the face — Gumboils — Corns — The convalescent — Pages 387-516.

Chapter XV. Diseases Of Women

Inflammation of the womb — No nation exempt from its influence — Varieties of the disease — Anatomy of the womb — Symptoms of inflammation — Ovarian tumors often the result — Sympathy of other organs — Not a cheerful picture — The causes — Debility — Exercise — Treatment — Clothing — Pure air — Food — Tonics Sleep — Sexual excitement — Local treatment — Value of injections — The cotton pledget — Chronic cases — Supports of the uterus or womb — Prolapsus or falling of the womb — Symptoms — Treatment — Anteversion — Retroversion — Flexions of the womb — Diagnosis of womb disease — Tumors — Polypus — Cancer — Leucorrhcea — Conclusion — Pages 517—554.

Chapter I

A good wife is heaven's last, best gift to man — his angel and minister of graces innumerable — his gem of many virtues — his casket of jewels ; her voice is sweet music — her smiles, his brightest day — her kiss, the guardian of his innocence — her arms, the pale of his safety, the balm of his health, the balsam of his life — her industry, his surest wealth — her economy, his safest steward — her lips, his faithful counselors — her bosom, the softest pillow of his cares — and her prayers, the ablest advocate of heaven's blessedness on his head. — Jeremy Taylor.

To be the ideal woman here portrayed, perfect health is essential. My subject then, is health, the care, the restoration, and the preservation of health — one of the most important themes that can be brought before a human being, one that should engross much of our time and attention, and one that cannot be secured unless properly inquired into and attended to. The human frame is, as every one knows, constantly liable to be out of order ; it would be strange, indeed, if a beautiful and complex instrument like the human body were not occasional^ out of tune.

The advice I am about to offer my reader is of (ii)

the greatest importance, and demands her deepest attention. How many wives are there with broken health, with feeble constitutions, and with childless homes. Their number is legion. It is painful to contemplate that, in our country, there are far more unhealthy, than healthy wives. There must surely be numerous causes for such a state of things. It will in the following pages, be my object to point out many of the causes of so much ill-health among women, and to suggest remedies both for the prevention and for the cure of such cases.

If a wife is to be healthy and strong, she must use the means — she must sow the seeds of health before she can reach a full harvest of health ; health will not come by merely wishing for it. The means are not always at first pleasant, but, like many other things, habit makes them so. Life without health is a burden, life with health is a joy and gladness.

The judicious spending of the first year of married life is of the greatest importance in the making and in the strengthening of a wife's constitution.

The first year of married life generally determines whether, for the remainder of a woman's existence, she shall be healthy and strong, or shall be delicate and weak ; whether she shall be the mother of fine, healthy children or of sickly, under-sized offspring.

A young married woman ought at once to commence taking regular and systematic out-door ex-

EXERCISE TO PROMOTE HEALTH. 1 3

ercise, which may be done without in the least interfering with her household duties. There are few things more conducive to health than walking exercise ; and one advantage of our climate is, that there are but few days in the year in which, at some period of the day, it might not be taken. Walking — I mean a walk, not a stroll — is a glorious exercise ; it expands the chest and throws back the shoulders ; it strengthens the muscles ; it promotes digestion, making a person digest almost any kind of food ; it tends to open the bowels, and is better than any aperient pill ever invented ; it clears the complexion, giving roses to the cheeks and brilliancy to the eye, and, in point of fact, is one of the greatest beautifiers in the world. If women would walk more than they do, there would be fewer useless, complaining wives than at present. Walking is worthy of commendation, and is indispensable to contentment, health, strength, and comeliness. During pregnancy walking must be cautiously pursued ; but still, walking in moderation is even then absolutely necessary, and tends to keep off many of the wretchedly depressing symptoms often accompanying that state. I am quite sure that there is nothing more conducive to health than the wearing out of lots of shoe leather, and leather is cheaper than physic.

Do not let me be misunderstood : I am not advocating that a delicate woman, unaccustomed to exercise, should at once take violent and long-continued exercise ; certainly not. Let a delicate lady learn to take exercise as a young child would learn to walk — by degrees ; let her creep, and then go ; let her gradually increase her exercise, and let her do nothing either rashly or unadvisedly. If a child attempted to run before he could walk, he would stumble and fall. A delicate lady requires just as much care in the training to take exercise as a child does in learning to walk, but exercise must be learned and must be practiced, if a lady, or any one else, is to be healthy and strong.

A lady should walk early in the morning and not late in the evening. The dews of evening are dangerous, and are apt to give severe colds, fevers, and other diseases. Dew is more likely than rain to give cold.

Does a wife desire to be strong ? Then let her take exercise. Does she hope to retain her bloom and her youthful appearance and still look charming in the eyes of her husband ? Then let her take exercise. Does she wish to banish nervousness and low spirits ? Then let her take exercise. There is nothing standing still in nature ; if it were, creation would languish and die. There is a perpetual motion. And so must we be constantly employed, if we are to be healthy and strong. Nature will not be trifled with ; these are her laws — immutable and unchangeable, and we cannot infringe them with impunity.

Let me strongly caution the young wife against the evil effects of tight lacing. The waist ought to be from twenty -seven to twenty-nine inches in cir-

NATURE NOT TO BE TRIFLED WITH. 1 5

cumference ; should she lace until she is only twenty-three or in some cases, only twenty-one inches, it must be done at the expense of comfort, of health, and happiness. If stays are worn tightly, they press down the lower part of the abdomen, which may either prevent a lady from having a family, or produce a miscarriage. Tight lacing is also a frequent cause of displacement of the womb Let the dress be loose, and adapted to the season.

Pleasure to a certain degree is as necessary to the health of a young wife, and every one else, as the sun is to the earth — to warm, to cheer, and to invigorate it, and to bring out its verdure. Pleasure, in moderation, rejuvenates, humanizes, and improves the character, and expands and exercises the good qualities of the mind ; but, like the sun in its intensity, it oppresseth, drieth up, and withereth. Pleasures, kept within due bounds, are good, but in excess are utterly subversive of health and happiness. A wife who lives in a whirl of pleasure and excitement is always sickly and nervous, and utterly unfitted for her duties and responsibilities ; and the misfortune of it is, the more pleasure she takes, the more she craves.

A wife's life is made up of little pleasures, of little tasks, of little cares, and little duties, but which, when added together, make a grand total of human happiness ; she is not expected to do any grand work ; her province lies in a contrary direction, in gentleness, in cheerfulness, in contentment, in housewifery, in care and management of her

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children, in sweetening her husband's cup of life, when it is, as it often is, a bitter one, in abnegation of self ; these are emphatically a heritage, her jewels, which help to make up her crown of glory.

The quiet retirement of her own home ought to be her greatest pleasure and her most precious privilege. Home is the kingdom of woman, and she should be the reigning potentate. A father, a mother, children, a house and its belongings, constitute a home — the most delightful place in the world — where affections spring up, take root and flourish, and where happiness loves to take up its abode.

Cheerfulness, contentment, occupation, and healthy activity of mind cannot be too strongly recommended. A cheerful, happy temper is one of the most valuable attributes a wife can have. The possession of such a virtue not only makes herself, but every one around her, happy. It gilds with sunshine the humblest dwelling, and often converts an indifferent husband into a good one. Contentment is the finest medicine in the world ; it not only frequently prevents disease, but, if disease is present, it assists in curing it. Happy is the man who has a contented wife !

Chapter II. The Organs Of Generation

The organs of generation are divided into external and internal. The external organs are included under the general name of vulva. "They consist in front of the mons Veneris, a fatty cushion covered in the adult female with hairs, and extending back from this on each side, two lips or folds of the skin — the outer ones which are partially covered with hairs, called the labia majora, or large lips, and the inner ones which are covered by a pink colored mucous membrane, called the labia minora, or small lips. Near where the labia minora meet in front is a little fold of membrane called the clitoris. This is usually about one fourth of an inch long, but it sometimes becomes greatly enlarged so as to be an inch or more in length. The clitoris is the seat of special sensation, and becomes somewhat enlarged and hardened when the passions are excited. About one inch back from the clitoris is the opening of the urethra, or outlet of the bladder. Immediately back of this is the opening of the vagina which is the entrance to the internal generative organs."

The breasts are accessory to the generative 07)

organs, and by many anatomists are classed among them. Their development and functions are simultaneous, and the sympathy between them is so marked that one can hardly be affected without the other. They are hemispherical in shape, glandular in tissue and the left one is usually slightly larger than the other. ''On the outer surface, and just below the center, is a small conical prominence, called the nipple, whic'h is of darker color than the rest of the breast, and is surrounded by a circle called the areola (Plate 6), having a deeper tint than the surrounding skin. In blondes the color of the areola is of a rosy hue, in brunettes it is much darker. This color is of importance inasmuch as it is affected by pregnancy, providing a reliable sign by which the physician may determine whether a woman is in a state of pregnancy or not."

The internal generative organs consist of the vagina, the uterus, or womb, Fallopian tubes, and ovaries.

The vagina (Plate 7) is the passage which leads from the vulva, or external opening, to the womb. It is from three to five inches in length and passes upward and backward in a somewhat curved direction, and, owing to this curving, it is about an inch longer on the posterior side than on the anterior. Its walls are thick, and capable of dilating or contracting to a considerable extent. It is lined with a mucous membrane throughout, like the uterus, and in virgins is marked with a

UTERUS AND LIGAMENTS. 10,

number of folds, which gradually disappear after connection, and especially after delivery. The outlet of the vagina is kept closed by means of a circular, or constrictor, muscle. This muscle also tends to draw the walls of the vagina together, making them more firm, thus enabling it in a great measure to support the womb above.

The uterus, or womb (Plate 8), was formerly thought to be the most essential of the generative organs, but it is now known to be but the receptacle into which the ripe egg is discharged from the Fallopian tubes. If conception takes place it remains and developes into a new being, otherwise, after a short stay, it passes off.

The form of the womb is nearly that of a pear, the larger end being at the top. The length is about two inches and a half, and its breadth at the top about one and a half inches, while at the lower end it is something less than an inch. Its thickness is also about one inch. It is not round, but flattened, and is slightly curved, or bent, the curved part being toward the back bone, the lower part, or neck, projects into the vagina, the walls of which are attached to the exterior some distance above. The walls being very thick the cavity is necessarily very small, and is different in form to the exterior. In the upper part, the cavity is shaped like a triangle, the Fallopian tubes entering at the two upper angles ; in the lower part it is continued downward, like a tube which swells out a little more than half way down, and at its termination opens by what is called the os uteri, or mouth of the womb, into the vagina. The womb is kept in position by two round cords, or ligaments, attached, one on either side, to the womb. These are about five inches long, and are firmly attached by their other ends to the pubic, or front bones. Without these the womb would be liable to displacements, but as they act with equal force and in opposite directions they necessarily hold the womb in the center. Beside the round ligaments there are also the broad ligaments, which consist of two sheets of strong membrane, one on either side, which extend from the top of the womb nearly the whole length down, inclosing the round ligaments, tubes, and ovarian ligaments in their substance. They grow fast to the pelvis and assist in maintaining the uterus, ovaries and tubes in their proper situation. There are also two ligaments that connect the womb to the bladder in front, called the anterior ligaments, and two others which connect it with the rectum behind, called the posterior ligaments. All these, however, do but little toward actually supporting the womb, which is really kept in its place more by the firmness and density of its own substance, and that of the vagina below, and by tension of the muscles in the perineum than by anything else. When these parts become weak from debility or disease the ligaments stretch, the perineal muscles relax, and the walls of the womb and vagina soften till all fall down together, causing prolapsus uteri, or falling of the womb.

THE OVARIES AND OVA. 21

The substance of the uterus is muscular, and is capable, in its contractions, of exerting great force. The increase in size which it undergoes, at the different periods of gestation, are most extraordinary, and its after contraction to its original dimensions are still more so.

Arteries, veins and nerves (Plates 9, 10 and 11) are plentifully supplied to the womb, so that it is abundantly nutrified, and highly sensitive. Indeed there is no other organ in the body, except the ovaries, that has such extensive sympathies, or that is capable ol such rapid growth. The womb, however, is altogether dependent upon the ovaries both for its development and its functional ability. If there are no ovaries the womb will be found merely rudimentary, and if the ovarian action ceases, those of the womb cease also.

The ovaries (Plate 12) are two small, almondshaped bodies, placed one on each side of the womb. They are enveloped in the broad ligaments and are attached by a strong cord to the womb, and also to the fimbriated edges of the Fallopian tubes. Their color is pale red, and they are covered over with little protuberances and indentations. In early life they are quite small, but about the age of puberty they begin to enlarge, and exert a powerful influence over the system generally. In fact, they are the most important of the generative organs, and the part they play in the grand process of reproduction is to produce the egg, or ova, from which all living beings originate. Each ovary contains, embedded in its meshes, about twenty or thirty little vesicles, or cells, about the size of a small pea, called the Graafian follicles (Plate 13). These are filled with a whitish fluid, in the midst of which is seen an egg, or ovum, about the size of the point of a pin, or barely discernible with the naked eye. Usually, there are from twenty to thirty of these follicles visible at once, but there are many others, and which are only seen as they develop. The' actual number it is impossible to know, but in all probability, there are many more than are usually suspected, and there is good reason for supposing that none are formed in adult life, but that the germs of all are contained in the ovaries from the very first formation of these organs. Neither the follicles nor the included eggs are all equally matured when we see them, but some are more perfect than the others, and one usually much more so than all the rest. In fact, they ripen, or develop, in succession, one after another, commencing at the age of puberty, and continuing to do so until the change of life, when all have been developed. This development of the egg takes place independently of sexual excitement or connection, and occurs each twenty-eight days in all healthy women, both married and single, after the age of puberty.

From this it will be seen that, in all normal cases, conception can take place only at the time, or soon after the expulsion of the mature ova from the ovaries, or, in other words, if connection does not

CONCEPTION — FALLOPIAN TUBES. 23

occur until after the ova has left the body, there can be no impregnation until the return of another period. The manner in which the egg is expelled is very curious, and when understood, explains many of the attendant phenomena. If the ovary is examined about three weeks before one of the periods, none of the Graafian follicles or their contained ova, appear very different from the others, but about a week later one of them begins to enlarge and continues to increase in size, at the same time coming nearer the surface of the ovary. Finally, the follicle as well as the surrounding membrane of the ovary bursts and the ova escapes through the opening. This is called ovulation. As there are two of the ovaries it is probable that they mature ova alternately, one, one month, and the other the next, though in case one ovary is disabled or destroyed, the other will act regularly and perform the functions of both.

The Fallopian Tubes (Plate 1 2). — These are two minute tubes, one on each side, extending outward from the upper part of the cavity of the womb. Each tube is about four inches in length, its canal is exceedingly minute, and at the junction with the uterus will barely admit a fine bristle ; it continues narrow along the inner half of the tube, then widens into a trumpet-shaped extremity, the margins of which are surrounded by a series of fringe-like processes, termed fimbria?. One of these processes is connected with the outer end of the ovary. As the Graafian follicle bursts, this fimbriated or handlike extremity of the Fallopian tube, guided by some unexplainable impulse, reaches over and grasps the ovary, thus securing the liberated egg and conveying it to the opening of the tube, which by contracting behind it and by successive contractions forces it into the cavity of the womb, where, as before stated, it is either impregnated and develops into a foetus or passes into the vagina and thus out of the body.