A PHYSICIAN'S

C O U N S E L S TO W O M A N ,
IN

HEALTH AND DISEASE.

BY

WALTER C. TAYLOR, A.M., M.D.,
AUTHOR OP " GYNAECOLOGICAL NOTES ; " " A PHYSICIAN'S COUNSELS TO
HAN IN HEALTH AND D I S E A S E / ' ETC. ETC.

SPRINGFIELD:
W. J. H O L L A N D
1871.

& CO.

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1871, by
W.

J.

HOLLAND

in the Office of the Librarian of Congress.
is reserved.

& CO.,
The right of translation

613
T21p

PREFACE.

T H E most eminent physicians both here and in
England have united in deploring the ignorance
which produces the vast amount of disease and
suffering among women.

All agree that infor-

mation is needed, but few come forward to give
it.

I have endeavored in this work to supply the

« want, in the same manner, as in my " Counsels to
.
/ ' Man" I pointed out to him the weak parts of
> his nature, and provided him with resources to
^ fortify them.
I t may be asserted that there are already works
^ of this character in the market, sufficiently full
^ , a n d explicit.

I feel confident that even a super-

;-^ficial examination will prove that none of them
c

x embrace the subject as completely as this which
I now present.

Uot confining myself to mere
i*

( 5 )

6

PREFACE.

matters of physiology and hygiene, as is too commonly the case, I have given especial attention to
the real kernel of the subject—Disease, its prevention, its detection, its causes, its cure. Strangely
enough, in some works professing to instruct
woman in the care of her health, this is wholly
omitted; in others it is wrapt in such ambiguity
of technical phrase, or else described in such
coarse and vulgar terms, as to be useless and repulsive.
Seeing the faults committed by others, I have
endeavored to avoid them; and dare to flatter
myself with the belief that I here offer a work
to the women of America, open to none of these
objections, and which, if they once peruse, they
will not willingly be without.

CONTENTS.
PAGE
PREFACE

5—6

PART I.

WHAT MAKES WOMAN.
STRUCTURE AND FUNCTIONS

.

.

.

15—27

H e r form—Her height and weight—Her
strength-r—Her pulse and respiration—
H e r temperament — Her disposition—
H e r statistics of life—Her longevity—
H e r health and peculiar diseases—Conclusions on the differences of the sexes.
PUBERTY

28—54

The signs of puberty—When it comes—Its
perils—Green sickness —Nervousness—
The care of puberty—The hidden sin.
THE MONTHLY CHANGE

55—65

I t s nature—Its duration and amount—Its
hygiene.

(7

)

8

CONTENTS.
PAGE

NUBILITY
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
I t s period—The laws of marriage—The age
of marriage—The dangers of early matrimony—The dangers of late matrimony.

66—76

THE SINGLE LIFE

77—80

.

.

.

.

.

.

THE CHANGE OP LIFE . . . . .
The age of decline—Its signs—Its diseases
— I t s hygiene.

81—95

THE PRELIMINARIES OF MARRIAGE .
. 96—105
The difference in age of bride and groom— '
The union of May and December—Who
should not marry—Should the marriage
of cousins be forbidden ?

PART II.

WOMAN A W I F E .
ANIMAL AND SPIRITUAL LOVE .
.
. 107—115
The first experiences—The indulgence of
desire — The sleeping apartment — The
bed aiid its coverings.
WHAT PARENTS TRANSMIT TO THEIR
OFFSPRING
116—134
The physical peculiarities we inherit—Can
we have beautiful children at will ?-^-The
muscular and vital powers capable of
transmission — T h e intellectual powers
capable of transmission—The diverse in-

CONTENTS.

9
PAGE

fluence of fathers and mothers—The
moral qualities capably of transmission—
The diseases capable of transmission.

ON THE VOLUNTARY PRODUCTION OF
SEX
135--145
Various causes which influence the sex of
the child—The effect of the relative age
of the parents—The alleged effect of the
physical condition of the parents—Which
sex is the more numerous?
THE LIMITATION OF FAMILIES .
The crime of abortion.

.

. 146—153

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF PREGNANCY . 154—158
How the presence of twins may be known.
THE HYGIENE OF PREGNANCY .
.
. 159—187
The diet—The dress—Air and exercise—
The nervous system—The influence of
the mother's mind on the unborn child—
Precautions daring pregnancy in the interests of the child—Is pregnancy useful
or hurtful to female health and beauty ?
—Influence of pregnancy on the intellectual faculties.
THE PERILS OF PREGNANCY
.
.
. 188—201
Puerperal mania—The influence of pregnancy upon chronic and recent diseases
—The treatment of morning sickness—

10

CONTENTS.
PAGE

Marital relations during pregnancy—
How to ascertain th$ probable date of
confinement.
PAET III.

THE "WIFE A MOTHEB.
RULES CONCERNING NURSING .
.
. 203—241
W h y a mother should nurse her own child
— W h a t the mother needs to fit her t o
nurse her child—What makes nursing
difficult—What forbids nursing—Conclusions relative to maternal nursing—
I m p o r t a n t hygienic facts—How soon
after birth should the mother give the
breast ?—Precautions in giving the breast
— W h a t is the best position in which t o
nurse?—How often ought the child nurse
during the day?—Is it necessary at night
to give the breast so often as in the daytime?—The amount of milk the infant
needs—The influence of the mother's
food upon her milk—The influence of the
monthly sickness upon the milk—The
influence of the marital relation on the
milk—The influence of pregnancy on the
milk—The influence of emotion on the
milk—Other influences which modify the
nature of the milk—Means of recognizing
changes in the milk—Too much or too
little milk—At what age may the child
have other food than milk?—The proper
food for infants—At what age should the
child be weaned?—The food of the child
after weaning.

CONTENTS.

11
PAGE

THE HYGIENE OF THE INFANT BEFOEE
WEANING
242—248
The air it breathes—Its light—Its temperature—Its sleep—The clothing it wears.
WHAT THE MOTHEE SHOULD DO IN SLIGHT
ACCIDENTS TO THE CHILD
.
.
. 249—254
Accidents which do not require the physician's care—Small wounds and cuts—
The dressing of small wounds—Means
of quieting children and checking their
bursts of passion—Burns and scalds—
The immediate dressing of burns and
scalds—The first cares in grave falls, dislocations and fractures.
THE EOLE OF THE MOTHEE IN THE DISEASES OF CHILDHOOD
255—273
Useless and dangerous medicines for children—Injurious medicated soaps—The
diseases of the child while teething—The
scrofulous constitution.

PART IV.

"WOMAN m

DISEASE.

THE CAUSES OF DISEASE IN WOMAN
. 275—280
Folty ir; dress—The neglect of exercise
and fresh air—Improper nervous excitement—Imprudences during the monthly
periods—The production of abortion—
W a n t of care after childbirth.

12

CONTENTS.
PAGE

THE PREVENTION OF DISEASE IN WOMAN 280—287
Systematic health
culture—Precautions
during the monthly periods—A wellassorted marriage—Pregnancy.
PAINFUL PERIODS

288—299

Different forms of the affection—Painful
periods due t o neuralgia, causes, symptoms, and treatment—Painful periods
due t o congestion, causes, symptoms,
and treatment—Painful periods due t o .
obstruction—Useful receipts.
PROFUSE PERIODS

'300—303

The causes, effects, and treatment—Useful
receipts.
SCANTY AND SUPPRESSED PERIODS

. 304—318

The causes, effects, and treatment—Useful
receipts.
STERILITY IN MARRIAGE

.

.

.

.

Influence of the age of marriage on the
probable size of the family, on the birth
of the first child, and on the period of
childbearing—Periods of temporary sterility—Constitutional causes of sterility,
excessive obesity, extreme leanness—
Counsel to sterile wives.

319—330

CONTENTS.

13
PAGE

WHITE FLOWING
331—339
The nature and character of " t h e whites"
—The causes—The treatment—The proper manner of using injections—Directions for soothing, cooling, astringent,
and deodorizing injections.
POVERTY OF THE BLOOD
. . . .
340—351
A n unfortunate opinion in regard to impoverished blood—The causes and how
t o avoid them—The symptoms and how
to distinguish them—The treatment aud
how t o conduct it—Iron a necessity
—The methods of administering it—
How to combine it with vegetable bitters—Other valuable tonics—Useful receipts.
NEURALGIC PAINS
352—356
Rheumatism and neuralgia of the womb
and ovaries; symptoms, prevention, and
treatment—Useful receipts.
HEADACHES
357—383
Sick headache; symptoms, causes, and
treatment—Nervous headache; symptoms, causes, and treatment.
PARTING WORDS

385—387

INDEX

389—401

PAET I.

What makes Woman.
has said,
" When one wishes to write upon woman,
he should dip his pen in the colors of the
rainbow, and throw over the written lines
the dust of the butterfly's wings." "We
have no ink of brilliant hue at our disposal.
The subject is worthy of the most gorgeous
imagery; but our purpose is to record the
facts of science in language which strives
to be clear.
Woman is woman not merely because of
her special feminine attributes, which concur in the great work of the perpetuation of
the species. She is distinguished from man
by her whole being, by her intellectual and
moral as well as by her physical qualities.
(15)
MADAME ISTBOKBE-SAUSSTTRB

16

A PHYSICIAN'S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

W e shall proceed to answer in detail the
question, "What makes woman ?
Her Form.
This is characteristic even at a very early
age. A certain gracefulness of outline is
everywhere observable. The bones are
lighter and smaller than in the opposite
sex. The collar-bone is longer and less
curved. The lower limbs are set farther
apart, from which results a peculiarity of
gait. The hips are broader, so as to give a
greater space to that band of bone which
incloses the organs destined for maternity.
These anatomical differences are shadowed
forth even in early girlhood; they become
more marked as the age of puberty draws
nigh; and they are fully established at
maturity.
The muscular system is also less developed in the girl than in the boy. Before
any special exercise can create a difference,
we find that with her the muscles are
weaker, and not so prominent in outline.

WHAT MAKES ¥OMAK.

17

They are emblematic of the more peaceful
and quiet life she is destined to lead. They
are moulded for the gentler exercises of the
domestic circle—for grace, rather than
strength of movement.
This slighter development of the bones
and- muscles, and the absence of prominences, give to the form that roundness of
contour which is one of the distinguishing
features of female beauty. The curved lines
are more numerous than the straight, and
the general surface is undulating, in contrast with masculine angularity.
Her skin is more delicate, and has greater
brilliancy and whiteness, than that of the
other sex. Her hair also differs from his.
I t has greater length, and is preserved for
a longer time, but is less generally diffused
over the body.
Her Height and Weight
The differences in height and weight be*tween the two sexes all through life are
pemarkabl§. This is always observed when
3*

18

A PHYSICIANS COUNSELS TO WOMAN".

the comparison is made between those of
similar age, race, vigor, and general health.
During her whole life, the woman has
less height and weight than the man. This
difference, very perceptible at all ages, is
particularly marked about the age of twelve.
A t birth, the boy is on the average about
half an inch longer than the girl, and weighs
about two-thirds of a pound more. Adult
men in the United States measure, on the
average, five feet eight inches," and weigh
one hundred and forty-five pounds; adult
women average five feet two and a half
inches, and weigh one hundred and twentyfive pounds. The disproportion in weight
is greatest between the ages of twelve and
forty. From forty to fifty, the two sexes
approach each other more nearly in weight.
Her Strength.
A t the outset, the little girl's strength is
inferior to that of the boy of the same age.
This difference increases after puberty.
The comparison between the muscular

WHAT MAKES WOMAN.

19

powers of the two sexes has, after careful
investigation, been represented by the
figures 15 (for the boy before puberty) and
10 (for the girl before puberty); and by 18
(for the adult man) and 10 (for the adult
woman).
Her Pulse and Respiration.
The female pulse is quicker, other things
being equal, than the male. This difference is found to exist even in the foetuses
before birth, and furnishes a means, as we
shall see later, of distinguishing the sex of
the child in advance. A t birth, however,
and for a brief period after, the pulse of the
boy is a beat or two the quicker.
The manner in which the respiration
is performed constitutes a notable and
important difference between the sexes.
"While he breathes mainly with the muscles
of the abdomen, she breathes mainly with
those of the upper portion of the chest.
This peculiarity on her part furnishes a
means for the expression of passion, which
tragediennes are not apt to neglect. I t

20

A PHYSICIAN'S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

also enables her respiration to continue
uninterrupted by the occurrence of pregnancy. This latter consideration shows
how the woman is modelled and prepared in
advance for the performance of that maternal duty which is the supreme end of her
physical being.
Her Temperament.
That agreeable French writer and physician, Roussel, has not hesitated to record
the sanguine temperament, " the one which
unites health and beauty in the highest
degree of perfection to which human nature
can attain," as the temperament particularly belonging to woman. I t cannot be
said, however, that there is a feminine temperament, as distinguished from the masculine temperament. W e find in each of
the sexes nearly the same liability to the
predominance of the nervous, lymphatic,
bilious, or sanguine temperament.

WHAT MAKES WOMAN.

21

Her Disposition.
It has been truthfully, though perhaps
mischievously, said, that woman is more
childlike than man, She preserves longer
than he the physical, mental, and moral
traits of childhood. In this we find the
source of that grace which is one of her
most charming and essential attributes.
"We may trace this happy resemblance in a
thousand ways: it is seen in the soft, undecided lines of Nher form, which suggest
the contour, without designating i t ; in the
sound of her voice, in which predominates
a caressing grace of tone; in the smooth
skin, which contrasts with the exuberance
of the hair; in the prominence of the nervous functions; in that exquisite sensibility,
always quick of response; in that force of
emotion which is the glory and at the same
time the martyrdom of woman; in the
abundance of words and gestures; in the
equal readiness of tears and laughter; in
the mobility of the ideas and feelings ; and
in the delicacy of the health. Although

22

A PHYSICIANS COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

the woman resembles more nearly the little
girl than the man the little boy, she, as
well as he, is complete in her own organization; there has been no arrest of development.
Her Statistics of Life.
The figures of the statisticians also point
to the existence of a mysterious, natural
difference between the male and the female
life. There are more boys born than girls.
Social arithmetic places the proportion at
about one hundred and six to one hundred.
That is to say, in about every sixteen births
there is one more boy than girl. "What is
the reason of this law? It is necessary,
in order to balance the greater ravages
made by death in the ranks of men, exposed
as they are to more causes of accident and
disease, while the woman is protected in
the seclusion of her domestic life. She
suffers more, it is true ; but her health is
better cared for, and she is less liable to
die. If it were not for this law of excess
in male births, the necessary relation be-

WHAT MAKES WOMAiSr.

23

tween the sexes would be disturbed by the
greater male mortality.
This greater male mortality is even perceptible in uterine life. More male foetuses
are still-born than female. And the mortality continues to be much more considerable among boys than girls, especially
during the first five years of infancy. The
force which resists death seems, therefore,
to be more feeble in the male sex.
Her Longevity.
The probable duration of life is considerably greater with the girl than the boy.
At birth, the boy's expectation of life is
thirty-three years and eight months; the
girl's, thirty-seven years and two months.
A t five years of age, the boy's expectation
of life is forty-two years and ten months;
the girl's, forty-five years and two months.
The average duration of life is also
greater with woman than with man. Thus,
in France, where the records are kept with
the utmost exactness, under governmental

24

A PHYSICIANS COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

surveillance, we find that between 1854 and
1859 the average life for both sexes was 35
years and 6 months: that of the women
was 37 years and 2 months; that of the men,
33. years and 8 months only. There are, at
any given moment, in the population more
women who are sexagenarians, octogenarians, and centenarians than there are men
of the same age. I t is said that during one
year (1868, we believe) France possessed
only one male centenarian, while she had
sixteen of the other sex.
Her Health and Peculiar Diseases.
Is the girl or the woman more apt to be
sick than the boy or the man ? The question has been much discussed whether the
female constitution is not radically weak.
"Women are not constantly sick, as some
have asserted. They are more susceptible
to certain forms of illness, and they have a
host of maladies peculiar to themselves,
but the fact that they are not the serious
invalids they have been assumed to be is

WHAT MAKES WOMAN,

25

shown by their greater longevity, as we
have just seen. Still, there seems to be a
contradiction here. How happens it that
we find in the female constitution such
general apparent feebleness, and a group of
diseases unknown to the other sex, united
with a longer life, a more energetic resistance to death? This has been accounted
for in two ways. First, we have the
greater protection thrown around the life
and health of the woman by social customs.
The perils of wine and of war she is not
exposed to. The dangers by sea and by
land to the traveller are less hers than his.
The life of greater passion and anxiety
which men lead induces exhaustive reactions. - These greater trials and exposures
of manhood are partly balanced by the
perils of maternity which she incurs. The
second preservative influence which accounts for her greater vitality is the possession of a more highly developed and
more acute nervous system. Here we find
another instance of nature's compensations.
This nervous excitability, the cause of m
3

28

A PHYSICIANS COUKSELS TO ¥ O M A H .

many pains, is an instrument of defence
against many ills.
One of the characteristics of female
maladies is their liability to change their
nature and seat* They do not fix themselves nor entrench themselves so strongly
behind any particular organ. They seem
to be much more serious than they really
are.
Women are less subject to certain fatal
diseases than men. Among these are apoplexy, aneurism, typhoid fever, and rheumatism. On the other hand, the various
convulsive and other nervous affections are
more apt to attack her than the other sex*
The same is true of scrofulous and tubercular affections, with their long series of aftereffects*
Conclusions on tlie Distinction of the
Sexes.
Thus we have traced out, from the cradle?
fundamental differences between the two
sexes in regard to their structure, their
physiology, their predispositions to disease*

WHAT MAKES WOMAN.

27

"We have found that the little girl as well
as the %mother is impregnated with feminity. She is not born, she does not live,
she dies not, she is not sick, she feels not,
thinks not, like her brother. She has her
own anatomy, physiology, and habits of
thought and feeling. She has also her own
social destination, entirely distinct from
that of the other sex.
The next feature in her physiological life
which demands our attention is that of
puberty. I t is necessary that every mother
who desires to direct aright the physical
education of her daughters shall know
something of the perils and sanitary rules
of this great epoch in their lives.

PUBERTY.
W E enter now upon the consideration of
the preludes to maternity. I t has been
well said that the first steps the young girl
takes in the painful way which conducts
her to the joys of the mother are decisive
for her future health.
The approach to womanhood is a gradual
one. Step by step the little girl separates
herself more and more widely, in mind and
body, from the boy, her companion. One
by one many of the common points of
resemblance between them disappear. ]STature is preparing her for the destiny which
awaits her. The hour finally comes when
the maternal sense is awaked, and, hand
in hand with a transformation of the moral
nature, it brings to light a new physical
function.
The establishment of the monthly change,
(28)

W H A T MAKES WOMAlST.

29

the expression of womanhood, is not, therefore, a sudden one. It is announced from
afar. An attentive eye can discern it in
the distance.

The Signs of Puberty.
These are seen earliest in the outlines of
the figure. The breasts, in particular, enlarge, but a deposit of fat also takes place
elsewhere under the skin, at first in the
groins and then over the whole body.
A t the same time, if everything goes on
well, the life-forces seem to arouse themselves to increased activity and brilliancy;
they brighten the complexion, animate the
look, enrich the voice, and change the whole
expression of the face. The tastes, the
thoughts, and the disposition are modified.
All these alterations take place in the midst
of a disturbance of the nervous system
more or less perceptible, and place the
health in a condition of peculiar sensibility
to any morbid influence which may attack
it from without or from within the system.
3*

30

A PHYSICIAN'S COUNSELS TO WOMAN".

I t is well, therefore, for hygienic reasons,
that every mother should be acquainted
with the time, at least proximately, at which
this physical change we call puberty may
be expected.
When it comes.
The climate here has its influence, hastening it when warm, retarding it when cold.
Race is even more powerful than climate,
and often counterbalances or overrules its
influence. Jewesses and Creoles mature
early. So also do colored girls. City life
has an effect, for it is well known that city
girls are more precocious than their country
neighbors. The temperament is another element to be considered. Blondes are later
than brunettes; the slight, dark-haired,
and nervous girl develops sooner than
her fat, fair, and phlegmatic sister. The
growth, that is to say, the greater or less
rapidity of corporeal development, is felt
here, as might be expected. Those destined
to become tall are later than those who
will be short. The influence of the social

"WHAT MAKES ¥ O M A X

31

condition, of inheritance, and of education
are all noticeable, and hasten or retard
puberty.
"With us, the average age at which female
puberty establishes itself is about fourteen
and a half years. A departure of more
than six months from this average is exceptional,, and may indicate some derangement
of the health, Although it need not excite
alarm, it should always call forth a watchful attention, and, if prolonged, medical
supervision*
Carefully prepared statistics show that
the average age at which the first * monthly
sickness appears in South Asia is twelve
years, ten months; in Florence, Italy, fourteen years, six months; in Marseilles^
France, thirteen years, seven months; in
Paris, fourteen years, eleven months; in
London, fourteen years, nine months; in
"Vienna, fifteen years, eight months; in
Berlin, sixteen years, one month ; in Copen<
hagen, sixteen years, nine months.
Instances are known to the medical profession of the establishment of this function

32

A PHTSICIAK'S COUNSELS TO WOMAH.

late in life, and, on the other hand, of its
very early appearance. Indeed, some have
b e g u n to be unwell in infancy, and even
within the first month after birth. Such
anomalies are of course very rare, and have
no bearing upon the general laws of health.
A s a rule, a premature or retarded puberty
may j u s t l y excite solicitude.
Music has, in some cases, an undoubted
influence in precipitating the change of
puberty. The musical education of y o u n g
girls ought, then, to be conducted w i t h
prudence. A l t h o u g h this effect of music
has perhaps been exaggerated b y some
writers, it is not to be disregarded. D r .
Eaciborski, the best living authority upon
this subject, says, " I n the case of the
y o u n g daughters of nervous, hysterical
mothers, the family physician, upon b e i n g
consulted on the direction to be given t o
the education, will act prudently t o counsel
the parents not to push too far their m u sical t r a i n i n g . " Particularly should this
reserve be heeded if the girl be subject t o
nervous disorders, or be too profoundly im-

WHAT MAKES WOMAN*.

33

pressed by the harmonies of sound. A
careful mother, thus forewarned and watchful of the influence of music over her
daughter, ought to be able to detect
whether it be harmless or injurious.
Other causes tend to bring about a premature change in those exposed to them.
They are found particularly in the cities,
and account in a great measure for the difference observed between the city and
country maiden. W e refer especially to
late hours, to the fatigues of dancingparties and theatrical amusements, to the
excitements of novel-reading and of social
pleasures, which are certain to stimulate
unduly those of immature years.
"We have said that the period of puberty
is fraught with danger to the health; we
will now speak more minutely of
Its Perils.
The gradual changes in th$ physical and
mental organization, which have just engaged our attention, finally culminate in

34

A PHYSICIAN'S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

a loss of blood, of which the womb is
the seat. This flooding, slight at first,
and perhaps irregular, soon becomes more
abundant, and, during a certain number of
years, its regularity is necessary to, and is,
so to speak, a sign of, the health.
This monthly change, being an expression of health, ought to establish itself
without any constitutional disturbance.
Unfortunately, like the dentition of earlier
life, it becomes the pretext for a thousand
ills. It is a critical period of her existence, this which transforms the girl into a
woman. Many life-long miseries are the
result of a want of assiduous care and intelligent direction at this time.
There are two classes of disorders to
which the girl is now exposed, which demand our attention. One arises mainly
from alterations in the blood, and results in
what is known as green-sickness; the other
has its origin exclusively in the nervous
system, and causes those numerous nerve
troubles, the source of so much suffering,
which darken many a woman's life—al-

WHAT MAKES WOMAK.

35

though they fail to call forth the sympathy
habitually accorded to other affections.
"We do not intend to point out here the
treatment in detail of these maladies. "We
wish now merely to say that the mother
should be able to recognize these foes to
her daughter's health, in order the better
to repel their attacks and haye repaired in
time the injuries they inflict.
Green-Sickness.
This was long looked upon as merely an
affection of the blood. I t is now known
that although the impoverishment of this
fluid is the most prominent feature of the
disorder, it has its origin in a faulty condition of the nervous system. So that the
division we have made of the affections
which threaten puberty, into those of the
blood and those of the nerves, is more apparent than real. It is the nervous system,
primarily, which is out of equilibrium.
Chlorosis, the term, meaning greenness, by
which physicians designate this green-sick-

36

A P H Y S I C I A N ' S COUNSELS TO "WOMAN,

ness, is not a malady which declares itself
boldly at the outset. It loves rather to
steal unobserved upon fhe system. A feeling of languor, a loss of appetite, a dislike
for society, and a causeless depression of
spirits, are the first signs of its presence.
The complexion loses its color, and takes a
waxen hue; the face is puffed; the softened
muscles tremble on the least motion; blue
or lilac veins spread themselves under the
now transparent skin; the heart palpitates;
the breathing is short; *the appetite is gone;
the digestion is imperfect; all the organs
of the body, watered by a debased life-current, act slowly and with difficulty; the
nervous organization alone is excited; it is
irritable, and the temper peevish; shooting
pains torment the body and limbs; and,
finally, the material sign of that change
which nature has made the pretext for these
disturbances ceases to show itself.
Have we not painted the picture in colors
that all may recognize ? These symptoms
are not, every one, present in all cases, and
the affection may even mask itself under an

"WHAT MAKES WOMAJST.

37

apparent richness of the blood. The appearance of constant lassitude, of palpitation of the heart, and, particularly, of shortness of the breath on exertion, together with
irregularity or scantiness of the monthly
flow, ought to call the attention of the
mother to the advisability of seeking medical advice. She may obtain valuable information as to the condition of the blood,
by examining it in those parts where it circulates in very superficial vessels. Thus,
the inner surface of the lower eyelid is rich
in minute vessels, which readily indicate
any impoverishment of the blood. So also
pallor of the gums is an excellent indication
of a poor condition of this fluid. The bright
pink tint under the nails affords another
very useful guide; if the surface here be
pale, and if, at the same time, the blood
returns slowly to the vessels after being
repelled by strong pressure upon the nail,
then there is positive poverty of the circulating fluid, which demands the prompt
application of proper remedies.
"Why have we dwelt at some length upon
4

38

A PHYSICIAN'S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

these early signs of disease ? Because, we
repeat, it is well to recognize green-sickness
at its very origin, in order to institute treatment at the most favorable time. "Not
only so, but early recognization is also important because there are two forms of this
affection. One is the ordinary, transitory,
curable form. The other, which is a con-,
sequence of the first, is chronic and obstinate. A young girl who suffers for several
years with this malady, at the most critical
epoch of her life, will retain forever after a
tendency to a return of similar attacks.
Hysteria.
This affection is not entirely monopolized
by the female sex. It is met with, though
comparatively rarely, among men. The
woman is said to be more than twenty times
liable to its attack. One-half of the cases
occur in girls about the age of puberty, i.e.y
between twelve and eighteen. Younger
girls are not exempt from it, however, especially in certain conditions of life and

WHAT MAKES WOMAN".

39

education. One-fourth of the cases occur,
with them, under the age of twelve. These
latter are nearly all the daughters of hysterical mothers, for the effect of inheritance
is very noticeable in this affection. It is
relatively less frequent in the country, and
more common in the larger cities than in
the smaller, for obvious reasons.
This disease of the nerves is, fortunately,
quite amenable to treatment. It is often
mistaken for other complaints, for it assumes a thousand forms, and thus may give
rise to unnecessary alarm. If allowed long
to continue its course unchecked, it may
result in loss of mental power.
Im constitutions which are not sound, the
inherited predispositions to disease are most
apt to come to light about the age of fourteen or fifteen. Consumption, before only
suspected, now fairly unmasks its dread features. "White swelling and spinal disease
are now also prone to declare themselves.
Of what high moment, therefore, is it that
the sanitary laws of this epoch of puberty
should be known and observed! More is to

40

A PHYSICIAN'S COUNSELS T 0 WOMAN.

be hoped from the benign influence of hygiene of preventing the manifestations of
disease, than from the skill of the physician
or the shop of the apothecary in attempting
their cure.
The Hygiene of Puberty.
To prevent the impoverishment of the
blood, and to maintain the order and harmony of the nervous functions, are the two
prominent objects which, in the hygiene of
puberty, should ever be kept in view. The
nutrition of the body ought to be carefully
looked after, and a most zealous watchfulness brought to bear upon the suppression
of any hereditary predispositions to disease,
known or suspected to be lurking in the
system.
It must ever be borne in mind that the
girl is passing through a great crisis in her
physical career. She may not be sick, but
she is very liable to become so. In the
case of a delicate girl, it is well, on the first
announcement of the expected change, to

WHAT MAKES ¥OMAK.

41

institute a k i n d of life in which her nervous
sensibilities shall be as much as possible in
repose, and her muscles as much as possible
in motion. Life in the pure air of the
country is desirable, if it can be procured.
Voyages, in particular, are serviceable.
They present a triple advantage. They
benefit by the change of air, by the stimulus they give to the appetite, and by the
diversions of the mind, which draw the
t h o u g h t s away from
self-contemplation.
They also accelerate the appearance of the
monthly change when it is delayed, as so
frequently happens when there is delicacy
of the constitution. Such a girl should not
be permitted to study too much nor too
long at a t i m e ; she should not be exposed
to the excitements of society, nor be too
closely occupied with the cultivation of her
musical talents.
The foody above all, should be carefully
looked after, now t h a t the blood is so ready
to become poor and watery. A diet which
contains the most nourishment in the
smallest bulk, is, without doubt, the most
4*

42

A PHYSICIAN'S COUNSELS TO ¥ O M ¥ .

desirable. The girl should not be forced,
however, to eat upon any theoretical principle of regimen. The taste is a better
guide in matters of the table than abstract
views upon sustenance; a piece of drybread which is desired is more profitable
to nutrition than a beefsteak against which
the appetite revolts. Of course, full play
should not be allowed to the depraved tastes
which crave satisfaction. A girl should
not be allowed to dine entirely upon pickles
and green apples, however strongly she
may wish to do so. What is wanted here
is a liberty of choice wisely regulated, in
view of the fact that while one is nourished
by that which is digested, one is also nourished by that which is desired.
Food should be plainly cooked and abundant. Many a girl suffers at this age from
the want of nourishment. She does not
eat enough. She does not eat what is proper. F a t meat, and, above all, millc, should
enter largely into her bill of fare. A prominent writer upon consumption accords
to the free use of milk, as an article of

WHAT MAKES WOMAISL

43

daily food at this time, a most active agency
in the prevention of consumption. "We
desire to urge, clearly and emphatically?
upon parents, the importance of this advice.
This fluid, so rich in nutritive elements,
and so easy of digestion^ is of incalculable
value.
The measures above mentioned for enriching the blood are also of service in
maintaining that order and harmony of the
nervous functions which we have declared
to be the second great object in the sanitary
regulation of puberty. I t has been said
by one of the closest observers who ever
adorned the medical profession, the great
English physician, Sydenham, that the Mood
is the moderator of the nerves. Many a neuralgic pain is merely the cry of the nerve
for healthy blood. When, therefore^ we
speak of the means best calculated to preserve or restore the normal condition of the
blood; W§ at the same time designate those
which will preserve or restore the health
of the nervous system.
Beside th,ese two general directions which

44

A P H Y S I C I A N ' S COU3STSELS TO ¥ O M A ¥ e

should be given to the hygiene of puberty^
we would call attention to a special precaution. Among the maladies to which we
have alluded, which lie, in some mysterious
manner, hidden in the system up to thi&
time, and then suddenly leap forth into
being, is consumption. It has been asserted
that this disease, more common with women
than men, as statistics show, owes this
peculiarity to the greater facility which the
disturbance of the health at the period of
puberty offers to its development in. the
girl. The seeds of the disease are sown
equally at birth between the two sexes, but
germinate and bear their deadly fruit more
generally, on the account just mentioned,
in the female than in the male organism.
And the danger is all the greater with her,
because its earliest signs are mistaken for
merely a derangement of the menstrual
function. When, in particular, the disease
has found a lodgement in the family, the
closest scrutiny upon the health should be
exercised, and no time lost, upon the first

WHAT MAKES ¥OMAK.

45

appearance of danger, in seeking competent
medical advice.
I n regard to clothing, the girl, at this
period, should be dressed with prudence, so
as to support, without inconvenience, slight
changes of temperature. F o r this reason,
either silk or wool should always be worn,
and, preferably, next the skin, in order t o
excite by its contact the circulation of the
surface and absorb the perspiration.
P r o m the days of the Greeks and Romans
of ancient times until now, doctors have
agreed in decrying the employment of the
corset W h a t has been the result? I t s use
has become general. The corset proper
was said to have been introduced into
France by Catherine de Medicis, whence it
has found its way throughout the whole
female world.
The Greek and Roman
women wore an instrument which fulfilled
the office of a corset. I t would be in vain,
therefore, for us, with any hope of being
heard, to raise our voice against its use.
May we not hope for some heedful attention
when we confine ourselves to its abuse?

46

A P H Y S I C I A N ' S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

I n early womanhood, above all, the corset
should be well made, and never exercise
more than a very light compression. It is
never to he regarded as an instrument to
improve the form.
I t is this foolish, this
hurtful abuse of the corset which we emphatically denounce, in the name both of
health and of beauty. I t directly prejudices
the former, first, by injuring the digestion,
and consequently the nutrition of the body at
this time, when, of all others, the digestive
organs are intended to render the greatest
and most durable service; secondly, .by
interfering with the free play of the lungs,
and t h u s inviting disease there, particularly
if there be a tendency to consumption;
thirdly, by exerting a downward pressure
upon the abdomen, thus giving rise to
womb-disease, and a host of sufferings connected with child-bearing. The marring
effects of the tight-fitting corset upon
beauty are no less marked than upon the
health. I t arrests the development of the
breasts, and renders forever impossible a
perfect b u s t ; it deforms the shoulders, by

WHAT MAKES "WOMAIST.

47

pressing upwards the shoulder-blades behind and the collar-bone in front; it makes
the complexion muddy and drives the color
from the lips and cheeks, by preventing the
proper aeration of the blood in the lungs.
The close-fitting corset has much to answer
for. It has destroyed, and we fear will continue to destroy, the health and beauty of
many a maiden. In view of these wellknown facts, it seems incredible that there
should be mothers who not only countenance,
but command, tight-lacing in their daughters^ Yet such is the case. "We copy the
following letter from the columns of a recent
number of an influential Ladies' Magazine
of large circulation:—
" About a fortnight ago, I informed my
daughter that it was my wish that she should
not unlace her corsets on retiring to rest.
To my great regret, I found that she had
been reading some of the nonsensical tirades
against tight-lacing, in some of the papers,
and has become impressed with the idea
that being made to weat* properly laced corsets was equivalent to being condemned to

48

A P H Y S I C I A N ' S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

death by slow torture. On my telling her,
the other night, that I was dissatisfied with
her figure, and of my resolve that she should
adopt the measures I mentioned, she declared she could never endure it, and, I am
sorry to say, showed a very rebellious spirit.
However, she wore them the first night,
after much protestation; but on the second,
I found she had taken them off after I had
retired to rest. I then took the precaution
of fastening the lace in a knot at the top of
the lace-holes, and, for a night or two, this
had the desired effect; but she was not long
before she cut the stay lace. I have punished
her somewhat severely for her disobedience,
but she declares she will brave any punishment rather than submit to the discipline of
the corset. She is now fourteen, has a very
strong constitution, and is in perfect health.
She does not complain that the tight-lacing
makes her feel ill—did she do so, her appearance would contradict her. Her only
objection is, that the corsets are uncomfortable, and prevent her from romping about
as she has been accustomed to do. My

W H A T MAKES WQMAST.

49

object in writing now is to ask if any of
yaur readers will kindly give me their advice in this matter, as I cannot allow my
daughter to gain the mastery. Perhaps
some lady or principal of a school would
kindly inform me what method she has
adopted in similar cases, and what is the
best way of preventing a girl from destroying her laces or stays when out of sight of
her mother or governess. If any one will
do so, she will confer a great favor."
Comment upon such a letter is unnecessary. "We merely call attention again to
the fact that it is extracted from a recent
number of a ladies9 fashion journal. "Who
will deliver our American women from the
heavy yoke of fashion, and break the chains
which force them to sacrifice health and all
the noble attributes of real personal beauty
to the behests of false notions and perverted
tastes ? W e believe that the fatal follies of
fashion have their origin in ignorance, the
wide spread ignorance which prevails, both
of the laws of health and of comeliness.
W e consider that there is no more impera5

50

A PHYSICIAN'S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

tiye duty than that which devolves upon
popularityyiene to point out the inter-relation
of health and beauty, and to indicate those
means by which they may be cultivated and
preserved. In the face of the letter just
quoted, who will gainsay us ?

THE H I D D E N SIN.
T H E improvement in woman's health and
comfort, which it is our hope to accomplish
by means of this wort, would be incompletely gained, did we omit referring to one
cause of ill-health, which we would gladly
pass in silence. But the recent investigations of men eminent in the study of that
special branch of medical science which occupies itself with woman and her diseases,
seem to show beyond doubt that in many
instances a long course of nervous debility,
with its host of attendant symptoms, can be'
traced to a practice which was commenced
in youth, in ignorance of its baneful effects.
W e refer to artificial excitement of the
sexual feelings.
Most frequently what prompts to this is
not sensuality, but some local irritation. I t
(51)

52

A P H Y S I C I A N ' S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

is not uncommon for young girls to suffer
with severe itching of the parts, sometimes
by a slight disease of the skin, frequently
by the presence of worms in the lower
bowels, and occasionally by an irregular
growth of the hair. Whatever the cause
may be, it leads to a scratching or rubbing
of the part, by which the sensations of pleasure are awakened and, to some extent,
satisfied; consequently what at first was
resorted to for the purpose of allaying a
local irritation, soon becomes attractive by
the sensations it evokes, and in proportion
to these are its danger and injury. The results of such frequent unnatural
excitement are soon visible, in a general
disturbance of the system, a failure of the
digestive powers, a change in the mental
character, and sometimes troublesome local
disease.
Strange as it may seem at first sight, this
habit does not lead a young woman into
profligacy. On the contrary, it seems to
create a repugnance to and a want of
sensation in the natural function.
The

W H A T MAKES WOMAN".

53

nerves of the part no ]onger respond to the
proper stimulus, but require for their excitation the accustomed unnatural means. W e
have known women given to this practice
who confessed that in marriage they were
astonished to find no pleasure; and their
husbands were amazed at their coldness.
"Were this all, we should not have thought
it worth while to have trenched upon the
theme. But the more serious dangers to
the general nutrition, and consequently to
health and life, which follow also, render
it of first importance that mothers and
teachers who have the control and government of young girls should be aware of the
need of watching narrowly their charges,
and of taking prompt measures to heal or
remove any cause of local irritation. When
the practice is known, it is unwise to
frighten or shame the girl in order to break
it. Kather remove the provocation to excitement, and by frequent cold bathing, incfeased exercise, moderate statements of the
dangers connected with such habits, and a
judicious enlightenment of her mind, seek
5*

54

A PHYSICIAN'S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

to instil the force of will necessary to break
it up. Thus we may expect to retain her
confidence, not wound her feelings, and lead
her to self-reformation.

THE MONTHLY CHANGE.
is the meaning of this new function, which establishes itself at puberty, and
which holds ever after so prominent a place
in the female organism ? "Why should this
monthly flow of blood make its appearance
for the first time at the age when the woman
begins to be capable of maternity, and cease
when the faculty of reproduction is extinct?
From the earliest times, and in all countries, physiologists have observed a relation
between this monthly recurring sickness
and generative power in woman. They
propounded many theories to account for
this relation; they wrote many books to
support their own and to refute opposing
doctrines. I t would be contrary to the object of this work, which is to give a brief
exposition of some of the most important
principles of hygiene, to enter into a history
(55)
"WHAT

56

A PHYSICIAN'S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

of these ancient theories, even if we had
the space to spare. One, however, deserves
mention, as being curious in itself, and as
having been urged by that learned physician
and most pleasing writer, Dr. Roussel. He
asserts that the monthly flow is not natural
to woman; it is an acquired function, and
continued by habit. He declares it does not
exist in the* savage or primitive condition of
humanity, but is a salutary provision of nature to protect the woman, by this periodical
blood-letting, against the excesses of the
table and the other indulgences of civilization!
I t has only been within the last quarter
of a century that the diligent efforts of anatomists and physiologists have determined
the signification of this singular phenomenon. Science now enables us to fully explain.
Its Nature.
In every mature woman there occurs,
once a month, the passage of an ovum (the
Latin word for egg) from the ovaries to the

WHAT MAKES WOMAN.

57

womb. The ovaries are two almond-shaped
organs, one on either side of the womb, to
which each of them is connected by a small
tube about four inches long. The conges-*
tion, the engorgement of the parts with
blood during the monthly passage of the
ovum, causes a rupture of the minute vessels, and the monthly flow. This ovum is
the germ of the man, for the human being,
like all others, starts from an egg. Ordinarily, it is lost in the menstrual flow. If,
however, it be impregnated and fixed in the
womb, the woman is said to have conceived.
"We are not writing a treatise upon anatomy, nor even upon physiology. No good
can result from a vague knowledge upon
these points. It can make no woman a
better wife or mother. I t cannot assist her
to preserve her own health or that of her
daughter. Anatomical descriptions of the
characters we refer to are only useful to
the physician and surgeon, who need to
thoroughly know the human frame. They
are only proper in medical text-books.
They should be rigidly excluded, as useless

58

A PHYSICIAN'S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

and hurtful, from all popular treatises,
"We make this digression to explain why
we have here, and elsewhere in this book,
said so much and no more upon structure
and physiology. *We only introduce what
is necessary to enable the reader to follow
us in our familiar converse upon hygiene
and treatment. No one need be an anatomist to become a sanitarian. I t is not a
knowledge of anatomy that American wives
and mothers require to fit them for maternity and the physical education of their
children. But they do require more knowledge than, we are sure, they possess, of the
hygiene of puberty, of pregnancy, and of
early infancy, and of the prevention and
treatment of the complaints peculiar to
themselves. And it is this useful knowledge (is there any more so?) which it is
our sole purpose, accurately and concisely,
to record.
Some information in regard to the cause
and nature of the monthly illness seemed
to be a necessary introduction to an intelligent perusal of its sanitary laws. W e

WHAT MAKES WOMAH.

59

have therefore briefly stated thus much of
its physiology, and shall next consider
Its Duration and Amount.
The length of time during which the discharge lasts varies with the temperament,
age, habit, and race. The same is true of
the amount of blood lost. ]STo narrow
limits of health can be defined. Every
woman is a law Unto herself. If she varies
widely, at any time, from that which has
been her habit, something is wrong. "With
American women, the average time may be
said be to somewhat over four days, the
average amount four or five ounces. Some
are sick only two days, others as long as
six. These are, however, ordinarily, the
extreme limits of health.
Alterations in the general health influence both the duration and the amount of
the monthly illness. Impoverishment of
the blood is frequently associated with a
too copious discharge, which in turn reacts
to render the blood still more watery. The

60

A PHYSICIAN'S COUNSELS TO WOMAN,

most common cause of excessive menstruation, in those who have had children, is
some inflammation of the womb. Before
marriage, on the contrary, the cause is
generally to be found in some general disorder in the economy. Although such
increased flows are rarely dangerous in
themselves, they may become so if they are
many times repeated; for they then induce
that chlorosis of which we spoke in the
previous chapter, and may bring in their
train many other maladies. I t is particularly to be remarked, that the first monthly
sickness after confinement, or after a miscarriage, is liable to be prolonged and
copious. Every mother should bear this in
mind, with the view to precautionary measures. !N~o long journey is then, on this
account, proper until after the first period
is passed.
Its Hygiene.
The monthly sickness is very liable to
derangement, in time, duration, amount,
and pain. This is particularly true in early

WHAT MAKES WOMAN".

61

womanhood, before the function has obtained from the economy an acknowledgment, as it were, of its rights. Constant
watchfulness and sedulons care are therefore necessary at the ontset, for if irregularities be allowed to fix themselves, they
will, very likely, remain during the whole
duration of the maternal life of the woman.
If, on the contrary, regularity be early
established, it is not afterward readily lost.
The causes which may derange this
function are various. One, the bad condition of the blood, resulting from a defective hygiene, has been referred to. Any
debasement of the health, either from the
gradual development of some constitutional
disease, or in consequence of the breaking
down of the life forces by an acnte affection
or depressing passion, will injuriously
affect the monthly change. So also, while
nnwell, will strong mental emotion, or the
exposure of a part of the body to the action
of cold, as when the hands or feet are immersed in cold water.
I t is not uncommon—two instances have
6

62

A PHYSICIAN'S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

recently occurred in our own practice—for
young girls, ignorant of the danger they
£un, to seek to check the flow of blood,
which is inconvenient or repugnant to
them, as soon as it appears. Fortunately,
they frequently fail in these attempts; in
other instances the consequences are prolonged and serious. Mothers should bear
in mind the possibility of this practice, and
exercise proper surveillance.
In those cases in which the menses have
appeared with entire regularity from the
time of their first eruption, nothing more
than ordinary prudence will be required to
maintain the health. On the first appearance of a tendency to irregularity, precautionary measures should at once be
taken. Confinement to a room with a uniform temperature, and repose on a lounge,
or even in the bed, are necessary. A t the
same time, mild means may be employed,
to provoke the discharge if it be delayed,
to augment it if it be deficient, or to palliate
the pain if it be accompanied by undue
suffering. For these purposes, the remedies

WHAT MAKES WOMAST.

63

familiar in almost every household are appropriate, such as hot mustard foot-baths,
warm, stimulating, aromatic drinks, etc.
They, however, should soon be abandoned,
and medical counsel sought, if they have
not the desired effect.
In regard to the use of baths during the
menstrual flow, there is much prejudice.
"Without doubt, a cold bath, say below 77°
Fahrenheit, will arrest the discharge.
Without doubt, also, a hot bath, say above
95° Fahrenheit, will increase it. But a
lukewarm bath, say from 86° to 91° Fahrenheit, will not affect it. It has been recommended by the highest authority on this
subject, by M. Eaciborski, that those who
are nervous, and with whom the flow comes
spasmodically, and readily stops altogether
under the influence of any slight emotion,
should employ lukewarm baths (86° to 91°
Fahrenheit) during their periods. They
will find in them a valuable resource for
regulating the function. He has never
seen the least injury to result from their
use. The fear of provoking an attack of

64:

A PHYSICIANS COUNSELS TO WOMAN,

flooding, or of checking the flow, is therefore chimerical.
There are two changes in their mode of
life to which young girls are exposed, which
frequently derange their health. One is
the removal to a boarding-school. I t is
well known that the pupils of these institutions suffer more from irregularity than
those who remain in the family circle. The
often unwelcome change of scene, the new
and agitating surroundings, the feeling of
home-sickness, the absence of that confidence which leads the daughter to inform
the mother of the least disorder, which she
carefully hides from a stranger, and the
closer mental application, are among the
reasons which may explain this fact.
The second condition is a removal from
the country to the city. Life in the great
cities is not favorable to female health at
any age. The vitiation of the air accounts
for this i;n part, but there is another cause,
partly moral and partly physical. I t is the
constant noise, which shakes the nervous
system, disturbs the sleep, and engenders a

WHAT MAKES WOMAK.

65

habit of nervous irritability in some women.
These effects are, of course, most marked
upon one accustomed to a country life, and,
above all, upon one who has just passed the
age of puberty.

NUBILITY.
I T is necessary here to draw a broad distinction between nubility and puberty. To
believe that a woman is properly marriageable on the day that the first expressive
sign of womanhood manifests itself, is to
commit a grave physiological error. I t is
to confound a preliminary, an imperfect
function, with one that has arrived at its
full development. True maturity, which is
known under the name of nubility, differs
from puberty. The power should exist
some time before it is exercised. The individual should be fully developed herself
before assuming the duties of reproduction.
The signs of puberty do not imply an
aptitude for marriage; the possibility of
conception does not prove the presence of
all the conditions desirable for maternity.
W e have considered, in the previous chapters, the nature and period of puberty; we
(66)

WHAT MAKES WOMAN*

67

will now study the nature and period of
nubility. First^ as to
Its Period,
The attainment of the full growth, indicated by the stationary height, and the
entire development of the bony system^
occurs about the age of eighteen years, with
the woman. She should never marry earlier
than this. Hygiene teaches that she had
better not marry so soon. It names twenty
as the youngest age at which the maid
ought to become a bride. An earlier union
than this is against the interests of the
offspring, who are apt to lack vigor and
vitality, and it is injurious to the health of
the young wife.
"We shall more fully treat of the proper
age of the wife, and the relative age of the
eoupl§, under the head of
The Laws of Marriage.
Marriage has been honored in all times
p,nd by all people, and its physical and

68

A PHYSICIANS COUNSELS TO ¥ O M A H .

moral laws earnestly studied.
Celibates
haye always been badly treated. W i t h the
Romans, for a long time, they were not
admitted as witnesses. The Spartans had
a festiyal specially designed for the castigation of the bachelors by the wiyes of
their fellow-citizens, in a public place. I n
Germany, the unmarried men were unable
to will their property, which, after death,
belonged, by law, to the State. T h e Chinese, Hindoos, and Persians married their
children who were still-born, in order
t h a t their souls m i g h t not be obliged t o
wander on the earth in expiation of their
celibacy.
A s marriage is certainly one of the most
graye, if not the grayest act in life, its laws
deserye study. This is the more important, as, in modern times, great individual
freedom of choice is yery properly allowed.
Ancient legislators were so impressed with
the dangers to the public health of badly
assorted unions, that they passed numerous
edicts on the subject.
These were frequently !ll-adyised, and necessarily exer-

WHAT MAKES WOMAl*.

69

cised an unsupportable tyranny over the
individual and family, in this, the most
sacred act of life. Modern legislators, more
wisely, have accorded greater freedom.
Although they have not given absolute
liberty, they have confined themselves to
legislation in regard to age and relationship. Hence, as we have said, the necessity for a wide diffusion of a correct knowledge of the laws of hygiene in relation to
the physical conditions of marriage and of
child-birth. The effects of ignorance are
as lamentable as, unfortunately, they are
frequent.
The Age of Marriage.
The age at which marriage is contracted
has such an evident influence on the health
of the offspring, that the laws of all States
always have, and still continue, in the interests of public hygiene and morality, to
lay down certain legal limits, outside of
which it is forbidden. I t belongs to the
science of medicine, however, to inform the

70

A PHYSICIAN'S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

families of the land of the serious inconveniences which would result from availing
themselves of the full latitude accorded to
them by the laws of their country.
This subject has been one which has
long occupied the attention of political
economists and of moralists, as well as of
physicians and statesmen. The first class
have considered the question in its relation
to population and subsistence; the second,
in its relation to morals; the last two, in
its relation to hygiene and the constitution
and vigor of the people. Although we are
properly occupied only with sanitary considerations, it may not be without interest
or instruction to briefly state the views of
prominent economists and moralists on the
age at which one ought to marry.
Many economists, following the teachings of Malthas, have sought to postpone
as long as possible the epoch of marriage,
with both sexes. This famous writer on
political economy asserted that statistics
show that the population doubles itself
about once in every twenty-five years, in-?

WHAT MAKES WOMAN.

71

creasing, in this manner, in a geometrical
proportion represented by the figures 1, 2,
4,J3, 16, etc.; whilst the means of subsistence, even by the aid of every possible
improvement in the agricultural arts, can
only increase, in the same space of time, in
an arithmetical proportion represented by
the figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, etc. According to
this calculation, a hundred acres of the
most productive land, which, at the present time, suffices for the support of one
hundred persons, would be capable of producing, three hundred years from now, only
sufficient subsistence for twelve hundred
persons; while, in the same space of time,
the progeny of these one hundred persons
would reach four hundred and nine thousand six hundred. A sad perspective of
inevitable famine! For this reason a postponement of the age of marriage was one
of the means suggested by writers of the
school of Mai thus to avoid the misery resulting from a too rapid growth of population.
On the contrary, many writers on mural

72

A PHYSICIANS COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

science have earnestly advocated the betrothal of every young woman and man
immediately upon attaining the age w of
puberty, and marriage so soon afterwards
as was practicable—the sooner, they say,
the better. This practice, they assert,
would improve the public morals, by inspiring sentiments of virtuous attf \ment.
The civil laws of all countries have, as
we have said, fixed the lowest limit of age.
This has always been, for the woman, the
average age at which puberty announces
itself. This age we already know; the
figures are given for various countries, in
the previous chapter on puberty.
Let us listen now to the voice of hygiene,
the only safe mentor in this matter. American, English, and French medical writers
all agree that the best age for the bride,
the safest for herself and for her children,
is between the years of twenty and twentyfive. This is the interval in the life of the
woman in which nature clearly destines her
to become a wife.

WHAT MAKES WOMAK.

73

The Dangers of Early Matrimony.
Precocious nuptials, on either side, are
injurious to the children; but a too youthful mother is more apt to have puny, ill-developed children than a too youthful father,
for the reason that her part in the formation of^llie new being is more important
and more prolonged than his. Precocity
in marriage is also more dangerous for the
woman than the man, not only because of
the perils of child-birth, which are greater,
other things being equal, in proportion as
her development is incomplete, but also
because of the obstacle opposed to the perfection of her own organism by the necessity of furnishing materials for the growth
of her offspring. I t is desirable that these
facts should be known, for women are more
apt to marry too early than men.
Another consequence of a premature
union is the liability to a miscarriage. The
fruit of the first conception is lost. Many
a young wife has sacrificed her first-born
through ignorance of this pitiless law. Let
7

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A P H Y S I C I A N ' S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

every mother who sanctions the marriage
of her daughter of sixteen or seventeen^
know that this tribute of violated law?
which recalls the bloody sacrifices of the
ancients, will be exacted, and let her weigh
well the risks and responsibility she incurs.
"We shall content ourselves with naming
only three other sad results of early matrimony. One is the danger that wives under
twenty will be barren. This is probably in
consequence of the habit of miscarriage
which is set up. The second is the opposite
danger of excessive child-bearings for statistics indicate clearly that this is one of
the causes of over-production. The third
is the greater mortality among the ehildren
of such premature unions.
Need we add any other considerations to
these physical laws we have mentioned?
If so, we may say, in favor of postponing
the period of marriage until after the twentieth birthday, that more time is thus given
the young girl to acquire experience and
knowledge of the world? without which she

W H A T MAKES WOMAIST

75

will rarely be happy in her choice of a husband.
" W e marry our daughters so young,"
says Madame de Remusat, " that they have
not had, really, time to look about them.
If reeeiyed customs could be suddenly
broken, and nature consulted, I believe
that the age of twenty-five years would
be that which she would prescribe for the
marriage of our maidens; but our habits
are opposed to such an abrupt transition.
A t least, the bride should have passed her
twentieth year, and even then have had
nothing spared to hasten the maturity of
her reason."
The Dangers of Late Matrimony.
Modern legislation has fixed the minimum limit of age for matrimony, but has
refrained from framing any laws against
late marriages. This prudence has been
aptly characterized as a homage rendered
to the moral character of marriage, and to
the liberty which should be accorded to

76

A P H Y S I C I A N ' S COUNSELS T O "WOMAN.

those who, from other motives than the
formation of a family, seek in a late union
the consolations of a life in common, and
the advantages of reciprocal assistance.
"We have merely to say, in this connection, that with those who marry after thirty
the perils which attend maternity are
greater than with their happier sisters, the
brides of between twenty and twenty-five.
"We shall recur to this subject when we
come to speak of discordant marriages, i. e.,
of unions in which there is a great difference in the ages of husband and wife, which
will be in the chapter devoted to " T h e
Preliminaries of Marriage."

THE SINGLE L I F E .
SHE who aims at something better than
the destiny of the wife and mother, which
the critical lago defined to be
" To suckle fools and chronicle small beer,"

may believe that in a single life she will
find greater scope for ability, a more untrammelled sphere of action, and a larger
world wherein to move. She may also
think that she will escape the misery of a
loveless union, or an unharmonious consort;
that she will not be exposed to the agonies
of the travailing woman, nor the sleepless
nights of the anxious mother; that she will
never know the bitterness Of the widow's
weeds, nor the anguish of her who mourns
for her children and will not be comforted
because they are not.
This and more may be true; we do not
gainsay it. But we do say, that a bouri7*
(77=)

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A PHYSICIAN'S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

teous Providence is ever rich in recompenses, and gives most to those who suffer
most. Is it not even a law -of business life
that those who risk little, gain little; those
who venture nothing, win nothing ? So in
woman's life, she who allows her fears of
matronly responsibilities to overcome the
natural promptings of her heart, may find
too late that with the husks she has also
thrown away the richest grain*
]^"or from the point of view of mere bodily
comfort does she always gain. It is something to have a care-taker and protector,
even if he be not just what we would haye
him. The trials of domestic life are received, as well as given; if she has children,
and rears them as she should, their strength
will support her when age has weakened
her own powers. The physical discomfort
she meets as wife and mother is balanced
by physical pleasure, and the sense of duty
fulfilled.
> Then the single woman has her own
trials to meet, and often has to meet them
alone. She finds this loneliness oppressive;

WHAT MAKES ¥ O M A ¥ ,

79

ahe sees enjoyments in which she has no
share; as she grows in years, she misses
the attentions which were the free-will offerings to youth and beauty, and, naturally,
she feels little love for the world which
loves her so little. Hence that asperity
which proverbially characterizes the spinster, and hence the unpopularity with wilich
she is so frequently regarded by her young
relatives.
Speaking medically, she has tendencies
to certain diseases, especially mental ones?
to a greater extent than her married sisters.
She is more exposed to disturbances of the
digestive functions, and is hardly less liable
to direct displacements of the,womb.
Marriage, it mus£ be remembered, is, in
many instances^ a directly sanitary measure* I t remedies complaints of long
standing, and often restores debilitated
health* I t is, as a distinguished London
physician remarks, a tonic, and one of the
very best tonics. It generally proves itself
to be such both to the mental and physical
constitution*

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A PHYSICIAN'S COUNSELS TO WOMAN,

So, in spite of the seeming escape from a
variety of ills, which the single woman
makes, it is a fallacious escape, and, as often as otherwise, leads her into a mode of
life really more depressing and nnsalutary
than that which she aims to avoid*

THE CHANGE OF LIFE.
a certain number of years, the
woman is no longer capable of becoming a
mother. The monthly sign of her maternal
powers disappears, and with it the faculty
of reproduction. This period of her life is
known under various names. Physicians
call it the menopause; French writers speak
of it as the critical age (age critique), the
climacteric age (dge climatSrique), and the
age of decline (dge de retour); but the ordinary term employed in our country to designate it is the change of life.
"We shall occupy ourselves first with the
question of the age at which this change
takes place, and then with its signs, its
effects upon the health, and the cares which
it requires.
AFTER

(81)

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A P H Y S I C I A N ' S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

The Age of Decline.
The age at which the reproductiye period
of woman's life ends, varies, as we found
was the case with its beginning, under the
influence of temperament, mode of life, and
particularly of climate. Still, there is a
certain uniformity in the length of time
which separates the first from the last
physical sign of womanhood. The majority
of women are destined for reproduction
during about thirty years of their lives.
This seems to be true of all climates, so far
as reliable statistics have been collected. In
those countries in which the age of puberty
comes early, the age of decline comes early
also; while in those in which a late puberty
is the rule, the women retain, as a compensation of nature, their maternal powers later
in life.
In our own country, the age of forty-five
or six may be said to be the average one
for the cessation of the menstrual life,
Not uncommonly, however, it occurs five
years earlier than this; less frequently, five

WHAT MAKES WOMAN".

83

years later. Instances are not unusual of
its postponement to the sixtieth year; yery
exceptionally it has been noticed as early
as the thirtieth or even the twenty-eighth
year.
Its Signs.
Sometimes the first announcement of the
change of life surprises the woman in the
midst of such vigorous health, that she may
well entertain doubts as to the cause of the
suppression she observes, and should exercise the greatest circumspection. I t would
be well for her, under §uch circumstances,
to seek the counsel of the family physician.
A commencing pregnancy or an accidental
interruption is often mistaken for the natural cessation. Hence the importance of
always avoiding any disturbing remedies,
and of waiting patiently until time shall
• confirm or set aside all hopes.
In general, the signs of the natural suppression of the monthly sickness are a
gradual diminution in the hemorrhage, and
the appearance of irregularity in the periods

84

A PHYSICIAN^ COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

and in the amount. Sometimes two, three,
six, or even more months pass without any
show; then a flooding, of greater or less
severity, occurs. This may happen, again
and again, over a space of several years.
It is rare that the monthly periods continue
regular to the last, and then quietly disappear forever. Often the disturbance is so
great as to give rise to the fear that there is
some disease of the womb. Happily, with
proper attention, this usually readily subsides, and the general health suffers no permanent injury.
There are other physical signs which
accompany this change, beside the cessation of the monthly illness. One is an
increase in size and weight. This tendency
to corpulency first shows itself by an accumulation of fat at the lower part of the
back of the neck. Two distinct prominences ordinarily appear here, directly over
the lower bones of the neck, known to
anatomists as the two lower cervical vertebrae. In speaking of the age of puberty,
we mentioned the deposit of fat which then

WHAT MAKES WOMAN.

85

took place, commencing first in the loins.
Hence we find that both the periods of the
birth and of the extinction of the reproductive powers are marked by an inclination to
grow stout, more decided, however, at the
latter period than the former.
The breasts, which increased in volume
on the advent of puberty, now, their work
being done, dwindle away. The limbs also
lose that roundness of outline which they
acquired in early womanhood. The woman
becomes more like the man, often even to
the extent of taking a beard. The abdomen enlarges, and gives rise, perhaps, to
the suspicion of pregnancy. The skin
loses its softness and suppleness, wrinkles
appear in the face and neck. The complexion fades to a pale yellow hue, which
encroaches upon and finally extinguishes
the rose-tints of youth.

Its Diseases.
These physiological signs, so to speak,
of this change, often go hand in hand with
8

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A P H Y S I C I A N ' S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

a numerous host of morbid symptoms.
The age of decline, like the age of puberty,
has its peculiar dangers to the health.
These should be known, that they may be
guarded against. Although many of them
are of a petty character, they may be, and
often are, the cause of the greatest misery.
I t need not surprise us that a function
which during thirty years has held in
dependence, as it were, the rest of the
economy, does not lose its very existence
without a struggle. If it were nothing
more than the cessation of an old and
accustomed hemorrhage, it would be apt to
give rise, in many constitutions and temperaments, to a predisposition to various
maladies. It is because of the liability, at
this epoch, to the invasion of disease, that
the term, the critical age, has been employed to distinguish it.
W e are glad, however, to say that the
profound dread of this period which exists
in the minds of many women is unfounded.
Their fears greatly exaggerate any "real
danger. JSTature does not place such a

WHAT MAKES WOMAN.

87

heavy burden upon their sex as they imagine ; she does not cruelly afflict the wife
and mother at the close of a career of
fecundity so full of sacrifices and generous
devotion. A speedy death is not the fate
she reserves for those who can no longer
obey her law " to increase and multiply."
On the contrary, we find that more men
than women die between the ages of forty
and fifty, and that, this critical period once
over, the woman's expectation of long life
is greater than that of the man of the same
age.
Still, we repeat, there are dangers to the
health which group themselves around this
period in every woman's life. There are
also certain precautions which may be
taken to avert them and to increase the
chance of long life.
There are some women to whom these
remarks do not apply. With them the
cessation of the menstrual function seems
to be the signal for an increase of vigor, a
renewal of life, and a disembarrassment from
many inconveniences. The vital activity.

88

A P H Y S I C I A N S COUNSELS TO WOMA1ST.

which had animated the organs of reproduction, of which nature has no longer any
need, is transferred to the organs of digestion and assimilation. The circulation becomes more energetic, and a more abundant
flow of blood penetrates the vessels of the
skin, communicating a ruddy hue, which
simulates the freshness of youth. The
breasts attain a new development, and the
woman regains her pristine comeliness, in
this, the Indian summer of her life. I t is
particularly among those whom a too
abundant monthly flow has kept in a condition of habitual languor, that we find, at
the change of life, an agreeable embonpoint
and the appearance x>f a second youth.
Some women only enjoy perfect health
after this epoch, and have really more vigor
and freshness at fifty than at thirty.
This happy class are in the minority.
The majority of womankind find this period
of their lives a more or less stormy one; the
important changes in the economy which
take place, accomplishing themselves in

WHAT MAKES WOMAK.

89

the midst of disturbances of the neryous
system and of other parts.
The body haying been accustomed to
lose, periodically, a certain quantity of
blood, often continues to feel the need of
the same loss, after the cessation of the
menstrual flow. From this it results thatthe blood being refused its habitual outlet,
seeks to escape in yarious other directions.
Hence the occurrence of rushes of blood to
the head, of palpitations of the heart, bleedings from the nose, spittings of blood, skin
diseases, diarrhoea, etc., of which the physician sees so many examples at this critical age. All these troubles are more apt
to be grave in those who are full-blooded
and of the sanguine temperament.
Gout is one of the affections to which
women are more subject after the cessation
of the menses. This has long been known.
Hippocrates, indeed, asserted that women
were not subject to this affection at all until
after the change of life. Seneca reproached
the women of his time for haying, by their
excesses, falsified this aphorism of the

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A P H Y S I C I A N ' S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

venerable sage of Cos. The fact is, that
although women are more liable to gouty
and rheumatic affections after the change
of life, they are not altogether exempt from
them before this period.
"Various nervous disorders are prone to
declare themselves at this time. A s m i g h t
be presumed, they occur most frequently in
women of the fashionable world, who have
passed their youth in the midst of excitement and emotion, and who have violated
in a thousand ways the lawTs of their nature.
They are encountered, however, though much
less frequently, among those who have led
lives of moderation and regularity. Nearly
all women, indeed, who reach the climacteric age, pass through a state of different
degrees of nervousness. A distinguished
physician has accounted for the frequency
of these troubles in the following m a n n e r : —
" F o r certain women of society to descend from the pedestal on which beauty
and birth have placed them, is impossible.
The idea of growing old irritates them, and
the void which then surrounds those who

WHAT MAKES WOMAST.

91

have not learned to find happiness in the
family circle, is the cause of a continual
fretfulness, which manifests itself in some
disorders of the nervous system,"
This view is not a correct one. Though.,
doubtless, many see with regret the advance of age, which they know is about to
oppose forever an insurmountable barrier
between them and many of the pleasures
of life in which they found the most delight, yet this natural chagrin does not
account for all their nervous troubles. The
majority who suffer from troubles of this
kind, present signs of deterioration of the
blood, amounting even, in some cases, to
green-sickness, chlorosis, a disease not exclusively confined to puberty, There is
feebleness and depression of the pulse, pallor
of the complexion, and many other indications which point evidently to a morbid
condition set up by the change of life, and
show clearly that the nervous disturbances
are not the result of vexation because of the
consciousness of advancing years. These
sufferings are not, therefore, to be lightly

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A P H Y S I C I A N S COUNSELS TO WOMAJST*

treated, either "by physicians or friends;
they are not the effects of mere fancy, but
have their root in an impoverishment of the
blood.
I t is a remarkable fact that the disorders
and inconveniences which were experienced
at puberty, the hegimdng of the childbearing
period of life, are now repeated at the
menopause, the end of this period. Those
who have assumed their womanly attributeswithout pain or disease, part with them
without suffering. On the contrary, those
who have suffered most at puberty, have
the most to endure at the change of life.

Its Hygiene.
Although, as we have asserted, the fears
commonly entertained of the risks which
environ this epoch are exaggerated, it does
not follow that the change of life should be
looked forward to with indifference, and the
wise directions of hygiene despised.
On the contrary, we insist that every
wom&ii who hopes for a healthy old ag§

WHAT MAKES ¥OMAK.

93

ought to commence her prudent cares as
early as the fortieth year, or sooner. She
should reform her manner of life, and her
nourishment, if such reform be required.
She should study with attention her temperament, her habits, and her peculiar dispositions. She should recall the memory of
the maladies to which she has been subject
during the course of her life, above all, those
at the age of puberty, in order to guard
against their recurrence. She should cease
to endeavor to appear young, when she is
no longer so, and withdraw from the excitements and fatigues of the gay world, even
in the midst of her legitimate successes, to
enter upon that more tranquil era of her existence now at hand. She will thus escape
many pains and troubles, and will not fail to
find in the future unsuspected well-springs
of the purest pleasure. She should particularly avoid, at this time, all excesses of the
table, all stimulating drinks, such as wine,
coffee, and liquors, excepting under medical
advice, §11 derangements of the perspiration,

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A PHYSICIAN'S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

and exposure to cold, particularly to cold
and moisture. She should take active exercise every day, in the open air, especially
if she be of a lymphatic temperament and
predisposed to undue corpulency. Horseback exercise, and dancing, are not proper.
Nothing is more hurtful than idleness.
Most American mothers can find at hand
enough to do, for their own families and
friends, to absorb all their energies. There
are also works of charity in abundance,
which demand not merely money, but active
exertion and constant occupation of the
mind. In the gentle joys of benevolence
will be found the best remedies for mental
distress and gloomy depression. Idleness
of the mind and heart are even more dangerous at this time than want of bodily
activity, above all in persons of nervous
temperament and with feeble and irritable
digestive organs. Let every woman, therefore, bear in mind, as the most valuable
precept on health we can give her, her paramount need of activity at this epoch, and

WHAT MAKES WOMAN".

95

spare not her heart, hand, or head, in good
works. Gratitude and affection will not be
her only rewards, for peace of mind and
health of body will crown her efforts.

THE

PEELXMINAEXES
MAEEIAGE.

OF

I T is said of Pythagoras, the great philosopher of antiquity, that he expressed his
astonishment at the little regard paid, in
his time, to the health of the offspring, in
considering the preliminaries of marriage.
He contrasted this conduct with the care
exercised by stock-growers, who sought to
unite only those animals which would best
secure the beauty and vigor of their flocks.
This reproach of Pythagoras is as applicable to-day as when it was uttered twentythree centuries ago. But we are a human
society, and not a herd of animals. JSto
arbitrary legislation should be enforced in
this matter, as was urged by him and many
since his time. All that can be done, all
that it is desirable to do, is to point out the
dangers of improper unions, and to dissi(96)

W H A T MAKES WOMA1ST.

97

pate the prevailing ignorance on the sanitary conditions of marriage. W i t h this
object in view, we shall discuss the proper
relative ages of the husband and wife, the
question of relationship, and the dangers to
the offspring of certain disease, on either
side or both.

The Difference In Age.
"We have spoken of the age of the bride,
and shown that nature clearly indicates the
period between the twentieth and twentyfifth years as the best for her marriage.
"What should be the age of her husband ?
Certainly not under twenty-three; and as
full growth and physical development are
not attained by a man before the twentyfifth year, this latter is tne preferable minimum age. The decade from twenty-five to
thirty-five is that in which he is the best
fitted for marriage. If the man be delicate,
or with a predisposition to disease, the risk
to the offspring is increased if he contract
marriage after the age of thirty-five.
9

98

A P H Y S I C I A N ' S COUNSELS TO WOM1ST.

The difference in years between husband
and wife ought not, perhaps, be less than
five nor more than ten, the husband being,
of course, the senior. This relationship in
years secures the greatest conjugal happiness for the longest time, and is in the
best interests of the children. As woman
becomes sooner old than man, the wife
should never be the senior of her husband.
The effect of the relative age of the couple
upon the sex of their children, we will consider in the second part of this work. I t
suffices now to state that, with seniority on
the part of the husband, there is much more
apt to be a majority of boys in the family.
The Union of May and December.
The marriage of old women with young
men is comparatively rare. Occasionally,
from pecuniary motives, such a union is
formed. It is, of course, sterile, for a
woman, after the change of life, cannot conceive. Aside from this, it has no hygienic

WHAT MAKES WOMAK.

99

bearings, whatever may he said as to the
moral questions involved.
Old men with young wives are more
numerous. Hygiene opposes itself to these
unions, which violate the design of nature.
They are particularly dangerous to the husband; they are unfavorable to the health
and longevity of the children, who seem to
inherit the senility of their father, and die
early. These discordant marriages have,
in short, nothing to recommend them; they
are positively hurtful to those who contract
them, and to their descendants; they are
in violation of the laws of nature and morality.
Who Should Not Marry.
"We have just spoken of the physiological impropriety of discordant marriages.
Youth should not, therefore, marry with
age. The presence of disease, or of a predisposition to disease, in either or both contracting parties, ought to excite the liveliest
solicitude as to the well-being of the offspring. This subject, the inheritance of

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A PHYSICIAN'S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

disease, we treat at length farther on. Our
reader will find, on a later page, those diseases and predispositions which forbid
marriage. It only remains for us, in this
connection, to answer the question,

Should the Marriage of Cousins be
Forbidden?
The legislatures of Kentucky and !N"ew
Hampshire have answered this question in
the affirmative. They have not only said
that cousins should not marry, but have
ordained that they shall not. This action
has been characterized by the ablest of
French writers on hygiene as " une intrSpiditStout AmSricaine"
It is certainly a
very peremptory disposition of a very grave
question.
W e have no hesitation in affirming that
the fear of marrying even a first cousin, if
there he no decided hereditary taint in the
family, is a groundless one. Most French,
English, and American physicians of the
greatest experience and highest authority

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101

on this subject, hold this view. The following editorial words from a recent number of one of the most reliable of all medical
journals, the London Lancet, express the
result of scientific inquiry.
" The marriage of cousins, proyiding
both are healthy, has no tendency to produce disease in the offspring. If, howeyer,
the cousins inherit the disease, or the proclivity to it, of their common ancestor, their
children will haye a strong tendency to
that disease, which might be fostered or
suppressed by circumstances. There can
be no question that cousins descended from
an insane or highly consumptive grandparent should not intermarry; but we cannot see any reason for supposing that either
insanity or consumption would result from
the intermarriage of healthy cousins."
Dr. Napheys, in his "Physical Life of
"Woman," asserts, and supports his opinion
by facts, that, if the family he entirely healthy,
there is no danger of physical or mental
degradation in the offspring of cousins.
He says:—
9*

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A PHYSICIAN'S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

" Many a married couple haye been rendered miserable by the information that
they had unwittingly violated one of nature's most positive laws. Though their
children may be numerous and blooming,
they live in constant dread of some terrible
outbreak of disease. Many a young and
loving couple have sadly severed an engagement, which would have been a prelude to a happy marriage, when they were
informed of these disastrous results.
" For all such we have a word of consolation. "We speak it authoritatively, and
not without a full knowledge of the responsibility we assume.
" The fear of marrying a cousin, even a
first cousin, is entirely groundless, provided
there is no decided hereditary taint in the
family. And when such hereditary taint
does exist, the danger is not greater than
in marrying into any other family where it
is also found. On the contrary, a G-erman
author has urged the propriety of such
unions, where the family has traits of men-

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103

tal or physical excellence, as a means of
preserving and developing them."
In the view we have taken we are also
fully supported by Dr. Samuel H. Dickson,
the venerable Professor of Practice of
Medicine in the Jefferson Medical College
of Philadelphia. This distinguished physician says : " Several writers on both sides
of the Atlantic—on this side, Professor
Bemiss—ascribe much of tubercular and
scrofulous disease to the marrying of relatives, physical incest, as it is called. I
think the truth can be put in a nutshell. I
suggest it to you : there is a great deal of
exaggeration on this subject, yet there is
much reason for the belief that the intermarriage of relatives is dangerous to the
offspring, not on account of their mere consanguinity, but because they are likely to
have the same predisposition to scrofula, if
that predisposition exist in that family.
# * * Therefore we come to the conclusion
that it is not an essential result of marriage
of consanguinity that there should be
scrofulous or other degeneracy. "Why,

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then, does it often happen that marriages
of consanguinity are followed by physical
or mental degeneracy? Because if there is
any predisposition to disease in a family,
the female will have it as well as the male;
if then, under, such circumstances, two
cousins of similar scrofulous predisposition
marry each other, it is certain the offspring
of these cousins will be more scrofulous
than their parents; but it is not so by the
law of consanguinity. For suppose two
persons scrofulously predisposed, of the
most distant and diverse race, marry, the
result will be just the same without the
slightest consanguinity. It is due to the
predisposition, and not to the blood. It is
for this reason more apt to be encountered
among married relatives; but it is not essential, it is not a law. If two cousins are
healthy, and see fit to marry, there is as
much reason to believe that their children
would be healthy as if they were not connected by cousinship or consanguinity at
all. If their temperament be opposite, it
will be as favorable a conjunction as if they

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105

were not connected. If we could manage
these things as the stock-breeder does with
the lower animals, undoubtedly we could
improve the human breed to a great degree."

PART'II.

Animal and Spiritual Love.
OUR nature is like a tissue cunningly
woven with threads of gold and flax. Regard it in one light, and we see naught but
the coarsest dull fibre of the plant; in
another, and our eyes are dazzled by the
glitter and gleam of the noble metal. So
our passions and impulses now touch upon
the infinite and the eternal world beyond,
and anon seem of the earth earthy, " compact of thankless clay."
Nowhere is this more conspicuous than in
the study of that passion which governs us
more than all others combined, and decides
upon our lives with the arbitrary will of a
Fate—we mean the passion of Love.
(107)

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A PHYSICIAN'S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

Based, perhaps, on these blind instincts,
which nature has implanted in all organic
creatures, to multiply and bring forth after
their kind, it finds its summit and highest
expressions in words and deeds which are
recorded on the page of history as the sublimest known to mortal ken. "What wondrous examples of martyrs, what self-sacrifice, what deliberate contempt of riches,
reputation, life itself, do these over-true
tales of love contain, with which the literature of the past is crowded!
Narrow and paltry is the intellect which
in these narratives can see nothing but the
outcropping and fruit of a carnal desire.
To such we would say, in the words of
Thomas Carlyle, " "What sort of a man is
that who cannot enjoy the delicate aroma
of the rose without forever thinking of the
dung which enriches its roots ?"
The love which is known by the sexes
finds its fruition not in ephemeral sensations common to men and the brutes, but
in the intercommunion of soul with soul, in
the unity of thoughts, cares, pleasures, and

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strivings, in the sympathy which soothes
and the confidence which strengthens, in
the faith that casts out fear and the hopes
which are never selfish, and in the mutual
exchange of thoughts, which increase as
they progress. As the poet says, comparing such reciprocity to the sounds of nature—
" Oh love, they die in your rich sky,
They faint on hill or field or river;
Our echoes roll from soul to soul,
And grow forever and forever."

If such language seems to the inexperienced as meaningless phrase-making, we
can but say that there are those, and we
hope they are many, who will see in what
we have just written a true though feeble
portraiture of that higher range <of feeling
to which true affection leads the happily
married.
)
Confident in this higher definition of
passion, we have the less hesitation in analyzing it boldly, for if we do find that it is
intimately associated with traits of our
merely earthy nature, and with feelings
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1 1 0 . A PHYSICIAN'S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

which are shared by inferior races, yet we
bear in mind that out of this animal love
rises a mighty and a pure passion, which is
to this other what the trim stalk and delir
cate flower are to the unsightly tuber.
I t is this distinction that we would urge
to be constantly borne in mind, and to be
always considered, when estimating the
character and value of investigations like
that in which we are now engaged.
The First Experiences.
The momentous epoch when the maiden
becomes a wife, is for her a critical hour, and
often influences largely her future health.
How many diseases peculiar to her sex date
their inception or origin from the first
conjugal approaches, only physicians are
aware; and among physicians, those most
fully appreciate the effects of such a change
who have most attentively studied the subject.
That marriage is a bloody rite—that, so
far as the female is concerned, its consum-

WOMAK A WIPE.

Ill

mation is painful and distressing—is true as
a rule; but it is well to know that it is not
always so. Whenever the pain is very severe or permanent, then there must be some
condition contrary to nature or to health.
And if, as sometimes happens, it is not
possible for proper relations to be established, then there is probably some unusual
and unnatural conformation on the part of
the female, which the surgeon alone can
comprehend and remedy. Such cases do
occur now and then, and, if misunderstood
or not attended to, lead to estrangement
and suffering.
The Indulgence of Desire.
The experienced physician sees in his
practice not a few affections which owe
their origin and continuance to excess in
the marital relation. Such excesses are
often the result of ignorance of natural
laws.
It is impossible to lay down any absolute
rules on this subject. The wife who im-

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necessarily restricts her husband's customary privileges runs the risk of domestic
infelicity. Probably, when in health, two
or three indulgences a week may be looked
upon as within the proper bounds. In cases
in which there is great debility, or during
convalescence from an illness, any indulgence is hurtful. The same is true of cases
in which there is actual pain, and when the
act is found to be a depressing and prostrating instead of a restoring one.
The Sleeping Apartment.
From time to time it has been urged by
various writers that a separation should
occur at night between husband and wife.
Some have advocated different chambers;
others, two beds in the same room. ' If both
parties be in good health, and the bedchamber be sufficiently ample, the interests
of hygiene demand no such separation.
There are circumstances when the same
bed or even the same room should not be
occupied during the long hours of the night

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113

by husband and wife. One of these is, a
great discrepancy in the ages of the married
pair. A young wife should not habitually
sleep by the side of a husband far advanced
in years. Neither should a healthful wife
share the bed of a consumptive husband.
Is consumption contagious? This is a
vexed question in medicine at the present
time. But there have been so many cases,
fully authenticated by the most experienced
physicians, in which this disease has made
its appearance after marriage, and been,
apparently, traceable to contagion, that we
feel justified in uttering a word of caution.
It is not unfrequently noticed that women
in good health, and free from family predisposition, sicken and die from consumption a few years after union with men suffering from a well-developed form of this
disease. Experiments which have been
made with the inoculation of tubercle, by
M. Yillemin, of Paris, would seem to show
that tuberculous disease may be transferred
in this manner from one animal to another.
Our words of caution are intended to apply
5*

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PHYSICIAN'S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

to cases of the actual presence of the disease, and not to those where merely a predisposition exists. In such instances, there
is, of course, no immediate danger of contagion, and a marital union with a healthy
partner may be unattended with evil results.
I t is of the utmost importance that the
common bedchamber be large, and well
ventilated. It has been shown that the air
space required by a healthy person is at
least twelve hundred cubic feet, and that
this air should be completely renewed, by
means of ventilation, every hour. Therefore,
this double room should measure twentyfive hundred cubic feet; that is to say, if it
be twelve feet high it should be about fifteen feet square.

The Bed and its Coverings.
The bed ought to be placed in a dry
chamber, and be exposed to the sun at midday. I t should not be too soft nor warm.
For this reason, feather-beds are hurtful.
They increase the perspiration, and so en-

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feeble the system. Heavy coverlets are
objectionable on the same account, and
because they interfere with the movements
of respiration.
Horsehair, and sponge, both make excellent beds. Sleeping upon the latter has
gome repute as a remedy against sterility.

WHAT PAEENTS TEANSMIT
TO T H E I E O F F S P B I N G .
A L L living beings transmit to their descendants, besides the type of their species,
the physical and moral peculiarities which
characterize them. This phenomenon is
known as inheritance. The study of the
precise laws in virtue of which this transmission of the qualities of the parents to
the children takes place, has been diligently
pursued of late years. The subject is a
most interesting one. In its important relations to marriage, it deserves our most
attentive consideration. "We shall therefore devote some pages to the laws of that
terrible yet mysterious force which so profoundly impresses our nature at the very
outset of existence.
Inheritance assumes various forms, to
each of which a distinctive name has been
( 116 )

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117

applied. First we have direct inheritance,
in which the qualities of the parents are
transmitted to the children. Secondly, collateral inheritance, in which the disease, or
the predisposition to it, proceeds from collateral branches of the family. Thirdly,
there is what is known as atavism, in which
one generation escapes, the defects passing
directly from the grandparents. Fourthly,
inheritance by influence, is that force by
which the mother transmits the impressions
she has received from her husband in a first
marriage to her children in a second union.
]STot only are physical peculiarities, such
as form, structure, the healthful and the
diseased conditions of the body, capable of
inheritance, but also moral qualities, i. e.,
the thoughts, affections, talents, virtues, and
vices.
If the force of inheritance were uninterrupted in its operation, all children would
exactly resemble their parents, and the
generations at present upon the globe be
the prototypes of their predecessors. This
we all know is not the case. Many influ-

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ences are constantly at war with this force.
Among these may be mentioned the neutralizing effects of the different dispositions
in the father and mother, the power of
habit, the modifications due to climate, etc.
The Physical Peculiarities we Inherit.
The general appearance and particular
features of the face and figure are, as
eyerybody knows, the subjects of inheritance. Thus, beauty, and the lack of it, are
transmissible. The resemblance of children
to their parents may be seen either in the
whole contour of the body, or only in some
particular parts. Sometimes in this resemblance can clearly be traced the combined
traits of both parents; in other instances,
only those of one of them. The infant
may, at different periods of its life, appear
to look more like the one and then the other
parent. Special exaggerations or deformities of feature are frequently preserved in
families for a long time. The hereditary

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119

squint of the family of Montmorency, and
the well-known aquiline nose of the Bourbons, are in illustration.
Children may resemble, generally, or in
some one prominent respect, not only their
parents, but also, in accordance with the
varieties of inheritance we have mentioned,
a grandparent or an ancestor far removed,
an uncle or aunt, or the deceased first husband of their mother. This last form of
inheritance is one difficult to comprehend.
The influence of the father on the future
children of the mother by another husband,
is well attested by an abundance of facts.
It was in a measure known to the ancients,
who had the adage: Filium ex adultera excusare matrem a culpa. The influence of
the first father is recognized in the animal
kingdom. A blood-mare which has once
borne colts to a common stallion, will eyer
afterwards be unfitted to procreate her own
stock with a stallion of her own race. The
female organism remains true to the impress
it has received in the first conjugal union.

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In considering the physical peculiarities
we inherit, the question naturally suggests
itself—
Can we have Beautiful Children at Will?
There is m. old art known as callipcBdia.
A few centuries ago it had its professors and
its pupils. I t had for its object the preservation of symmetry and the suppression of
deformity. This it proposed to accomplish
by an ingenious crossing in marriage of
personal traits capable of modifying or enhancing each other. "While we look upon
marriage as too serious a compact for the
carrying out of such speculations to the
extent to which they were formerly pushed,
there is little doubt of the success which
attended those attempts.
I t is easy to show by examples how
physical exaggerations or defects may be
modified. Thus it is very possible to get
rid, in a single generation, by an intelligent selection in marriage, of that excessive
tallness or shortness which the members of

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some families justly regard as a personal
cross. In like manner may be remedied
the family tendency to undue development
of the whole or of parts of the body, which
is the cause of so much mental distress.
The shade of hair politely termed auburn is
regarded at the present time with much
disfavor. I t is well known that the offspring of parents, the one of whom is very
dark, the other very light, have frequently
hair of this color.
The ancient Greeks, who valued highly
personal beauty, spared no pains to secure
it for their posterity. They filled their
houses and places of public resort with
beautiful statues, not only to gratify their
own love of the beautiful, but in the hope
of thus moulding, through the influence of
the maternal mind, their offspring.
There can be no doubt of the disastrous
effects upon both the mind and the body of
the child, of a condition of disquietude,
anxiety, or excessive emotion in the mother
during pregnancy. I t is a matter of
record, that during the Fre;uch Revolution
11

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A PHYSICIAN'S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

a very large number of children were born
deformed, idiotic, deaf, dumb, and blind, in
consequence of the fearful mental sufferings
of their mothers. Let those about to
become mothers, therefore, remove themselves from disturbing influences, and
cultivate pleasant thoughts and peaceful
emotions.
But, in fact, physical beauty is only the
reflection of physical health. In order to
have beautiful children, we must have them
vigorous, and free from constitutional taint.
Health is the substance of which beauty is
the sign. Symmetry of form and harmony
of feature result from the perfect performance of all the functions which sustain life.
In this sense, the art of callipsedia is one
which should be cultivated by every family.
Those who weep because of their ugliness,
can trace the cause of their sufferings to
the diseases and vices of their ancestors;
for vice, as well as disease, stamps itself
upon the physiognomy by inheritance. The
human race can be made more beautiful
only by being made more healthful and

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123

more virtuous. "When one is as healthful
as is possible, one is as beautiful as is
possible.
The diffusion in every family of a knowledge of the laws of health will go far
towards attaining this end. Our principal
object in treating, in this book, of the physical conditions of marriage, has been to
guard the interests of unborn children. It
is just here, before life is begun, that hygiene is most powerful. After birth, and
particularly after maturity, its powers are
limited. "We would therefore impress upon
those who are, and those who are about to
become mothers, the importance of our present topic, namely, of an attentive regard
for all that will, by preventing disease, secure the health, and thus the personal
comeliness, of the little ones to whom they
impart life.

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A PHYSICIAN'S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

The Muscular and Vital Powers Capable
of Transmission.
That muscular activity and energy can be
transmitted, is readily proven. The English race-horses, whose genealogy is always
carefully looked into, show the credit accorded to the influence of inheritance upon
the muscular system. The athletes of
antiquity procreated their powers, and were
found only in certain families.
I t is more particularly in regard to the
senses that we are interested, as bearing
upon the health of the family. Delicacy
of touch, extreme sensitiveness to cold,
acuteness or obtuseness of smell and taste,
are all met with as hereditary peculiarities.
These are of trifling moment as compared
with hereditary delicacy of sight, blindness,
and deafness, which certainly merit serious
attention on the part of those concerned.
The constitution is transmissible to the
offspring. Two radically feeble constitutions united in marriage can scarcely fail
to produce puny and short-lived infants.

WOMAN" A WIFE.

125

Those who, by forming such a union, sacrifice the health of their families to their
desires or their fortunes, assume a grave
responsibility.
I t is advisable, so far as possible, to
unite opposite temperaments in marriage.
The union, for instance, of the sanguine
with the lymphatic or nervous, will tend to
the advantage of the children. The marriage of two persons of a very sanguine
temperament, especially if there be a family
history of disease of the heart, apoplexy,
gout, etc., will be apt to result disastrously.
The union of two lymphatic temperaments
favors the development of scrofula; of two
nervous temperaments, of disorders of the
nervous system.
Longevity is evidently hereditary. A s
Prof. Fonssagrives has well remarked, one
has only to look around him in order to
assure himself that each family has, in
some measure, its own longevity, and that
the term of life of each of its members,
accidents excepted, has a duration which is
scarcely ever passed. I t seems that in
11*

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A PHYSICIAN'S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

these families, life, like a clock, is wound
up for a certain time, which is essentially
the same for each member, modified only
by casualties or crossings with other families more long-lived. Vigor of constitution is not necessarily the characteristic of
families in which long Mfe is hereditary.
W e frequently see individuals remarkable
for the strength and beauty of their organization, whose career is short. In other
families, the members of which appear
habitually weak, we find long life to be the
rule. This contrast, which is so common,
led a physician of the last century, Fournier, to write a book entitled " T h e Advantages of having a Feeble Constitution."
The truth is, longevity is as much a matter
of pure inheritance, and, to a considerable
extent, as independent of other physical
qualities, as is the cplor of the hair. I t is
prudent to bear this fact in mind in contemplating family alliances.

WOMAK A WIFE.

127

The Intellectual Powers Capable of
Transmission.
Observation proves that intelligence is
not less hereditary than the height or form
of the body. Judgment, memory, imagination, and special talents in science or art,
are passed down from parent to child. The
father of Raphael was a painter. Joseph
"Yernet, his son Charles Vernet, and his
grandson Horace "Vernet, were celebrated
for the same talent. The two brothers of
Titien, and his son, were painters. The
mother of Van Dyck painted flowers.
Similar instances, almost without number,
are to be found in the other arts and professions.
Is it possible, then, by an intelligently
formed alliance, to create a genius in
science or literature ? Not so. Genius is
an anomaly, and it is rarely inherited or
transmitted by its possessor. I t is of
divine origin, and unbound by hereditary
fetters.
The reason why men of distinguished

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A PHYSICIAN'S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

parts do not more generally transmit their
abilities, is to be found in the unfortunate
marriages they frequently contract. Thus
it happened with the illustrious author of
Faust, who married his cook. He had a
son who resembled him physically, but
partook of the intelligence of his mother.
The Germans called him " The son of the
servant."
This fact reminds us of
The Diverse Influence of Fathers and
Mothers.
I t may be briefly stated, as a general
principle, that the resemblance of the child
to the father is most marked in its external
organization. The peculiarities of its constitution and temperament are derived more
frequently from the mother. The paternal
and maternal influence vary with the sex of
the child. In the case of sons, the physical
conformation of the head and upper portions
of the body are ordinarily derived from the
mother; in the case of daughters, from the

WOMAN A WIFE.

129

father. Hence in the line of descent from
parents to children, intellectual qualities,
depending as they do upon the nature and
structure of the brain, are apt to cross from
fathers to daughters, from mothers to sons.
A few minutes' persual of the pages of a
biographical dictionary will make evident
to the curious reader the frequent transmission, by celebrated men, of their abilities
to their daughters, and show also how often
those men whose names the world will not
willingly let die have had talented mothers.
Much might be said upon the sad inheritance of disorders of the mind and intellect W e will merely remark here, that
there are two forms of character or disposition which, when they exist to a marked
degree, are frequently the cause of mental
perversions in the offspring. These are,
first, what is known as singularity or idiosyncrasy of character, which, when excessive, may metamorphose itself, by inheritance, into insanity; and, second, great
moroseness of disposition, which not rarely

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A PHYSICIANS COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

leads to melancholia in the child, a form of
monomania characterized by profound depression.
The Moral Qualities Capable of
Transmission.
The fact, however startling it may appear
to many, that we derive our moral as well
as our physical nature in great part from
our parents, is not now called in question
by those whose studies and experience have
thrown light upon this problem. Children
can and do obtain, by hereditary transmission, the good or bad dispositions of their
immediate ancestors. W e find tendencies
to drunkenness, to sensual excess,, to theft,
and to violence, the undoubted results of
inheritance, and developed under circumstances precluding the possibility of bad
example.
This subject comes within the domain of
the moralist rather than of the physician.
I t is his province to indicate how, by ethical and religious culture, hereditary inclinations to evil may be arrested or eradicated.

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131

And it is the duty of every woman, jealous
of her family reputation and of the future
of her children, to know and heed the
practical bearings of this question.
The Diseases Capable of Transmission.
"What branch of hygiene is more deserving of attention than that which treats of
the nature and prevention of transmissible
affections? The consequences of ignorance
or neglect of medical laws in this regard,
are daily seen about us, in the perpetuation
of many diseases which, would otherwise
soon become of rare occurrence. The responsibility of the parent is here most
surely a serious one, it must be acknowledged, when it is remembered that the
health and happiness of the child are largely
determined, before its birth, by the physical
condition of one or both parents. "We
have, therefore, a few words to say upon
the character and avoidance of hereditary
disease, notwithstanding it is often alleged
that precautionary rules are useless in a
matter in which sentiment and affection are

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A PHYSICIAN'S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

so largely involved. Passion apd interest
are consulted, but medical science rarely,
in the formation of the conjugal union.
For all that, the duty of the physician in
treating this subject is none the less plain.
It is his task to make known the principles
of sanitary science; it is too often the fate
of his readers to furnish him with examples
of the disastrous effects of their disregard.
It is a curious fact, in regard to the inheritance of disease, that the child often
copies the successive phases of the parent's
life. Persons thus in old age become very
like a parent to wliom in their youth they
bore no resemblance. A son will grow fat
or lean, lose his hair or teeth, fail in memory,
or become affected with some chronic disease, at the same time as his father did
before him.
A child liable to the effects of hereditary
disease should be reared with care. Those
measures and safeguards (which in the
third part of this book we shall particularize) best calculated to protect early infancy
should be rigidly regarded. Throughout

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133

the whole period of childhood, indeed, a careful watchfulness ought to be exercised.
By a sedulous regard for the laws of health,
much may be done to avert the impending
evil or to mitigate its effects. In after-life,
that occupation ought to be chosen which
experience has shown is least likely to develop the disease to which the person is
predisposed.
A large proportion of the deaths which
occur in early life are due mainly to some
constitutional taint, the result of hereditary
influence. The constitutional peculiarities
principally met with are the scrofulous and
the rickety. It should be borne in mind,
in view of these tendencies to disease in
childhood, that the one great condition
which increases the danger, in all cases, is
debility. There is little liability to the
breaking out of hereditary disease in a
strong and healthy child. The weak and
delicate are in constant peril. This is not
surprising when we recollect the extreme
delicacy of the little organs, the exquisite
12

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A PHYSICIAN'S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

sensitiveness of the nervous system, and the
great activity of all the physical processes.
If, then, debility is the great developer
of hereditary tendencies, the answer to the
question, How can we prevent the effects
of inherited disease? is found in that
course of action which will guard against
any weakening, influence; which will do
nothing to lower vital power, but all that
is possible to sustain it. Hence, when the
child is attacked with any of the maladies
of early life, care must be had that the
treatment instituted is not of a depressing
character. The amount of nourishment
must not be lessened in such cases, for the
child has need of more strength to resist
the threatening evils. If proper food and
needed tonics be withheld, the child will be
found, after such an illness—an attack of
measles or whooping-cough, for instance—
weaker than it was before, and soon afterwards it will be discovered that there are
tubercles in the lungs, or that the bones of
the back and limbs are giving way.

ON T H E V O L U N T A R Y
P E O D U O T I O N OF SEX.
L A W , not chance, goyerns all the operations of nature. There is no effect without
cause, and it is certainly not accident which
presides oyer the birth of males or females.
The question of the yoluntary production
of the sexes has been from the most remote
antiquity the subject of earnest research on
the part of many of the most illustrious
physiologists and physicians. For, in all
times, there haye been some fathers who
haye desired, with Macbeth, to haye it in
their power to haye only male heirs. And
what mother has not wished to determine
for herself the relatiye proportion in her
family of boys to girls ?
"We do not propose to examine the numerous theories upon the causation of sex
advanced by the ancient philosophers.
(135)

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A PHYSICIAN'S COUNSELS TO WOMAN,

Such an examination could only have an
historical interest, for modern science has
exploded them all. The great Hippocrates,
the father of medicine, originated a theory
which survived the longest, having been
revived and defended, even in the last century, by the celebrated naturalist Buffon.
I t is also foreign to our purpose to enumerate the modern theories which, in the
rapid progress of recent discoveries in embryology, have been suggested. W e shall
confine ourselves to the latest and most
positive utterances of science.
M. Thury, Professor in the Academy of
Geneva, has devoted himself with energy
and success to the elucidation of this difficult question. He instituted a series of
widely extended and carefully conducted
experiments upon animals, which finally enabled him to formulate the following law
for the guidance of stock-raisers: " In order
to obtain females, give the male at the first
signs of heat j to obtain males, give him at
the end of the heat."
This law is in accordance with the fact

WOMAK A WIPE.

137

long observed, that the first laid eg^s of
hens and of queen bees are female, the last
male.
Many stock-growers in all parts of the
world have tested Prof. Thury's theory.
They all, so far as we have seen, report
uniform success.
Similar success attended the trial of this
method on the farms of the late Emperor of
the French. In our own country we notice,
in the "Medical and Surgical Reporter,"
and in other medical and agricultural journals, favorable reports of like experiments
upon animals.
These laws on the production of sex are
capable of voluntary application to the
human race in accordance with the following rules:—
Marital relations within the first few
days after the cessation of the menses, give
birth to girls.
Those which take place later than the
fifth or sixth day after the cessation of the
menses, give birth to boys.
A number of regular physicians m this
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A PHYSICIAN'S COUNSELS TO WOMAN,

country and in England have recorded, in
various medical journals, the results of their
observations upon these laws. One writes
to the " Philadelphia Medical and Surgical
Reporter" for February 8th, 1868, as follows :—
"Whenever intercourse has taken place
in from two to six days after the cessation
of the menses, girls have been produced;
and whenever intercourse has taken place
in from nine to twelve days after the cessation of the mens'es, boys have been produced. In every case I have ascertained
not only the date at which the mother
placed the conception, but also the time
when the menses ceased, the date of the
first and subsequent intercourse for a month
or more after the cessation of the menses,
etc."
Other communications from medical men,
to the same effect, might be adduced. "We
have said enough, however, to indicate the
deserved prominence which Prof. Thury's
theory on the production of sex now oc-

WOMAK A WIFE.

139

cupies in the scientific world, and the
apparent uniformity of result which has
followed its application to the lower animals and to our own race.
Other Causes which. Influence Sex.
There are many other influences, beside
the one we haye just mentioned, which
haye long been recognized as agents in the
determination of sex. The most prominent
among these are the relatiye ages and the
comparative physical conditions of the
parents. Indeed, before Prof. Thury's discovery, these were regarded as the only
known causes concerned. If the truth of
his theory be established, they must be
looked upon only as accessory and modifying influences. W e shall first consider
The Effect of the Relative Age of the
Parents on the Sex of the Children.
"Within the last few years this subject
has been carefully investigated by a number of prominent scholars and statisticians.

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A PHYSICIAN'S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

M. Boudin, a member of the French Academy of Sciences, presented to that body, in
1863, a paper entitled "De Vinfluence de
Vdge relatif des parents sur le sexe des
enfants" containing the results of his statistical researches. He drew the following
conclusions:—
1st. The male sex predominates in the
offspring when the father is older than the
mother.
2d. The female sex predominates, on the
contrary, when the mother is older than the
father.
3d. The sexes are about equalized, with
a slight tendency to a predominance of the
female, when father and mother are of the
same age.
A German statistician, Hofacker, has
come to the same conclusions, from an examination of the civil registration of marriages and births in his own country. He
states, first, parents of the same age engender more daughters; secondly, when the
ages of the parents differ, mprg daughters

WOMAN" A WIFE.

141

are born if the mother be the older, more
sons if the father be the senior.
Similar researches have been instituted
in "Vienna (by Gochlert) and in England
(by Sadler). The figures in these different
countries agree in their results.
Dr. Napheys, of Philadelphia, records, in
illustration of the force of this influence of
the relative ages of the parents on the sex
of the child, an instance in his practice.
A woman married twice, had children by
both husbands. Her first husband was ten
years older than herself. She had four
children by him, of whom three were boys,
the fourth a girl, having a twin brother.
Her second husband, curiously, was ten
years her junior. Both of the children she
has had in this second marriage are girls.
Again, as generally the husband is older
than the wife, it is probably due to this
cause that there are in all countries more
boys born than girls. A laborious statistical examination, including over fifty-eight
millions of persons, has established the fact
that for every one hundred living girls

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A PHYSICIAN'S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

there are brought into the world one hundred and six living hoys. Yet, notwithstanding the truth of these figures as to
hirths, women in all parts of the globe
greatly outnumber the men. The reason
of this strange fact we shall shortly explain.
Too youthful husbands have, ordinarily,
more daughters than sons. In extreme
age, as well as in extreme youth, fathers
have more girls than boys.
The Alleged Effect of the Physical Condition of the Parents on the Sex of the
Children.
Some physiologists have asserted that
the sex of the child is always that of the
parent having the greater vitality. They
have instanced the experience of stockgrowers, and also the preponderance of
daughters in the families of men whose
avocations draw largely upon their nervous
force. Some of the recent advocates of
Prof. Thury's theory have endeavored to
ghow how this view accords with and sup-

WOMAN A WIFE.

143

ports his statement of the causation of sex.
W e haye not space, however, for more than
the briefest record of the doctrines on this
subject, the most worthy of attention. The
seasons, climate, mode of life, diet, and
marital temperance, all exert an indirect,
secondary influence upon the sex of the
offspring.
In all countries, without exception, in all
latitudes, and all climates, more males than
females are born. This preponderance of
male births is attested by all observers.
The following table shows the exact figures
upon record in regard to some of the principal countries.
Names of
States.

France
. .
Belgium . .
Austria . .
Prussia . .
Rhode Island

Periods of
observation.

.
.
.
.
.

Number of
male births to every
100 female births.

. 1848-1857 . .
. 1841-1855 . .
. 1842-1854 . .
. 1826-1849 . .
. 1853-1855 . .

106.T
106.4
106.3
105.8
106.4

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A PHYSICIAN'S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

Which. Sex is the more Numerous?
The reader will be disposed to reply, in
view of the preponderance of male births
everywhere, which we have just mentioned,
that men are necessarily redundant. The
reverse is the fact. In all countries, and
particularly in all cities, there are more
women than men. This is, as we have said,
constantly true, excepting only in territories
newly settled, for of course the great majority of emigrants are males. In the population of the city of London there are one
hundred and thirteen women to every one
hundred men. The proportion varies, in
different countries and towns, between one
hundred and five and one hundred and sixteen women to every one hundred men.
How are these figures to be reconciled
with the diametrically opposite birth-record
in all of these countries ? By the strange
fact that though more male infants are born
than female, fewer survive the first five
years of their life. Especially during the
first year of infancy the mortality is much

WOMAN A WIFE.

145

greater among male children. The proportion gradually decreases to the fifth
year, when the death-rate is nearly equal
for both sexes. Although during middle
life the mortality is slightly greater among
women, it is not such as to equalize the
sexes.

T H E LIMITATION OF FAMILIES.
T H E physicians who have made a study
of the maladies to which woman is subject
when in the married state, have recognized
several which are aggravated by the bearing of children. They have also found, by
an examination of extensive statistics, that
there is no good prospect for the child that
too closely follows a former one, The condition of nursing is much interfered with
by pregnancy; the born infant suffers by
reason of the inferior quality of tK. milk
which its mother furnishes under these circumstances ; and the unborn infant is robbed by its elder brother or sister of a large
share of the nourishment which should go
to form its undeveloped members. This
whole period of pregnancy and nursing is
a severe strain on all women, and especially
so on the feeble ones. Time should be
(146)

WOMAN A WIFE.

147

allowed for the body to fully recover, and
an interval, more or less long, be permitted
to elapse, after the mother has ceased furnishing sustenance to one child, before she
should be called upon thus to offer up herself a second time.
W e ask this not only in her interest; we
urge it for the welfare of the child. Too
often have we heard men, whose education
should have taught them finer sentiments,
discuss this subject by the remarks that
child-bearing is woman's duty and destiny;
that she was fitted for it by nature; that it
does not hurt her to have all the children
she can. Such coarse yet common expressions are as fallacious in science as they are
unfeeling in sentiment. The unsound children which are the products of overmuch
production, prove to any impartial observer
that nature herself revolts from any such
theory, as a flagitious abuse of her best gifts.
These children^ are unhealthy, fretful, illdeveloped, not rarely weak-minded, often
short-lived. "Wretched progeny of an overtasked mother, they increase for a few

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A P H Y S I C I A N ' S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

years her load of care, and perish ere they
reach an age which can repay her for her
hours of pain and toil.
If we draw the picture darkly, it is because years of experience have taught us
the full falsity of the opinion too generally
current upon this point; if it is said too
darkly, we had rather err on this side than
oh the other.
But we know it boots little to exhibit the
misfortunes of humanity for the purpose of
looking upon them with grief and dismay.
Such is not our purpose. "We speak of the
penalties upon wife and children which excessive child-bearing brings with it, in
order that the husband and the father may
be influenced to a determination to assist
in preserving the health and comfort, perhaps the life itself, of those he loves, by
energetic self-control, by every justifiable
precaution, by self-abnegation if necessary.
Difficult as such a sacrifice may be on
his part, let him remember that it is nothing more than the continent man must
always exert. He must call to his support

WOMA2T A WIFE.

149

the strong motives which hold in leash the
animal desires under other circumstances.
H e must assist his endeavors by taking to
his aid such arrangements of sleeping as
will expose him the least t o ' t h e temptation
of breaking his resolve.
There is in each month of every woman's
life a period during which she is sterile.
This is known to physicians as the agenetic
period. I t begins at a time varying from a
week to ten days after the cessation of the
menstrual flow, and ends about a week from
the first appearance of the next monthly
change. D u r i n g this agenetic period intercourse is unfruitful. Most women are
also sterile while nursing. This sterility
continues until the first monthly sickness
occurs.
N"o circumstances, no condition of the
system, no contingency in the domestic life,
can excuse or palliate the

13*

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A PHYSICIAN'S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

Crime of Abortion.
The destruction of the living child, even
though unborn, has been regarded as criminal by the lawgivers of all ages, and we
believe that now, in all civilized lands,
severe penalties are attached to its commission.
The exposure of infants after birth, a
custom dreadfully prevalent in oriental
countries, is certainly not more unnatural
than their destruction before birth, as is extensively practised to-day in this Christian
and enlightened nation.
!N~o parent with feelings above, or indeed
equal to, those of a brute, would take the
life of his or her child when born; yet many
of them think that it is a venial sin to
quench its little spark of existence when as
yet it is in the womb. Such obtuseness of
moral sense is an ominous and deplorable
sign in a community. I t indicates an absence of natural feeling and true morality,
rather to be expected in a heathen age than
with us.

WOMAN A WIFE.

151

The infant, born or unborn, is an individual, dependent, it is true, upon another
for nutriment, but hardly more so before
birth than during nursing. How unreal,
therefore, is the distinction which, in their
own selfish interests, people sometimes
choose to draw!
"We emphatically condemn the practice;
and, as it is said to be rife among us, and
often to be founded on ignorance, we gladly
take advantage of the present opportunity
to speak about it with no uncertain sound.
In the language of a recent medical writer,
«From the moment of conception a new life
commences; a new individual exists, another child is added to the family. The
mother who deliberately sets about to destroy this life, either by want of care or by
taking drugs, or using instruments, commits as great a crime, is just as guilty, as
if she strangled her new-born infant, or as
if she snatched from her own breast her six
months' darling and dashed out its brains
against the wall. Its blood is upon her
head, and, as sure as there is a God and a

152

A PHYSICIANS COUNSELS TO WOMA3ST.

judgment, that blood will be required of
her. The crime she commits is murder^
child-murder—-the slaughter of a speechless,
helpless being whom it is her duty, beyond
all things else, to cherish and preserve.
" This crime is common. I t is fearfully
prevalent. . Hundreds of persons in every
one of our largest cities are devoted to its
perpetration. It is their trade. In nearly
every village its ministers stretch out
their bloody hands to lead the weak woman
to suffering, remorse, and death. Those
who submit to their treatment are not generally unmarried women who have lost their
virtue, but the mothers of families, respectable Christian matrons, members of
church, and walking in the better class of
society.
" W e appeal to all such with earnest and
with threatening words. If they have no
feeling for the fruit of their womb, if maternal sentiment is so callous in their
breasts, let them know that such produced
abortions are the constant cause of violent
and dangerous womb diseases, and fre-

WOMA^ A WIFE.

153

quently of early death; that they bring on
mental weakness and often insanity; that
they are the most certain means to destroy
domestic happiness which can be adopted.
Better, far better, to bear a child every year
for twenty years, than to resort to such
wicked and injurious steps; better to die?
if needs be, in the pangs of childbirth, than
to live with such a weight of sin on the
conscience."*
* "The Physical Life of Woman: Advice to the
Maiden, Wife, and Mother." By Dr. Geo. H. Naphevs. p. 99.

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS
PEEGNANOT.

OF

THE sign most commonly relied upon is
the cessation of the monthly sickness. The
wife who misses the expected return of her
monthly illness, is apt to conclude that
conception has taken place. This sign is
far from being an infallible one. Many
other causes besides pregnancy may occasion a suppression, und pregnancy may
exist without producing any effect, at first,
upon the 'regularity of the periods. In
some instances, during the whole course of
pregnancy, there is no derangement of this
function. Although, therefore, the ceasing
to be unwell is an important sign, it is not a
certain one, and must be sustained by others
before a conclusion can be drawn.
The morning sickness is another indication known to all. It is much more reliable
(154)

WGMAK A WIPE,

155

than the one just mentioned. Ordinarily
appearing the second or third week, it continues until about the time of quickening.
It may present itself immediately after conception.
The condition of the skin not unfrequently
affords an evidence of pregnancy. Bl otches
of various colors may be noticed; it loses
its transparency and becomes wrinkled.
The amount of perspiration is altered;
being sometimes increased, sometimes lessened. Chronic diseases of the skin often
forever disappear. These changes in the
skin are not, however, constantly observed,
nor, alone, can much weight be attached to
them. It is only when they are associated
with other signs and symptoms that they
become of value.
The alterations which take place in the
breasts are more constant, and to the experienced eye present a characteristic appearance. The glands become larger, the
nipples more prominent and of deeper color,
the veins under the skin of the breasts
fuller and darker, and the pink circles about

156

A P H Y S I C I A N ' S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

the nipples more extended, of a purplish
hue, and dotted with many small pimples.
These changes in the breasts are rarely
fully marked before the third month.
The shape of tlie enlarging abdomen is of
more value as a sign of pregnancy than its
size. The presence of tumors or of dropsy
may produce a swelling here; but the enlarged abdomen due to pregnancy is of a
peculiar form — it is pear-shaped. The
pouting protrusion of the navel in the latter
months of pregnancy is a noticeable sign
of pregnancy.
A depraved appetite—that is to say, a
desire for unusual, perhaps unwholesome,
articles of food—is, when present, a very
strong indication of the existence of pregnancy. Salivation, heartburn, loss of appetite, drowsiness, toothache, beating of the
heart, etc., are among the many little annoyances of the pregnant state, which, being
often produced by other causes, are of little
value by themselves assigns.
Quickening is the sign of pregnancy to
which mothers justly attach the most im-

WOMAN A WIFE.

157

portanfce. These muscular movements of
the child are, as a rule, observed about the
eighteenth week—that is to say, the middle
of pregnancy. They may not be observed
at all, owingj to the feebleness of the child,
the amount of fluid which surrounds it, or
the insensibility of the uterine walls.
There are a number of other signs and
symptoms of pregnancy known to the medical profession, which require an educated
eye, ear, and touch for their detection.
Their enumeration here would, therefore, be
out of place. The one upon which the
physician places the most reliance is the
sound made by the beating of the child's
heart, which, by a skilled ear, can be heard
about the fifth month.

How the Presence of Twins may be
Known.
An unusually rapid increase in size,
more than ordinary severity of the morning
sickness, the separation of the abdomen
into two portions, one on each side, by a
14

158

A PHYSICIAN'S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

fissure, and the existence, at the same time,
of foetal movements on both sides of the
abdomen, are all indications of a twin pregnancy. These are not, however, infallible.
There is only one sign which is conclusive.
This again requires the practised ear of the
physician for its detection. During the
latter month of pregnancy the beating of
each heart may be distinguished when
twins are present, thus settling the question
beyond all doubt.
"We therefore see what an admirable aid
the heart-sounds of the unborn child are in
giving information otherwise difficult to
obtain. They afford the best, and indeed
the first absolutely certain, sign of the existence of pregnancy ; and they enable us
to foretell the number of children present.

THE H Y G I E N E OF PKEGNANOY.
T H E condition of pregnancy changes the
physical and mental condition of the
woman. Physiologically and morally, she
is another being. Unlike her former self,
she requires peculiar cares and precautions
to preserve her health, and properly fulfil
the great mission to which she is now devoted. The hygiene of pregnancy, therefore, includes these precautions and even
sacrifices, which, in her own interests and
those of her unborn child, are imposed
upon the wife about to become a mother.
Our task would be incomplete if, after
having pointed out the physical conditions
of a well-assorted marriage, and those laws
of inheritance which promise a vigorous
and comely family, we should neglect the
care of the new being during the period of
its embryotic life. Much may be done
(159)

160

A PHYSICIAN'S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

to secure the full and regular development
of this living, though unborn and helpless,
charge upon maternal tenderness. It has
been appropriately said that sanitary science
has habitually to contend with two opponents, human passion and ignorance. W e
believe that the most effective way of combating the former is by attacking the latter.
In treating, however, of the sanitary rules
of pregnancy, we feel sure of attention.
"We enlist in our favor the strongest of all
passions, that of maternal love. For, the
wife who has conceived no longer belongs
to herself; she is the guardian of a new life.
The care of her health, hence, becomes a
sacred duty which she cheerfully assumes.
The Diet.
The proper regulation of the amount and
character of the daily food during pregnancy is as difficult as it is important. The
various troubles of digestion which are so
apt to make their appearance in the early
months, render it impossible to say in ad-

WOMAN A WIFE.

161

vance the exact quantity of food which may
be proper. ""While some have an appetite
unhealthfully great, not a few have a repugnance for nourishment of any sort.
The latter need the appetite e x c i t e d ; the
former, to have it restrained within reasonable limits. A l t h o u g h it is true, as a
general principle, that the wife, h a v i n g
now a new being to nourish, requires an
increase in her own diet, this increase
should only be made in accordance with
t h e dictates of desire. Great injury is
sometimes done by an enforced augmentation in the number and amount of the meals,
under the belief that this is always necessary. T h e effects of overloading of t h e
stomach are often seen in permanent digestive troubles, which, of course, interfere with
the growth of the child; or in disorders of
the blood, consequent upon the superabundant nourishment. D u r i n g the course
of the fourth month there is frequently a
notable increase in the appetite, which may,
if care be not taken, lead to excesses in
eating and drinking. These excesses should
14*

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A P H Y S I C I A N ' S COUNSELS TO W O M A N .

be guarded against, as they are hurtful.
T h e appetite may be satisfied by smaller
quantities of food taken at shorter intervals.
D u r i n g the last few months of pregnancy
more nourishment is required. This should
be obtained by adding to the number of the
meals and improving their nutritive character, and not by eating to repletion at each
meal. The quantity of food taken should
also be regulated' by the possibility or impossibility of t a k i n g exercise. If, because
of swelling of the limbs or varicose veins,
the woman is condemned to a sedentary life,
she will expose herself, and consequently
her child, to the dangers resulting from an
excess of blood, if she be not careful to adj u s t the amount of nourishment to the lessened wastes of her system.
I n regard to the choice of food, this may
ordinarily be left to custom and taste, when
the wife is in the enjoyment of good health.
"When, however, she is suffering from
plethora, an excess of blood, or from ancemia,
an impoverishment of the blood, the diet
should be suited to these opposite condi-

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163

tions. These faults of the system are
readily recognized; they are of frequent occurrence. Their treatment is a matter of
medicine as well as of hygiene. In severe
cases the family physician will give the
proper directions.
The wife ought to subordinate the mischievous suggestions of her palate to the
interests of the child she carries, and not
overload the stomach with heavy and indigestible articles, which can do her no good,
and may do harm. An annoying craving
for food is often complained of during the
night or in the early hours of the morning.
A t such times a little coffee and milk, or a
piece of biscuit and milk, will be found
useful. The temperature of the food and
drinks may likewise be left to the taste, if
it be not perverted. The efficacy of iced
drinks in checking nausea and vomiting, is
well known. In some instances very hot
drinks prove serviceable.

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A PHYSICIAN'S COUNSELS TO WOMAN,

The Dress.
The wife, so soon as she becomes pregnant, should cease to dress fashionably*
The requirements of the fashionable world
she has now nothing to do with. Her
clothing should be so arranged as not to
compress the abdomen, or the lower part
of the chest. Hence the corset had better
be abandonedv after the first few months^
and ought never be worn after the fifth or
sixth month. If worn during the earlier
months, it must be adapted to the changing
form, never tightly laced, and the breasts
and nipples carefully protected from compression or irritation. A neglect of these
precautions, particularly in a first pregnancy, may be followed by serious consequences. There are three reasons why the
corset should be speedily thrown aside: it
interferes with the movements of respiration ; it lessens the space, already too small,
for the other organs in the abdomen; and
it opposes the ascent of the enlarging
uterus. The unborn child also may suffer

WOMAX A WIFE.

165

from the vanity or ignorance of the mother.
A number of distinguished physicians
have reported cases of monstrosities clearly
traceable to the influence of the corset.
The development of the head of the infant
is particularly apt to be arrested b y this
compression of t h e waist. T h e well-known
greater prevalence of deformities among
illegitimate children has been j u s t l y attributed to the injury inflicted upon the foetus
through attempts to conceal the existence
of pregnancy by tight-lacing.
"While any compression or constriction
of the abdomen is injurious, the uniform
and systematic support of its walls, during
the latter months of pregnancy, by an
elastic, yielding bandage, which makes
pressure from below upwards and inwards,
will often be found of great service. B u t
ordinarily nothing of the kind is required;
when needed, the advice of the family
physician had better be sought before purchasing any of the numerous " supporters"
now everywhere offered for sale.
One of the frequent annoyances of the

166

A P H Y S I C I A N ' S COUNSELS TO W O M A N .

latter months of pregnancy is swelling of
the lower limbs. This condition is often
caused, or aggravated, by the wearing of
t i g h t garters or gaiters. If the garter be
worn below the knee, a hurtful practice
peculiar to American women, the injury
resulting from the constriction is increased.
A n o t h e r disorder of advanced pregnancy
is rheumatism of the womb. These rheumatic pains, often so distressing, would be
of much rarer occurrence if flannel drawers
were more generally worn at this time. I n
our climate this precaution is of the utmost
importance.
T h a t dress is the most healthful which
affords the best protection against the
weather, and is, at the same time, the most
comfortable.
The tyrannical demands of
fashion, when opposed to these ends, should
be d u r i n g this period, so critical for mother
and child, unheeded.

WOMAK A WIFE.

167

A i r a n d Exercise.
Unquestionably, a residence in the country, during the months of pregnancy, is
conducive to health, because of the pure air,
the regular life, the freedom from social
excitement, and the plain and healthful
table found there more frequently t h a n in
the city. A removal from the city is not
always practicable, and is only necessary
when the health is very feeble. I t is rather
a matter of medicine than of hygiene, the
family physician ought therefore to Ipe consulted as to its propriety.
A point, however, upon which the p h y sician unhappily is rarely consulted, is the
regulation of the exercise taken d u r i n g
pregnancy. This is a matter of greater
importance than may be apparent at first
sight. Moderate exercise is favorable and
desirable during all the months of pregn a n c y ; it increases the appetite, improves
the circulation of the blood, and gives tone
to the nervous system. The promenade is
useful, even in the last month, when it

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A PHYSICIANS COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

tends to prevent attacks of headache, and
congestions of the brain, to which one who
leads a too sedentary life is then predisposed.
While moderate exercise is useful, all
excessive efforts or violent and sudden
movements are, on the contrary, dangerous.
Dancing, particularly in the round dances,
is often a cause of miscarriage. I t should
be rigidly interdicted from the outset.
Railway travelling ought also to be avoided.
"Walking or standing, prolonged to fatigue,
may lead to an attack of flooding.
The hours of sleep at night may, with
advantage in most cases, be lengthened.
Often, also, benefit will be derived from
resting upon a lounge or sofa for an hour
or two each day. This latter practice is
strongly recommended during the earlier
months for those liable to miscarriage.
The house and bedchamber should be
kept well ventilated, and light. Fresh air
and sunshine cannot be too freely admitted,
nor too highly valued.

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169

The Nervous System,
During pregnancy the nervous system
is easily impressed, and readily thrown into
violent excitement. Mental agitation is a
very common cause of miscarriage. W e see,
therefore, the value of a quiet life, and the
paramount duty of guarding against the
emotions and passions. Fictitious emotions
produced by the sensational novel and
drama, are no less injurious than the real.
One of the triumphs of the melo-drama
is, and that not rarely, the premature
accouchement of the matrons profoundly
moved by it. I t does not stand alone in
this respect, for it shares its power with
that class of romances written with the sole
object of exciting the horror and convulsing the nerves of the reader.
The depressing emotions, as fear and
anxiety, are very hurtful. The avoidance
of gloomy forebodings, by every effort in
her power, is a duty which the mother' owes
to the child she carries. It is also the duty
of all about her to second these efforts, and
15

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A PHYSICIAK'S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

protect her from frightful and distressing
scenes. This will be made more apparent
after we have considered
The Influence of the Mother's Mind on
the Unborn Child.
The causes which form " birth-marks/' or
"mother's-marks," haye deeply interested
the public and professional mind, from the
days of the earliest antiquity. Hippocrates,
who lived nearly five hundred years before
Christ, admitted the influence of the imagination of the mother upon the product of
conception. His opinion was shared by all
the physicians of ancient times, who collected many instances in confirmation of it.
This opinion has always received the credit
of the unprofessional public. But in the
beginning of the last century it was vigorously attacked by some prominent members
of the medical profession, and until quite
recently fell into disrepute. I t was regarded
as a popular superstition, and all the facts
explained as mere coincidences.
Science has of late taken up anew the

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171

investigation of this vexed question, and
has signally proved the t r u t h of the popular belief, and the correctness of observation
of the great F a t h e r of Medicine, A m o n g
the recent American authorities upon this
subject we may mention Prof, "Wm. A .
Hammond, of N e w York. I n an able article he says, after passing in review a large
number of authenticated examples of the
influence of the maternal mind over the
unborn child: " T h e chances of these instances, and others which I have mentioned,
being due to coincidence, are infinites! mally
small; and though I am careful not to reason
upon the principle of post hoc propter hoc,
I cannot, nor do I think any other person
can, no matter how logical may be his mind,
reason fairly against the connection between
cause and effect in such cases. T h e correctness of the facts only can be questioned;
if these be accepted, the probabilities are
thousands of millions to one t h a t the relation between the phenomena is direct."
Professor Dalton, the well-known physiologist of N e w York, states, in his H u m a n

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A P H Y S I C I A N ' S COUNSELS TO W O M A N .

Physiology, t h a t " t h e r e is now little room
for doubt t h a t various deformities and deficiencies of the foetus, conformably to the
popular belief, do really originate in certain
cases from nervous impressions, such as
disgust, fear, or anger, experienced by the
mother."
D r . Seguin, the most prominent A m e r i can writer on idiocy, affirms : " Impressions
will sometimes reach the foetus in its recess,
cut off its legs or arms, or inflict large flesh
wounds before birth, inexplicable as well as
indisputable facts, from which we surmise
that idiocy holds unknown t h o u g h certain
relations to maternal impressions."
D r . !N"apheys, of Philadelphia, s a y s : " The
view here stated"—that the maternal mind
influences the unborn child—" and indorsed
by modern science, is one which ought to
have great weight with the mother, her
relatives and friends. T h e practical conclusion which it suggests is, t h a t as during
pregnancy there is unusual susceptibility
to mental impressions, and as these impressions may operate on the fragile structure

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173

of the unborn being, this tendency should
be well considered and constantly remembered, not only by the woman herself, but
by all those who associate or are thrown in
contact with her."
Prof. Carpenter, of London, Prof. Bouchut, of Paris, and many other physiologists and physicians of eminence, bear
similar testimony. In illustration of their
views, we append some of the principal
facts observed by the authorities we have
just mentioned. They are certainly of the
highest importance.
Prof. Carpenter, of London, quotes in
illustration of facts of this class the statement of Baron Percy, as to what occurred
after the siege of London in 1793. In addition to a violent cannonading, which kept
the women for some time in a constant state
of alarm, the arsenal blew up with a terrific
explosion, which few could hear with unshaken nerves. Out of 92 children born in
that district within a few months afterwards,
Baron Percy states that 16 died at the instant of birth; 33 languished for from
15*

174

A PHYSICIAN'S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

eight to ten months and then died; 8 became idiotic and died before the age of five
years; and 2 came into the world with numerous fractures of the bones of the limbs,
caused by the cannonading and explosion.
Here, then, is a total of 59 children out of
92, or within a trifle of two out of every
three, actually killed through the medium
of the mother's alarm and the natural -consequence upon her organization. This is
an experiment (for such it is to the physiologist) upon too large a scale for its results
to be set down to mere coincidences.
Prof. Carnochan, of New York city, has
written an account of two cases of harelip, which, he says, he has " n o doubt occurred from maternal impressions conveyed
to the foetus." One, he states, by a dentist
who roughly lifted the mother's upper lip
at the sixth month of her pregnancy; the
other, by a female, then pregnant eight
weeks, seeing two girls suddenly enter a
room, who each had been imperfectly
relieved by surgery of this deformityD
Prof. 0 . then adds: " I could proceed enu-

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175

merating cases of u similar character, proving, as I believe, the positive influence of
maternal impressions upon the foetus. I
am disposed to the belief that the impressions have most effect during the early
periods of pregnancy."
The late Prof Valentine Mott, of New
York city, stated that he knew a medical
man who bad a, faithful and perfect picture
of a pig, represented by a mother's mark,
on his back. His mother, during pregnancy, was frightened by a black pig su&~
denly running from behind a currant-bush,
whilst she was walking in her garden.
Prof. Mott also removed, from the side of a
lady, a mother's mark representing in every
respect a veal-cutlet, with the appearance
of grains of pepper on it. This preparation
can be seen in Prof. Mott's museum. The
history connected with the case is t h i s :
The lady's mother wished to eat a veal-cutlet, and sent her husband to procure one;
on his return without it, she felt greatly
disappointed, and slapped her hand on her
side, exclaiming, " O, my! what shall I do?"

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A P H Y S I C I A N ' S COUNSELS TO WOMAN

The infant, on being born, was found to
have the mark described, at a part corresponding with the part of her side she
struck with her hand.
Prof. Alfred C. Post, of New York,
relates the case of a mother frightened by a
mouse, which suddenly ran across the floor*
Her child had "growing from the back of
its neck a little prolongation, an inch and a
half in length, covered with silky hair, and
bearing a striking resemblance to the tail
of a moused
/MM. Grimaud de Caux and Martin St.
Ange say, in regard to this matter :—
"After fecundation is accomplished, the
new being remains for nine months under
the influence of the maternal organization.
It constitutes a part of this organization^
and consequently causes, of whatever nature,
act both upon mother and child. Pregnancy is a function of the woman, as are
digestion and the acts of secretion of various kinds; and if these latter are affected
by moral impressions, why should not the
former be also similarly acted upon? If

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177

the composition of the blood be altered, is
it possible that the foetus, which is being
developed in the mother's womb by this
fluid should not undergo detrimental
changes?"
Dr. Alfred Meadows, Physician to the
General Lying-in Hospital of London, in a
paper entitled "Case of Monstrosity, with
Remarks on the Influence of Maternal Impressions on the Foetus in Utero," which
was read and discussed before the Obstetrical Society of London, says, in defending
his view of the power of maternal mental
impressions over the unborn child:—
"Further, it has been objected to the view
here taken, that if the assumed cause, maternal imagination, were really the efficient
agent, the resemblance between the idea
and the fact ought to be greater than it
often is. I do not think the objection a
valid one, because the amount of deformity
only shows the degree to which force has?
as it were, conquered matter, and how far
it has failed of its object; it proves nothing more.

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A PHYSICIAN'S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

"Great stress has also been laid on the
fact that during the earlier weeks of foetal
life the relation between the foetus and the
parent is one of simple contact; hence it is
argued that no mental impression could
reach it to produce the effects described,
and yet many of these deformities must
have commenced about this period, I
think I have already answered part of this
objection j and as to the latter, of course it
is not pretended that mental impressions
are the only, but that they are an occasional,
cause of bodily deformity.
"Again, it is urged, that the fact that
monstrosities occur among the lower animals is proof against this theory, because it
would be ridiculous to suppose them to be
the sport of mental emotions. I can only
say, in reply, that I have no more doubt of
the existence of mental emotions in the
lower animals than I have in the case of
man; and I think any one who has studied
the lives of domesticated animals, and has
watched them during the period of pregnancy, must have seen how very emotional

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179

they are, and what solicitude and care they
often exhibit at such times.
"Until, therefore, some other explanation
is offered of the many cases of monstrosity
which crowd medical literature than that
they are mere freaks of nature, I for one am
prepared to accept the doctrine that among
the many causes of bodily deformity the
influence of the mind of the mother deserves a by no means unimportant place."
"We could readily extend our list of wellauthenticated cases of mother's marks,
carefully observed and investigated by
scientific men, clearly traceable to strong
mental emotion in the mother before the
birth of the child. "We merely wish to
observe again, as a fact cf great practical
moment, that the highest medical authorities now consider that the popular belief
in the relation between maternal impressions during pregnancy and birth-marks is
fully sustained.
The mind of the child, as well as its body,
may be affected by the mental agitation of
its mother. Dr. Seguin, in his treatise

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A P H Y S I C I A N ' S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

upon idiocy, gives the history of a number
of idiots, whose misfortune was due to
fright, anxiety, or other strong emotion of
the mother. Can we attribute to the terror
which Mary Stuart experienced on seeing
Eizzo assassinated in her arms, while she
was pregnant with James the First, the
fright that this prince always showed upon
the sight of a naked sword? Did the
artist Flaxman owe his wonderful skill in
drawing to the attentive study of the best
works of art sedulously pursued by his
mother during the months preceding his
birth? The many analogous facts which
have been observed would lead us to answer
these questions in the affirmative.

Precautions during Pregnancy in the
Interests of the Child.
From what we have said of the impressibility of the nervous system during the
whole period of pregnancy, and of the
possible effects of mental and moral emotions upon the body and mind of the off-

WOMAIST A WIFE.

181

spring, practical conclusions are readily
drawn. As disgusting or terrifying sights
may make indelible marks upon the foetus,
all exposure to them should be guarded
against. As, on the contrary, pleasing
objects, cheerful and inspiring thoughts,
mould its mind and morals, ought they
not to be invoked as a powerful means of
educating the child before its birth? The
education of the child in the womb is no
chimerical idea. It is real and practical.
It always takes place, through the maternal
mind, whether it be intelligently directed
or not. This education is the most potent
the child will ever receive. Its effects are
ineradicable.
Contact with contagious diseases, especially smallpox, erysipelas, and chickenpox, which are apt to mark the child, should
be avoided. Nature aids the mother in her
efforts to escape contagion by rendering
her less susceptible to morbid influences
during pregnancy than at any other time.
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182

A PHYSICIANS COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

Is Pregnancy Useful or Hurtful to Female
Health and Beauty?
I t has been said by a distinguished writer
upon hygiene, Prof. Michel Levy, that
human life acquires more tenacity by the
trials t6 which it is submitted, provided
these be not of a nature to break the
courage or paralyze the will. Pregnancy
is one of those trials which strengthen the
health of the woman, if it be not already
too much impaired. I t is evident, from
natural laws, that woman was intended to
become a mother, just as man is incomplete
until he has obtained the title of father.
I t would, therefore, appear only rational
that the accomplishment of the mysterious
function of reproduction should be for both
sexes a condition of good health.
Dr. Levy, after enumerating, in his
"Traite d'Hygiene," the sanitary advantages of marriage, says : " Finally, and as
if to more earnestly solicit the reproduction
of the species, nature has placed on the
side of maternity the greatest chances for

WOMAK A "WIFE,

183

health and long life; celibacy is sadder for
women than for men; female convents contain a greater number of sick and invalids
than male convents. Fecundation and
pregnancy strengthen the female constitution. "Who has not remarked the flourishing health of wives, mothers of numerous
children, in contrast with the withering
and fading influence of sterility?"
Another distinguished writer upon the
laws of health, Dr. Becquerel, is of the
same opinion. He states: "Notwithstanding the disorders which attach to pregnancy, childbirth, and miscarriages, the
duration of life is longer with married
women than with maidens."
If pregnancy be favorable to female
health and longevity, as all experience and
authority assert, is it also favorable to the
preservation of comeliness of face and form?
This question is not a light one. "We
ask, and shall answer it, in all seriousness.
Personal beauty is woman's peculiar attribute and power. It is her duty to cultivate
and preserve this gift of nature. There are,

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A P H Y S I C I A N ' S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

without doubt, other and higher duties to
which she should sacrifice this, if need b e ;
b u t we shall find t h a t the laws of nature,
here as elsewhere framed with admirable
wisdom, do not intend that woman shall
find in maternity an enemy to her physical
beauty.
T h e y o u n g girl has personal attractions
t o which the world bows in admiring homa g e ; the wife, a mother, has hers, which
often yield in nothing to the former. T h e
physical advantages with which the y o u n g
girl is endowed do not disappear, they are
only modified.
D u r i n g the condition of pregnancy, it is
true, the freshness of the complexion is
often lost, and the eyes fail of their accustomed vivacity and brilliancy; b u t after the
birth of the child, these accidents cease to
exist, and the wife refinds her pristine
splendor. A n d it frequently happens that
certain women are never so beautiful as
duriiag the latter months of pregnancy.
F r o m what has been said, we see that
there are many advantages on the side of

WOMAN A WIFE.

185

maternity; indeed, it could not be otherwise without placing nature in contradiction with herself. Meanwhile, we shall not
attempt to conceal the fact that there are
some grave inconveniences connected with
this condition, which we shall presently
study, in the hope of suggesting means of
prevention and amelioration; but it must
not be lost sight of that these inconveniences are amply compensated for by the
incontestable advantages which the wifemother enjoys.

Influence of Pregnancy on the Intellectual
Faculties.
It has been said that woman can only
arrive at the complete and effective development of her intellectual faculties
after having become a mother. Maternity
seems to secure a certain harmony of relation between the physical and moral natures. If we consult statistics, we find that
celibacy appears to exert a sad influence on
the intellectual faculties of the woman, for
is*

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A P H Y S I C I A N ' S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

among the insane we find a greater number of women unmarried than married.
Whilst this can in part be accounted for by
other causes, there can be no doubt that
celibacy itself acts as a real and powerful
cause.
In a happy marriage, crowned by maternity, new sentiments develop themselves
in the wife. She becomes calmer and more
tranquil. It is then that she acquires all
her talents, that she arrives at the summit
of her intellectual and moral development.
In the general quietude of all her functions, thought is more active; in a word,
all the powers of her life receive a new
and salutary impulse. She becomes more
capable of high conception and of acts of
self-sacrifice. She becomes less readily
embarrassed; her timidity changes to assurance, to boldness in time of need. She
is less expansive, more concentrated in her
domestic life, more occupied with her family
affairs than with the pleasures of the world.
She has found her sphere, and moves with

WOMAN A WIFE.

187

a tranquil and assured step, satisfied with
her destiny,
"We have not sketched an ideal woman,
"We have merely stated the habitual effects
6f maternity. "We have given, in general
terms, its tendency; the exceptions, the
digressions from nature, do not concern
us. A bad education, an unhappy temper,
or unfortunate circumstances, may bring
about other results. But the natural and
the ordinary effects of maternity upon the
mental and moral nature are most happy
and salutary*

T H E P E E I L S O F PKEGKAITOY.
"WE have been speaking hitherto only of
the beneficial influence of pregnancy on the
physical and mental constitution of the
woman. A t the same time, we have acknowledged that it exposes her to certain
perils. The great change which it occasions in her whole organization predisposes
her to new maladies. These we shall now
consider. Our previous remarks on the advantages of maternity show that although,
as we are about to see, pregnancy exposes
to certain affections, it saves also from
others, to which the wife would otherwise
have been subject.
Maternity is in general, as has been
stated, a cause of long life, notwithstanding that childbirth sometimes proves fatah
The mortality in confinement i-, however,
very slight when the wife has the comfort^
(188)

WOMAK A WIFE.

189

and favoring influences of a home. In hospital practice, for various reasons which we
will not here detail, the loss of life is much
greater. It increases in proportion to the
number of inmates in the hospital.
Puerperal mania is one of the most
serious of the maladies which are peculiar
to childbirth. It may develop itself during pregnancy, immediately after confinement, or during the period of nursing. It
occurs, however, much more frequently
after confinement than before. In the majority of instances it presents itself within
the first few days after the birth of the
child. "When it is developed during pregnancy, it usually tabes the form of melancholia, i.e., morbidly low spirits; with those
recently confined, mania, i.e., morbid excitement, is more frequent than melancholia.
This loss of mind is rarely permanent.
The cure is ordinarily effected within a
short time after the confinement. The appearance of this disease should not, therefore, excite unnecessary alarm.

190

A P H Y S I C I A N S COUNSELS TO WOMAN".

"When the mental alienation commences
during pregnancy, it frequently happens
that it disappears on the birth of the child.
Some wives have a certain degree of mental disease during every pregnancy, which
vanishes completely after each delivery.
The causes of this affection are various.
One of the most frequent is hereditary predisposition to insanity, pearly or quite
one-half of the recorded cases have occurred in those in whose family there is a
tendency to insanity. Exhaustion of body
and distress of mind are the ordinary causes
in those not predisposed to the disease by
family taint. Hence, we see again the importance of keeping a careful guard upon
the condition of the health, in accordance
with the general principles stated in the
chapter on the "Hygiene of Pregnancy."
A question which is often discussed in
this connection is the probable consequence
of pregnancy upon a woman previously
subject to mental aberration. Some medical writers have accorded to pregnancy a
powerful remedial influence in cases of

WOMAN A WIFE.

191

mental disorder; others have hesitated to
accord to it any good effects whatever upon
the diseased mind. Perhaps the opinion
of one of the wisest of the authorities
upon insanity, Dr. Esquirol, expresses the
truth: "Pregnancy, confinement, nursing,
are among the means by which nature
sometimes terminates insanity; but I believe these terminations are rare."
The influence of pregnancy upon chronic
and recent diseases, already existing or
acquired before or immediately after confinement, is sometimes favorable, sometimes
hurtful. "We cannot pass in review all
these affections, but will mention a few.
The diseased condition, while it is modified
by the pregnancy, also in turn reacts upon
it. Thus, acute diseases of all kinds are
apt to occasion miscarriage. On the contrary, according to some authors, chronic
affections prolong the term of the pregnancy, on account of the general debility
they occasion. In such cases the infant
acquires greater development before its
birth. For this reason it has been asserted

192

A PHYSICIANS COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

t h a t . t h e children of women with consumption are at birth unusually large. These
facts are not fully established, and the influence of chronic diseases in lengthening
the duration of pregnancy is not a constant
one.
I t sometimes happens that pregnancy
aggravates a certain malady in one woman,
while it proves favorable to it in another.
This is due to the fact t h a t the disease
has, in the two cases, a yery different
origin. Take, for instance, hysteria.
In
some hysterical women pregnancy increases
the disorder; in others it ameliorates it, and
may even effect a radical cure. W h y is
this ? F o r the simple reason that the disorder has its seat in the brain in the one
instance, and in the other it is dependent
upon an irritable condition of the womb.
Here, however, we touch upon a purely
medical question, for it often requires the
exercise of the highest skill of the physician to distinguish the one form from the
other.
P r e g n a n c y may prove a means of cure

WOMAN" A WIFE.

193

in cases of Heeding from the lungs, from
the nose, and in other hemorrhages from
parts distant from the uterus, while it is
apt to aggravate those which have their
seat near it.
Chills and fever are less apt to he contracted during pregnancy than at any other
time. They often cease under its influence.
If they continue in a severe form, they
ordinarily produce miscarriage.
The eruptive fevers are much more grave
during the pregnant state. Smallpox in
particular has its mortality greatly increased. An extraordinary fact in this
connection, which is testified to by many
of the best medical witnesses, is that the
foetus alone may be affected during its
intra-uterine life, while the mother does not
contract the disease. In these cases the
mother, proof herself against the epidemic,
serves as a means of communication between the virus and her unborn child,
which may be born marked with the disease.
Scarlet fever is less grave for both the
17

194

A PHYSICIANS COUNSELS TO WOMAltf.

mother q,nd child. It produces sometimes,
however, abortion, and then places the life
of the mother in danger.
Measles cause, it is said, miscarriage iii
about one-half of the cases in which they
occur during pregnancy.
Those who expose themselves while pregnant to lead-poisoning, are very subject to
miscarriage.
Diseases of the skin sometimes disappear
during pregnancy, and reappear after confinement. The union of the ends of fractured bones is also sometimes suspended
during the whole continuance of pregnancy;
while, after confinement, it takes place
quickly.
Notwithstanding the accidents, complications, and even disease, to which wives
are exposed in becoming mothers, we can
again assert, with Dr. Michel Levy, that
nature lias placed on the side of maternity
the best chances for health and longevity.
jLt is necessary, however, in order that this
may be the case, that the woman shall have
attained her growth before she becomes a

WOMAIST A WIFE.

195

wife and mother, and that she shall have
no advanced disease of any organ. Under
these conditions pregnancy is followed by
an increase of strength, and often proves a
valuable means of averting a threatening
disorder.
The Treatment of Morning Sickness.
"We have already spoken of morning
sickness as one of the signs of pregnancy.
To a greater or less extent it may then be
expected in every case. It is only in those
instances in which the nausea and vomiting
are excessive or prolonged that treatment
is required to keep them in check.
Vomiting may not be present during the
whole course of the pregnancy. On the
other hand, it may appear almost on the
very day of conception. The following
case is recorded by a prominent physician.
" I had once a lady under my care, in whom
there was reason to believe that the morning
sickness began the day after conception,
and the date of her labor corresponded to

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A PHYSICIANS COUNSELS TO WOMAN,

such belief. More recently I attended a
patient who was married on a Monday and
began to be squeamish on Saturday; her
delivery took place within nine months."
Ordinarily, the sickness and efforts at
vomiting are noticed immediately on rising
from bed in the morning, and continue for a
quarter of an hour to an hour. Sometimes,
however, the nausea is only felt after eating,
and may be postponed until evening, the
patient being sick during the night instead
of the morning.
The sickness does not always pass away
in the course of an hour's time. It may
persist all day and during the whole period
of pregnancy. These cases are those in
particular which require medical aid, for
the patient's health is endangered by the
constant nausea, which prevents her from
taking or retaining food.
A large number of remedies have been
suggested and used with varying success
in the treatment of morning sickness.
"Very frequently, great advantage will be
obtained by placing over the stomach a

WOMAN A WIFE.

197

cloth wet with laudanum or with chloroform. The application of a cloth saturated with laudanum sometimes succeeds
when every form of medicine given internally has failed.
A wineglass of columbo tea (made by
adding half an ounce of powdered columbo
to the pint of boiling water), before each
meal, will often prove of service.
A tablespoonful of lemon-juice mixed
with a tablespoonful of cold water, and
taken several times a day, will be found
useful. So also with a tablespoonful each
of lime-ivater and milk two or three times
a day.
The application of a Mister or of a turpentine stupe or a mustard poultice to the
stomach is often attended with great benefit.
Powdered charcoal is a harmless and, in
some cases, a valuable remedy. It should
be given in very fine powder (willow charcoal being chosen). The dose is twenty
grains every two or three hours until the
desired effect has been obtained. It will
make the stools very black, a fact which
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should be known, to prevent unnecessary
alarm.
Iced water is a very pleasant and sometimes very beneficial beverage. Ice pills
are also found useful in checking the
vomiting. On the other hand, very hot
drinks have the desired effect with some
persons.
The following recipe is a very valuable
one:—
Take of—
Citric acid

24 grains,

Simple syrup . . . .

1 ounce,

Water

1J ounce.

Mix and put in a bottle labelled No. 1.
Then take of—
Bicarbonate of potassa
Water

.

36 grains,
2 J ounces.

Mix and put in a bottle labelled No. 2.

Take first a tablespoonful of No. 1, and
then a like dose of No. 2.
As to the diet, the principal thing is
to allow the patient to eat whatever she
may fancy and whenever she may desire it.
Every hour, or even when there is much

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199

debility every half hour, a small quantity
of some nourishing food should be taken,
such as a tablespoonful of milk, a biscuit,
or a piece of cake flavored with ginger.
By giving small quantities of plain simple
but nutritious food at a time, and at those
hours when the stomach is least irritable,
a sufficient amount of nourishment may be
afforded. If the case resists the remedies
we have mentioned, and the vomiting is so
severe as to prevent all nourishment, medical assistance is demanded, for the trouble
is of an unusual and serious character.
Marital Relations during Pregnancy.
Moderation should always be observed
during the whole of this period in the relation between husband and wife. Conjugal
relations, at this time, have been condemned
altogether by some. This asceticism is, in
general, unnecessary. There are certain
circumstances, however, under which intercourse is hurtful. There are, also, certain
precautions to be noted. Those wives

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A P H Y S I C I A N S COUNSELS TO WOMAN*

liable to miscarriage, and particularly those
who have aborted during the first pregnancy, should sleep apart from their husbands for the first four or five months after
conception.
Intercourse ought to be avoided during
those days of the month when, if there were
no pregnancy, the monthly sickness would
have been present This caution is an important one; its disregard is a frequent
cause of miscarriage.
After a miscarriage, marital relations
should not be resumed until a least a
month has elapsed. Much suffering, and
many tedious diseases of the womb, can
often be traced to a violation of this
hygienic rule.
After confinement, two months should
pass before the resumption of the customary
marital privileges.
How to ascertain the Probable Date of
Confinement.
Many mothers are in the habit of calculating the time of their expected labor from

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201

the period of quickening. This method is
a very uncertain one, on many accounts.,
A much more accurate date of departure,
in making the calculation, is the day on
winch the last monthly sickness ceased. B y
subtracting three months, and adding seven
days to this date, the month and day of the
confinement will be obtained.
L e t us
illustrate this by an example. "We will
suppose that the day on which thB last
monthly sickness disappeared was the 20th
of February. B y subtracting three months,
we have November 2 0 t h ; and by adding
seven days, we arrive at the 27th of N o vember as the exact date of the confinement. I t will be found that N o v e m b e r
27th is two hundred and eighty days distant from F e b r u a r y 20th. F o r t y weeks,
or two hundred and eighty days, is the
average duration of pregnancy. This manner of counting is more convenient and
accurate than any other which has ever
been suggested.

PART I I I .

the birth of her child, the wife
has become a mother. A new being implores her care, and she enters upon the
great mission of her life. She needs now
more than thoughtless tenderness, or blind
zeal, to enable her to perform well her
maternal duties. She requires a knowledge
of the elementary laws of health. "Without
it, how can she with safety take charge of
her child at the very threshold of its life.
Yet, it is j u s t this knowledge which she is
most apt to lack. I t is the one branch of
her education, the most certain to have
been neglected. A l t h o u g h she may have
been instructed in the accomplishments of
fashion, and may even be able to sew with
(203)
"WITH

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A P H Y S I C I A N ' S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

Penelope, or to make preserves with the
daughters of the "Vicar of Wakefield, yet,
in all that pertains to maternity, she
scarcely knov r s more than nature has
t a u g h t her. W e shall, therefore, be somewhat minute in our counsels to the young
mother, in regard both to the care of her
own health, while nursing, and the proper
manner of preserving that of her new-born
child.
F i r s t we will inquire into the
reasons.

W h y a Mother should Nurse Her Own
Child.
The child during nine months has been
nourished directly by the blood of the
mother. I t now demands her milk, as well
as her cares. K"ot without the strongest
reason, and the fullest concurrence of the
family physician, should the mother withhold herself from this tender office.
The
mothers of ancient times never lightly
transferred to another this duty.
Even
those of noble birth nursed their own chil-

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205

dren. Thus, we read that Sarah (whose
name in Hebrew signifies princess and
indicates noble birth) herself nursed Isaac,
notwithstanding her advanced age when
he was born. So, also, Hecuba nursed
Hector; and Penelope, Telemaque. The
laws of Lycurgus strictly enjoined this
duty. Demosthenes, in one of his orations,
publicly blames some mothers who neglected to nurse their children without being
able to assign any serious reasons.
A t Rome, maternal nursing was at first
held in great honor, but later the matrons
renounced it, and had recourse to wetnurses. This was carried to such an extent
as to excite the lively indignation of
Juvenal, and to call forth eloquent protestations from St. Ambrose and St. Chrysostom. In this connection, we may call
attention to a remarkable discourse, attributed to the philosopher Favorinus, on the
moral obligation of the mother to nurse her
own child. As it affords an excellent page
of hygiene, and a curious picture of Roman
customs at that epoch, we translate it,
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A PHYSICIAN'S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

"One came to announce, says AuluGelle, to the philosopher Favorinus, and in
our presence, that the wife of one of his
auditors had just been confined, and given
birth to a son. 'Let us go,' said he immediately, 'to see the mother, and congratulate the father.' The family was a
noble one, which had given some senators
to the country. "We all followed Favorinus ; we accompanied him to the door of
the house, and entered with him. lie met
the father in the vestibule, embraced and
congratulated him, and then seated himself.
He inquired whether the labor had been
slow and tedious, and, having learned that
the young mother, fatigued by her vigils
and pains, was sleeping, he gave freer play
to his words. ' I doubt not,' said he, 'she
is disposed to nourish her son with her own
milk.' The mother of the young wife*
having replied that it was necessary to use
* How true to life is this scene, and how like is the
mother of that time to those whom we now meet every
day at the bedside of their daughters!

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207

some management, and to give the child to
the wet-nurse, in order not to add the
fatigue of nursing to the sufferings through
which her daughter had just passed: 'I beg
you, woman," replied Favorinus, 'to permit
your daughter to be entirely the mother of
her son. To give birth, and then immediately separate from herself the being she
has just brought into the world, is not that
wrong and contrary to nature? Such a
one is only half a mother, for, after having
nourished within her a being that she sees
not, she refuses it her milk, when she clasps
it in her arms, living and imploring the
maternal breast. If she who destroys her
infant before its birth merits public hate
and execration, scarcely less culpable is
she who refuses the infant, born at full
term, this nourishment from her blood, a
nourishment to which it has become accustomed. But what matters it, say some,
provided it lives and is nourished, at whose
breast it is placed. They who are so deaf
to the voice of nature as to utter this language, do they not, also, tfyink what matters

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A P H Y S I C I A N ' S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

it in what body and from what blood the
child is formed? There is another consideration which must not be overlooked.
Is it not true that mothers who abandon
and send from them their infants to be
nursed by others, destroy, or at least relax,
the tender tie by which nature unites the
soul of the infants to that of the parents?
A child placed out to nurse is scarcely less
forgotten than one dead. And if it can
yet love its father and mother, this love is
not the effect of nature, but the fruit of
society and opinion."
This language is severe. But may it not
be taken to heart, with advantage, by some
of the votaries of fashion and pleasure of
our own day and country ?
"We believe, however, that the majority
of American women do not need to be exhorted and stimulated to nurse their own
children. I t has been our lot to more frequently meet with mothers whom it is necessary to restrain, in their own interests
and those of their babes, from the exercise
of this loving function, upon which they

T H E W I P E A MOTHER.

209

themselves insist. A mother cannot nourish her child with her affection only;
she must haye milk, and in order to have
milk she must have a certain degree at least
of health, and above all regular and steady
health, such as is not at the mercy of every
emotion or slight loss of sleep. It is well,
therefore, to know those circumstances
under which the young mother should be
urged to keep her child at her own breast,
and those under which she should be dissuaded from it, and asked, for the sake of
her child, to hush the voice of her heart
and listen to reason. Hence we shall pass
in review the qualities which should be possessed by the mother to enable her satisfactorily to nurse her child; those which
render nursing difficult; and, finally, those
which forbid it altogether.

What the Mother Needs to Pit her to
Nurse her Child.
It is difficult to define exactly, in general terms, the conditions of health which
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A P H Y S I C I A N ' S COUNSELS TO WOMAN".

the mother should possess to enable her to
suckle her child. She requires less an appearance of robust strength than a constitution free from hereditary taint.
The
question is one of great gravity. There
are some mothers who appear delicate and
yet make excellent nurses, if they only
exercise discretion and intelligence. The
first three months of life are the most
perilous to the existence of the new-born
child. N e a r l y all mothers, excepting those
affected by constitutional disease, are capable of giving the breast during this time
at least, without fatigue, if they follow a
suitable regimen, and nurse only at certain
hours and regular intervals.
]STot only should the mother nurse the
child, if her health permit, because she
thiis secures the best interests of her infant, and g u a r d s it against the dangers
which attend wet-nursing or raising by
hand, but also because she thus benefits
herself. She is contributing to her own
physical vigor. I t is a function necessary,

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211

or at least very useful, to her health after
childbirth.
What Makes Nursing Difficult.
Depressions or deficiencies of the nipple
oppose an obstacle to the proper adjustment of the lips of the child. They rarely,
however, prevent nursing altogether, as they
may be remedied by the physician in attendance. The mother should prevent such
an occurrence by attention during the last
months of pregnancy to the condition of
the breasts.
Cracks and fissures of the nipples are
more troublesome, and may present an insurmountable barrier to the continuance of
nursing. The mother should not give up
in despair too quickly. A little perseverance in the remedies which will be ordered,
and a willingness to endure for a while the
pain, will generally be rewarded by a cure.
All these' sufferings may be avoided by the
observance of those cares of the parts
which we have enjoined prior to the birth
of the child.

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A P H Y S I C I A N S COUNSELS TO W O M A ^

What Forbids Nursing.
Unquestionably, if the mother be suffering from pulmonary consumption, she
should not take her child to her breast. If,
although there be no marked signs of disease, the mother is manifestly so feebly
constituted that she will not be able to
sustain to the end its fatigues, she should
not impose upon herself this maternal
duty. Here, however, the advice of the
family physician should be sought, with
the intention of being guided by it. The
same rule of conduct is proper in cases of
suspected hereditary tendencies. A s a
general principle, the existence of a chronic
disease, which has to any considerable
extent broken down the vital force of
the mother, forbids lactation. "We arrive
therefore at the following
Conclusions Relative to Maternal Nursing.
1st. The mother ought to nurse her child
when she is able, -It is a duty which her

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213

nature and conscience impose;i upon her.
It is conducive to the physical and moral
well-being of herself and her infant.
2d. The mother ought not to undertake
this charge when her health would suffer
by the attempt. She should be guided as
to this by intelligent medical counsel.
3d. "When there exists neither in the
family nor the person of the mother any
scrofulous or other hereditary disease; when
she shows no tendency to consumption nor
other chronic malady; when she has ordinary flesh and strength; when her appetite
and digestion are good; when she is readily
refreshed by food and sleep; when her milk
is good in quality and in sufficient quantity—then, not only is nursing permissible,
but it ought to be counselled and encouraged, for the best nurse for the child, in
such a case, is the mother herself.
Important Hygienic Pacts and Rales.
. "We believe that there are many principles of hygiene, bearing upon the nature

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A PHYSICIAN'S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

of the mother's milk, and the influences
which modify it, and upon the "proper
manner of nursing, which every woman
should know. They concern the health of
the child at the time when it is most frail.
All animals seem to know better than ourselves how to take care of their newly-born
offspring. With us ignorant solicitude is
not rarely as hurtful as wilful neglect.
When we reflect that a day with an injfant
has more influence upon its ultimate health
than a month with an adult, we see the
advantages and the evils which may result
from the various methods of nursing, weaning, etc., and the importance of correct
knowledge in * securing the sound physical
education of infancy.
Holding these views, we shall devote a
number of pages of our book to the sanitary rules which concern the mother and
her child during the period of nursing and
infancy.

THE WIFE A MOTHER.

215

How Soon after Birth should the
Mother give the Breast?
"We reply, so soon as the mother has
recovered a little from the fatigues of the
confinement. Two, four, or six hours suffice for this purpose. A prejudice is
frequently met with which would deny the
breast for twenty-four, thirty-six, or fortyeight hours, quieting the cries of the infant
with some sugar and water, tea, or other
preparation, more or less injurious. A few
hours of repose for the mother and child,
after the birth, before commencing to nurse,
are beneficial. During this time, the mouth
of the child should be cleansed from mucus,
and prepared to receive the nipple.
There are three reasons wThy the infant
should be placed thus early to the breast.
First, its efforts at nursing will, through
sympathy, occasion contractions of the
womb, and so secure the mother against the
danger of flooding. Secondly, nursing will
guard against the sudden engorgement of
the breast, and the violent milk fever, to

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A P H Y S I C I A N ' S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

which the mother is otherwise exposed, on
the second or third day. Thirdly, the first
secretion which the breast contains (called
colostrum) is a mild purgative. The child
needs it to free its bowels from their contents (called meconium). The child, also,
escapes being dosed by officious attendants with the noxious preparations ordinarily offered it, if it be not provided at
once with its appropriate nourishment.

Precautions in giving the Breast.
The infant is placed at the breast, but it
will not nurse. There may be three causes
for this :— *
1st. The child does not know how. It
must be taught by placing the nipple in
the mouth, after first cleansing it with a
little tepid water. Care must be taken that
its nostrils are not obstructed by the breast.
Sometimes the face of the child is so applied
to the breast that it is unable to breathe
through the nose at all, or only with diffi-

THE WIFE A MOTHER.

217

culty, obliging it every moment to quit its
hold of the nipple, in order to respire,.
2d. The child is not able to suckle because of a want of activityr, or a condition
of feebleness. In such a case, the mother
should place the nipple in the mouth, and
solicit a flow of the milk. It sometimes
happens that all attempts of this kind, to
induce the child to drink, fail; and as, at
the same time, it does not cry, but sleeps
continually, without seeming to want anything, the mother respects this repose,
which seems to her restorative, and a sign
of health. "When, however, at the end of
several hours, the attempt is made to
awaken it to put it at the breast, the child
utters feeble cries, and it is evident that it
is beginning to get cold. It is necessary
now to commence and continue every effort
to excite the circulation of the blood. The
child should be disrobed before a warm fire,
and the surface of the body rubbed with
warm.flannels, dry or moistened with brandy,
and slapped with the hands. Renewed
efforts should be made to induce it to nurse,
19

218

A PHYSICIANS COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

and, if these fail with the mother, recourse
should be had, if possible, to another whose
milk flows more easily. These directions
are for guidance in the absence of the
physician, who should be summoned in
such an emergency without delay.
3d. The child is not able to suckle because of a defective condition of the lipsf
gums, tongue, or the entire mouth. In this
case, of course, the advice of the surgeon
is to be immediately sought, so soon as an
examination, which ought to be made,
showTs there is something wrong* Or the
child may not be able to nurse because of
a bad habit it has of pressing the tongue
constantly against the palate. This is particularly apt to occur with children who
have not been applied early to the breast.
The nipple, in such instances, is received
between the lower portion of the tongue
and the-floor of the mouth. All that is
necessary is to depress the tongue with the
little finger, for the first few times, until
the habit is broken.
There are some infants who are slow in

THE WIFE A MOTHER.

219

deciding to nurse. An effective way of
stimulating their desires is to cause a few
drops of milk to run into their mouth,
when, finding it to be pleasant, they will
willingly seize the nipple.
The mother should give successively first
the one and then the other breast, so as to
empty them equally and not fatigue one
nipple more than the other.
As soon as the infant ceases to nurse, be
it awake or asleep, the nipple should be
withdrawn from its mouth. Above all, the
child should not be accustomed to go to
sleep only at the breast of the mother.
Which is the best Position in which to
Nurse ?
Prof. Cazeaux, the world-renowned French
obstetrician, recommends the mother always
to lie down on the side corresponding to
the breast which she offers, the nipple will
then readily fall into the mouth of the babe
placed at her side. "When, however, it is
not convenient to assume the recumbent

220

A P H Y S I C I A N ' S COUNSELS TO W O M A N .

position, the mother should sit directly upright, with the back well supported. She
ought never to nurse while in a half-sitting,
half-lying position. Such a posture hurts
her figure and weakens her back. Neither
should she give the breast standing or
walking, or in a jolting carriage. She
must never nurse the child in a cold or
damp place, or where there are currents of
air, for such imprudence may be punished
by inflammatory or neuralgic affections of
the breast. As soon as the repast is over,
the precaution should be taken of carefully
covering the breasts.
How often ought the Child Nurse during
the Day?
Mothers frequently ask, should they have
regular hours for nursing? "We reply, yes.
I t is better for both mother and child that
the latter should take the breast only from
time to time, and that regular intervals
should intervene between its repasts. Of
course no rule on this subject can be laid
down with mathematical accuracy. Such

THE WIFE A MOTHER.

221

an attempt would be ridiculous. "We counsel, in general terms, the following system.
During the first few weeks, when the
need of food and the dangers resulting
from the want of it are great and pressing,
the child should nurse every second hour.
At the end of a month the interval should
be three hours, and after the second month,
four. An infant, in good health, when
fifteen days old, will commence to show
clearly when it is hungry; at the close of
the second month it generally sleeps when
it has had sufficient, and wakes when it
wishes food. It must not be understood
that it is necessary to feed it every time it
wakes. As the infant grows older it will
take more at one nursing, but the greatest
time which should be allowed to elapse
between any two repasts is four hours.
"We are speaking now of the daytime.
Is it Necessary at Mght to give the Breast
so often as in the Daytime?
No, it is not. Towards the tenth or
eleventh day, the mother ought to increase
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222

A PHYSICIAN'S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

the intervals at night so as to give the
breast only three .times, the first say about
ten o'clock, the second about one o'clock,
and the third towards five o'clock. At two
months of age, the one o'clock meal should
be omitted, or consist of a little cow's milk
and w7ater, in the proportion of one part of
milk to two of" water. The upper portion
of milk which has stood for several hours
is to be preferred for the purpose.
A nursing mother should sleep at least
seven or eight hours during the night, for
this - amount of sleep is indispensable for
the proper preservation of her own health
and the development of her child.
If the mother be not strong, it may even
bo better that she should not nurse at all
during the night. In this event, the child
should be fed once or twice with the mixture of cow's milk and water just mentioned.
Too often mothers and nurses attribute
all infantile cries to hunger, and seek to
appease them by continually offering the
breast. The child frequently cries for

THE WIFE A MOTHER*

223

other reasons than this. The cries of hunger are accompanied by agitations of the
arms, while the infant moves its head, opens
its mouth, and seizes eagerly the end of the
finger.
The Amount of Milk the Infant Heeds.
This varies*, of course, with its age. During the first two months it takes about
three ounces^ that is, six tablespoonfuls or
two wineglassfuls, at one time. It will
have, therefore, in the twenty-four hours
somewhat over a quarto Above three
months of age it will require about a quart
and a half during the day and night.
The mother should be able to give the
child all the milk it requires until it is five
or six months of agee
In general, the child, so soon as it has had
sufficient, falls asleep at the breast. In the
case of feeble infants, it sometimes happens,
during the first six weeks, that sleep gains
upon them after they have taken only a few
mouthfuls. I t is necessary under such cir-

224

A PHYSICIANS COUNSELS TO WOMAK.

cumstances to awaken them, in order that
they may have enough nourishment.
A n infant which has suckled continuously for fifteen minutes has made a good
xneaL It should then he interrupted.
The Influence of Mother's Pood upon her
Milk.
The diet has a great effect upon the nature
and quantity of the milk secreted. A woman well nourished will have, other things
being equal, better milk than one badly
nourished. I t does not follow, however,
that the mother should force herself to
partake of food in larger quantities and
heavier in eharactei than is ordinary with
her. If her health remain good, and she
simply follow her desires, and hold to her
former habits at the table, her child will
not suffer.
The mother should carefully avoid whatever she has ascertained by experience disagrees with her. Otherwise she may induce
acidity of the milk, and disorder of the
stomach and bowels of the nursling.

THE WIFE A MOTHER.

225

The Influence of the Monthly Sickness
upon the Milk.
The mammary glands are more or less
closely united in the bonds of sympathy
with the uterine system. One would suppose, therefore, that the eruption of the
menses would alter the character of the milk.
Such is the case sometimes. It is not always so. Prof. Raciborski has carefully
studied with the aid of the microscope the
milk of nursing mothers during menstruation. He has not found any perceptible
alteration. He concludes, therefore, saving
only in exceptional cases, that the coming
on of the monthly discharge ought not to
deter the mother from continuing to nurse
her child.
But nature herself would seem to guard
against the occurrence of this function
during lactation. Most women do not
become unwell so long as they keep the
child at'the breast. In the largest proportion of the remainder, the sickness does not
make its appearance before the seventh

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A PHYSICIAN'S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

month after childbirth. This fact would
seem to point to some advantage accruing
in the case of those who never become unwell while nursing. It is certainly greatly^
to be desired that the sickness shall not
come on until after the period of weaning.
Still, its earlier appearance is not, alone, a
sufficient reason for premature weaning.
In some women the monthly periods are
always associated with great constitutional
disturbances, and disorders of the digestive
apparatus and nervous system. Such perturbations in the system of the mother may
cause attacks of colic and diarrhoaa in the
nursling.

The Influence of the Marital Relation
on the Milk.
The exercise of the conjugal privilege
affects, although it may be only momentarily,
the breasts and their secretions. Most
physicians agree that there is no danger
to the nursing infant if temperance be
observed.

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227

Of course, husband and wife occupy
separate apartments for at least four weeks
after confinement. In the case of those
with whom the menstrual function is in
abeyance during the period of nursing,
there is no risk of a second conception.
"When, on the contrary, the menses recur
soon after the childbirth, the danger of
another conception is of course encountered,
although it is doubtless even then much
less than at ordinary times.
W e may conclude, therefore, that there
is no reason, on account of the child, of
insisting upon a total separation of the
father and mother while it is being nursed.
Indeed, there are physiological reasons
which would render such an ascetic course
as this wrong and injurious. If indulged
with moderation, this passion does not
markedly alter the properties of the milk.
The only inconvenience attendant upon it
is the risk to which it exposes the mother,
if her periods have returned, of a second
pregnancy. This suggests an inquiry into

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A P H Y S I C I A N ' S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

The Influence of Pregnancy on the Milk.
If pregnancy fails to check or diminish
the quantity of the milk, it "will certainly
deteriorate its quality.
The security which the fact of nursing
gives to the mother, leads her frequently to
overlook the first signs of a second pregnancy, which, in fact, are then more difficult
of observation. It therefore happens, in
many instances, that the child is nursed
during several months of an unsuspected
pregnancy. As a rule, so soon as the pregnancy is at all advanced, the effects of insufficiency and deterioration in the milk
make themselves apparent in the child at
the breast. "Weaning should take place as
quickly as the existence of a new pregnancy
is observed
A wet-nurse should be obtained, if the child be under six months,
particularly if the weather be warm. In
the latter case, also, it should be removed
to the country.

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229

The Influence of Emotion on the Milk.
The study of the influence of the mother's
mind upon the child at her breast, is an
interesting and most momentous one. I t
is impossible to insist too strongly upon
the importance of preserving a condition
of calmness and tranquillity during t h e
whole continuance of nursing.
B u t by
r
what w ords can we hope to quiet a spirit
strongly moved by fear, grief, or anxiety?
A s well may medicine attempt to minister
to a mind diseased. Still, it is the duty of
the physician, by grave and well-weighed
representations, to point out the danger to
which violent emotions in the mother
expose the child. E v e r y mother should
know t h a t the qualities of her milk are
rapidly and seriously altered by lively mental emotions, in order that by foresight she
may escape excitement, and by self-control
she may calm herself when unavoidably
subjected to it.
Medical books and journals relate many
20

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A P H Y S I C I A N ' S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

well-authenticated instances of the sad
effects upon the child of fright, anger, and
other nervous emotions, through the changes
to which these have led in the milk. In
many cases even death has been the consequence.
Prof. Carpenter, of London, records in
his " Physiology" two fatal cases. In one,
the infant died instantly in its, mother's
arms, on being allowed to nurse, shortly
after she had heard bad news. In the other
case, the infant was seized with convulsions in the right side, and paralysis on
the left, from the same cause.
In a late number of the "Journal of
Psychological Medicine" we find recorded,
by Prof. "William A. Hammond, late Surgeon-General of the U. S. Army, a number
of instances of serious disturbances, in
the child, occasioned by this inexplicable
change in the mother's milk through emotion.
" A soldier's wife, whilst nursing her
child, was yery much terrified by a sudden

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231

thunder-stprm, during which the house
where she was then quartered was struck by
lightning. The infant, wThich had always
been in excellent health, was immediately
attacked with vomiting and convulsions,
from which it recovered with difficulty."
" A lady, three weeks after delivery, was
attacked with puerperal insanity.
She
nursed her child but once after the occasion of the disease, and in two hours subsequently it was affected with general convulsions, from which it died during the
night. Previous to this event it had been
in robust health."
Such accidents may be prevented by permitting the loss of the milk shut up in the
breast at the time of the emotional excitement, and by preventing the child from
nursing until the mother is quite restored
to her customary cheerfulness.
The famous physician Boerhaave states
that an infant was attacked with convulsions after nursing from the breast of a
woman who was intoxicated.

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A P H Y S I C I A N ' S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

"While nervous agitation will check or
entirely arrest the flow of the milk, every
mother knows the influence which often
the sight of her babe, the idea of presenting it to her breast, and the joy she feels
when she holds it there, will have upon the
amount of the'milk, entirely independent
of her will. It flows into her breast even
on the thought of her absent nursling.
All these facts show to what an astonishing extent this secretion of milk, in reference both to quantity and quality, is under
the control of the nervous system. "We
trust they will give point and emphasis to
the cautions we have just penned.
Other Influences which Modify the
Nature of the Milk.
From what we have already said it will
be seen that the composition of the milk is
very variable. W e have passed in review
a number of influences which affect it.
Some others remain to be spoken of.
The Influence of the Constitution and
Temperament—A woman of feeble consti-

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233

tution has generally milk deficient in fatty
matter. One whose system is robust, on
the contrary, has ordinarily milk rich in
butter. The opposite condition of affairs
sometimes prevails. One occasionally sees
apparently feeble mothers with excellent
milk, and others buoyant with health
whose milk is impoverished.
That which is known as the lymphatic
temperament coincides ordinarily with
watery and non-nutritious milk. The color
of the hair alone does not appear, contrary
to what some have asserted, to be an indication either of the quantity or quality of
the milk.
The Influence upon the Milk of its Retention
in the Breasts.—It has been demonstrated
that the longer the milk is retained in the
breast, the more thin and watery it becomes.
If one divides into three parts the product
of one milking of a cow, so as to receive
each successively in a different vessel, it
will be found the portion first obtained is
the poorest and most watery, the second is
richer, and the third the best of all. It is
20*

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A P H Y S I C I A N ' S COUNSELS TO WOMAN".

well, then, for every mother to know that
her milk will become more watery the longer
it remains in the organ which forms it. This
knowledge ,is capable of useful practical
application in the nourishment of the child.
If, for instance, it be desirable, because of
the too great richness of the mother's milk,
to lessen the nourishment of the child, this
can be readily accomplished by simply
lengthening the intervals between nursings.
B y this course, the child, on the one hand,
will have time to better digest its repasts,
and, on thfe other, the longer sojourn of the
milk in the breasts will enfeeble its consistence and richness. If the milk be poor and
the child badly nourished, apply it oftener
to the breast, and thus not only give it more
b u t improve the quality of its food.

M e a n s of Recognizing Changes in the Milk.
The microscope and skill in its use are
indispensable for the accurate determination of many of the alterations in the milk.
B u t this means is not, of course, at the dis-

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235

posal of the mother. Can we not teach her
how to obtain, proximately at least, some
useful information on this point? W e will
try.
A n old practice among physicians consists in placing a drop of the milk on the
nail of the thumb, and then turning it so as
to face downwards* The drop of milk is
thus suspended. If it remains adherent,
then the milk contains a considerable quantity of nutritive elements. If it, on the
contrary, quickly falls, then the milk is
serous and of poor quality.
The simple inspection of a certain quantity of milk drawn into a glass will also
enable an estimate to be formed as to its
quality. There are also several chemical
processes, which require delicate management and more knowledge of chemistry
than the mother usually possesses. "We
therefore pass them over.
One of the best procedures, worth all the
others, is an examination of the infant. If
it be well nourished, it is because the milk
is sufficient ill quantity and of good quality.

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A P H Y S I C I A N S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

If it be badly nourished, it is nearly always
because the milk is faulty.
Too Much or Too Little Milk.
The mother may suffer from an overabundance of this secretion, or she may
have an insufficient amount for the need of
her infant.
An excessive amount of milk may be
caused by over-nursing, by bleeding piles,
by the too frequent or too prolonged occurrence of the monthly sicknesses, and by any
excitement of the uterine system. This
condition is not merely an inconvenience
to the mother. It injures the child, because
of the impoverished state of the milk which
always exists. The employment of preparations of iron is useful. A pill consisting of two grains of pulverized iron
(reduced iron) three times a day will be
productive of great benefit. The advice
of the physician should be sought before
the health of the child begins to suffer.
Scantiness of milk is tin. effect of gener^

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237

debility, of indigestion, and the want of
proper food, of advancing years, and of
frequent long separation from the child.
The cause should be removed, if possible;
the child should be put frequently to the
breast, and a generous diet insisted upon.
There are special remedies, and courses of
treatment, which increase the flow of milk.
These should be left, however, in the hands
of the family physician, who can best
employ them.

At what Age may the Child have other
Pood than Milk?
"Not before the end of the fourth or the
commencement of the fifth month. Mothers
are usually too much in the hurry to give
it paps, teas, panadas, etc. If the mother
be a good nurse, she should furnish sufficient milk for the first four or five months.
Her milk will be enough for the child,
without the aid of any outside meals,
excepting, perhaps, the milk and water, of
f hich we h^ye spoken, in the middle of the

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A P H Y S I C I A N ' S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

night. Of course, if the infant be feeble
and delicate, or if the milk be insufficient
in quantity or wanting in richness, it will
be necessary to supplement the natural
food with artificial.

The Pood Proper for Infants.
A slbw and regular progression in the
character of the child's food should be the
rule. Any sudden changes in diet are
liable to derange the stomach. No artificial food should be allowed before the fourth
or fifth month, as we have just stated. A t
this time, however, the use may be begun
of dilute cow's milk, and of paps. An
excellent preparation may be made by
adding to a tumbler one-third full of water
a teaspoonful of sugar of milk, and then
filling the tumbler until it is two-thirds
fall with fresh cow's milk. The addition
of two teaspoonfuls of lime-water is useful,
if the child have a sour stomach or green
stools. Paps made with cow's milk and
wheaten flour, or arrowroot, may next be

THE WIFE A MOTHER.

239

allowed. A t six months of age, tapioca
and animal broths are proper, once or
twice-during the day. A t twelve months,
eggs may first be permitted, and then any
sort of easily-digested solid food.

At what Age should the Child be
Weaned?
By commencing at the fifth month to
gradually accustom the infant to artificial
food, in the manner just mentioned, it may
be weaned about the twelfth or thirteenth
month. If there be a sufficient amount of
milk, and the health of mother and child be
vigorous, nursing may be prolonged to the
fifteenth or sixteenth month, but it can
rarely be continued longer with safety for
either.
City infants should not be weaned during
the summer months. If, for any reason,
the mother is obliged to cease nursing in
hot weather, either the child must be sent
into the country or a wret-nurse procured.

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A P H Y S I C I A N S COUNSELS TO WOMAJST.

The Pood of tlie Child after Weaning.
After the child is weaned, its diet ought
to approach more closely to that of ordinary
life; it may eat at the family table, avoiding highly flavored dishes, pastry, stimulants, and coffee. It should be encouraged
to drink freely of milk at all its meals.
The prejudice against sugar is unfounded.
It is a useful article of diet. Even when
taken in excess, the only disadvantage is a
loss of appetite for a little while.
The JSfumber and Order of its Meals.—For
the instruction of inexperienced mothers,
we will give a bill of fare, which may serve
as a model to be followed, more or less
closely, according to circumstances.
Children should make their first repast as
soon as they rise in the morning. It ought
to consist of broth, or milk gruel, with
bread. This breakfast should be taken
about seven or eight o'clock in the morning;
during the summer, an hour earlier. About
ten o'clock a piece of bread and butter will
make a healthful lunch. Towards mid-day

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241

a second meal is necessary. I t should
consist of soup, with a small quantity of
meat, such as mutton-chop, yeal-cutlet,
chicken, roast beef, etc. Potatoes, well
cooked, and a very small amount of green
vegetables, may be added, together w'th a
light pudding. In the middle of the afternoon, some bread and milk, pr bread and
butter, with fresh ripe fruit, when in season,
should be eaten. This repast may be
taken out of doors. In the early evening,
the last meal of the day had better consist
of only bread and milk.
But it is not alone necessary that the
hours for the meals be regulated. It is of
the utmost importance that the food be
given in proper quantity, and of proper
quality—that is to say, it ought to be well
prepared, and fresh, and the meats juicy,
not dried in cooking. A portion of meat
should make part of each day's food, and
not be omitted, under the pretext that
vegetables will suffice for the nourishment
of the child.
21

THE HYGIENE OF THE IKE ANT
BEEOEE "WEANING.
"WE haye hitherto only spoken of the infant's diet. W e haye confined ourselves to
directions as to nursing and feeding by
hand. But these are not the only cares
which the child requires for the preservation of its health. The air it breathes, the
light and the sounds which surround it, and
its temperature, are all agents which influence it for good or evil. W e will briefly
state some of the more important hygienic
precepts of early infancy.
The Air it Breathes.
Dr. Eonssagrives, the well-known professor of hygiene at Montpellier, has aptly
said: " A piece of brown bread steeped in
pure air, makes more blood than a beefsteak eaten in a close room." Open, then,
( 242 )

THE WIFE A MOTHER..

243

the window of the chamber occupied by the
little one, and let the fresh air from without expel that which has already been
breathed, and which is no longer fit for
respiration. There is no danger in thus
renewing the atmosphere of the apartment. It is only on exposure to currents
of air that the child will take cold. From
these it can readily be protected. A child
can no more grow without fresh air than a
plant. A t the same time, ordinary prudence must be exercised in yentilation.
On a rainy day, for instance, the window
should not be opened; and during the
earlier hours of the morning, a,nd the late
hours of the evening, it will be more prudent to keep it closed.
The importance of carrying the infant
daily in the open air, when the weather is
fayorable, cannot be too much insisted
upon. There are few mothers who take
their children as much in the open air as
they ought, in order to secure for them a
vigorous constitution, and robust health.
During the summer, little children should

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A P H Y S I C I A N ' S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

remain out of doors during nearly the whole
day, from the time of rising until the hour
for retiring. The practice of carrying the
infant out for a promenade, of at least an
hour or two, near the middle of the day,
should be begun a few days after birth in
the summer-time, and not postponed longer
than two or three months after birth in the
winter. ISTot a single pleasant day, in the
whole year, should be allowed to pass
without this walk in the open air. There
is no direction which we can give for the
care of the health in infancy of greater
value than this. If the head and limbs of
the child be properly covered, it will not
take cold, even although the air be cool.
Exposure to a damp atmosphere ought, to
be avoided, however.
The action of intense cold upon the infant is very hurtful. A child born in the
winter-time should not, therefore, be carried out until it is several months old, as
we have just stated. ]STor should it be long
exposed to a freezing atmosphere, even
although well dressed. I t ought to take

THE WIFE A MOTHEP

245

the air during the sunny days of winter,
but the promenade must then be a short one.
It is to be borne in mind that young infants
frequently suffer from the cold without
showing at the time any sign of suffering.
It is not until they are a year and a half or
two years of age, that they complain and
cry when cold. Therefore, even although
well clothed, it is prudent not to keep them
too long in a freezing atmosphere.

Its Light.
The light of the sun is indispensable to
the new-born. In the dark the infant
becomes pale and thin. During the first
few weeks of early infancy, the eyes require to be protected from the direct rays
of the sun, or of the gas-light. The first
week of its life should be mainly passed in
a half-darkened room. In a little while
its eyes will become accustomed to the
light, which should then be freely admitted
into the apartment.
21*

246

A PHYSICIAN'S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

Its Temperature.
The young infant has need of a warm
atmosphere. Its animal heat is generated
with difficulty; it must, therefore, be carefully preserved by artificial means.
Sudden changes of temperature are, in
particular, yery injurious. The passage of
the child from a warm room to a cold one,
or from a heated house to the cold outer
air, may be attended with serious consequences, if it be not well protected. A
transition of the kind, which a grown person would resist without injury, might
readily prove fatal to an infant, whose
powers of resistance to cold, we repeat, are
very feeble.
Nevertheless, there may be an excess of
precaution to avoid taking cold. The natural feebleness, of which we have spoken,
may be increased by rooms too warm and
clothing too heavy.

THE WIFE A MOTHER.

247

Its Sleep.
Calm and regular sleep is an indication
of health. The infant whose sleep is disturbed, is certainly not well. In healthy it
passes the greater portion of the twentyfour hours in its bed. It ought never to
be awakened. I t is a good habit to place
it in bed so soon as it has nursed, and never
to accustom it to be put to sleep in the
arms. Otherwise it will soon learn, when
it awakes in the night, to insist upon being
carried, and will not be quieted until its
tyrannical demands are complied with.
"When the infant is asleep, it is well not
to make too much noise in the chamber it
occupies. Still, it is not necessary to
remain immovable, and preserve an absolute
silence. The child sleeps very well in the
midst of some noise and movement, provided they do not pass beyond a reasonable
limit.
As the child becomes older, the hours
between its naps during the day may be
increased. It should, however, have at

248

A PHYSICIAN'S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

least twelve hours' sleep at night, and a
noon nap of an hour or two, until six years
of age.
The Clottriiig it Wears.
W e have spoken of the susceptibility of
the infant to the effects of cold. There is
an erroneous notion, which unfortunately is
too widely spread, that it is well " t o
harden" the child, by exposing its neck and
limbs to the air. In our climate, there is
no practice more dangerous. More children sicken and die because of insufficient
clothing than is generally supposed. No
matter what the fashion of the dress may
be, let every mother see to it that her child
is more warmly clad than herself, and not
less so, as is so„ frequently the case. Again,
we repeat, in this connection, a child cannot
resist cold as well as an adult.

W H A T THE MOTHEE SHOULD
DO IN S L I G H T A C C I D E N T S .
are often embarrassed as to
the proper treatment for a trivial accident,
such as a fall, a blow, a light wound, a
burn, etc., to which little children are so
often exposed. It will, therefore, be useful
to lay down some rules for their guidance
in these common and simple hurts of childhood. If an accident seems grave, or gives
rise to anxiety, the most prudent course is
to seek the skill of the family physician;
but, while awaiting his arrival, there are
many useful precautions which can be
taken, and many light injuries demand no
other care than it is in the power of the
intelligent mother to afford.
MOTHERS

Accidents which, do not Require the
Physician's Care.
"We will first consider the duty of the
mother, in relieving those slight injuries
( 249 )

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A PHYSICIAN'S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

which, while they inspire no fear, and do
not ordinarily demand the care of the
doctor, call for some attention on her part.
Most of the falls to which young children
are liable, in walking or running about the
floor, are of this harmless character. They
ordinarily give rise merely to a little pain,
or, it may be, to a small swelling, or a black
and blue spot. All that is necessary to do
in such instances is to avoid frightening
the little one by an expression of its own
terror, and thus leading it to complain
beyond measure, or making it too timid.
So soon as the mother has assured herself,
with calmness, that nothing serious has
resulted, she should place the child upon
its feet, dry its tears, and induce it to
resume its play. The child will thus be
taught to support, with fortitude, a little
pain, and the accident will serve to make it
more cautious and adroit in the future. Is
it necessary to add that it. is absurd to seek
to quiet the child by striking the furniture
or floor against which it has struck itself?

THE WIFE A MOTHER.

251

This only inculcates an idea of vengeance,
as foolish as unjust.
SMALL "WOUNDS AND CUTS.—Children

frequently inflict upon themselves superficial cuts by means of knives, or some other
cutting or pointed instruments, in spite of
all care which can be taken. In cases of
such wounds, which are without danger, as
they merely divide the skin, no lively emotion should be manifested at the sight of a
little blood. If the mother endeavors to
show coolness on these occasions, if even
she tries to profit by similar accidents in
order in a measure to familiarize the child
with them, she will teach it self-reliance,
and enable it, in after-life, to afford useful
aid in the misfortunes of others.
T H E DRESSING- OE .SMALL W O U N D S . —

All that it is necessary to do, in case of
wounds of this sort, is to wash the cut with
some fresh water, and to bring the edges
carefully together, and retain them by
means of isinglass or adhesive plaster.

252

A PHYSICIAN'S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

M E A N S OF QUIETING CHILDREN AND
CHECKING THEIR BURSTS OE PASSION.—

If the little one manifests nervous agitation,
from no assignable cause, it is well to cause
it to drink a little cool water, or even to
sprinkle its face with the water, throwing
it with some force, and without fear of doing
any harm. This means is a very effectual
one in calming the attacks of anger to
which some infants are subject, and is far
preferable to the ordinary efforts made in
these cases, such as menaces, and other
signs of impatience, which only prolong the
irritation of the child.
the common accidents of childhood, burns are the
most serious. However trifling they may
be, the pain which they occasion is, for
a while, very lively. They are apt, also, to
permanently injure the part, or to imperil
life itself. This danger exists only when
they are extended, although not deep; or
when they have penetrated deeply, even
although they occupy a small surface.
B U R N S AND SCALDS.—Among

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253

"When both deep and broad, the danger is,
of course, much greater, and the accident
then demands the most prompt and skilful
medical aid which can be procured.
T H E IMMEDIATE DRESSING- OE BUBISTS

slight cases, when the
skin is merely reddened, and not broken,
immediate relief will be afforded by the
application of a mixture of equal parts of
creasote-water (which may be obtained from
any druggist) and common water. This
should be brushed oyer the part by means
of a camePs-hair brush. This treatment is
only proper when the skin is unbroken; in
such cases, the relief to the pain is instantaneous and permanent.
In the more simple forms of burns and
scalds, coyering the surface with glycerine
is often yery beneficial. The application of
carded cotton, and the dusting of the surface with flour, are both safe and yery
advantageous methods of treatment, to be
resorted to while awaiting the arrival of the
physician, who should always be summoned

A:NT> SCALDS.—In

22

254

A PHYSICIAN'S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

if the skin be broken, or if the injury be
diffused oyer a large surface.
T H E F I R S T CARES I N G R A V E F A L L S ,
DISLOCATIONS, AND FRACTURES.—If

the

child falls from an elevated height, if some
joint is displaced, a limb broken, or the skin
and flesh deeply cut, it should be placed in a
bed, while awaiting medical assistance. If
blood be flowing with abundance from a
wound, in consequence of the rupture of
some vessel, the bleeding should be arrested
as soon as possible, either by compressing
the part with the fingers or the hand, or
by bringing the edges of the wound together by means of a bandage.
These are the principal domestic remedies which can be employed in cases of
accidents to children. If more be required,
medical aid had better be called in, for the
case is beyond the province of domestic
surgery.

T H E E O L E O F T H E M O T H E E IE
T H E DISEASES OF CHILDHOOD.
it is of the utmost importance,
when infants are seriously ill, to call in the
best medical advice, it is of equal moment
that the mother should have correct ideas
of her duties toward her sick child, as well
as of the necessity for the prompt aid of the
physician. She should also be armed with
such precise and plain information as will
enable her to second the efforts of the
family physician. The parts of the physician and the mother are and always will
remain distinct. The doctor prescribes, the
mother performs, and she follows directions badly or well just in proportion as
she comprehends their value.
In medical works devoted to the diseases
of children, the writers carefully calculate
the favorable and unfavorable changes in
(255)
"WHILE

256

A PHYSICIAN'S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

each affection, they weigh the influencing circumstances of constitution, temperament, medicines, etc., but they often
scarcely think to consider the great value
of the mother's care. The bed of a sick
child guarded by an intelligent and instructed mother, is doubly defended. It is
generally believed that the physician alone
bears the responsibility of treatment. This
is a grave error. The mother shares this
responsibility, she contributes largely both
to success and failure.

Useless and Dangerous Medicines for
Children.
A useless remedy is in effect a dangerous
one, as, because of its supposed harmless
character, it is abused, and in this manner
either valuable time is lost or a bad habit
formed by its constant employment, not to
be broken without injury.
There are two kinds of useless remedies
daily employed in family practice in this

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257

country. The first are preventive remedies,
the second are those reputed necessary.
To treat a disease by medicine before its
appearance is the height of absurdity. Yet
we constantly find, in domestic practice,
purgatives, emetics, and alteratives administered to children at certain seasons of the
year, to prevent sickness. Happily the old
habit of bleeding every member of the
family in the spring of each year has fallen
into disuse. "Would that other precautionary methods of treatment equally worthless
had shared the same fate. By proper precautions in diet and the sanitary regulations of daily life, health may be preserved;
but attempts to avert disease by medication
are as futile as hurtful.
A s for the many remedies which are
popularly supposed to be necessary for
children, they should only be given when
the necessity is proved, not when it is supposed, to exist.
Mothers should know that an insignificant or harmless medicine may be as
dangerous, when given at the commence22*

258

A PHYSICIAN'S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

ment of an illness, as the most powerful
wrongly administered remedy, and this for
the simple reason that its use inspires a
false security, and causes the loss of precious time. If time Tbe money, it is also
sometimes health, and even life, and it is
folly to waste it in either case.
There is much difference between a
medicine and a remedy. Of this difference
most mothers appear to be ignorant. A
medicine is neither good nor bad in itself;
it is good when it is given in proper doses,
and on the right occasions; bad when it is
administered in wrong amounts, or inopportunely.
Besides the useless and insignificant preparations with which infants are dosed in
family practice, there are certain remedies
which are highly dangerous, and may produce immediately serious results. Mothers
should know these drugs, in order to rigidly
exclude them from their families.
First among these dangerous remedies,
we will instance opium, and the various
preparations which contain it. The ex-

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259

treme susceptibility of young children to
the action of this substance is a fact well
known to physicians. Many refuse to prescribe it, even though they have the opportunity and skill for carefully watching its
effects. A single drop of laudanum has
been known to destroy the life of an infant
at the breast. It is necessary, also, to be
careful of the use of this drug in external
applications, for it is readily absorbed by
the delicate skin of a child, and may thus
occasion alarming, or even fatal, narcotism.
The various "soothing syrups," sold so
largely in the market, contain opium.
Their employment has much to do in
increasing the ailments and mortality of
infant life. A mother who gives, or permits to be given to her little one, an opiated
preparation, in order to check its cries,
places its life in peril.
Powders, ointments, pomades, and washes,
prepared from secret formulae, and advertised by charlatans, may, at any moment,
produce grave skin affections, or even fatal
poisoning. The records of medical science

260

A PHYSICIAN'S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

afford numerous examples of the sad effects
following their use. There are also many

Injurious Medicated Soaps
For sale at the drug stores, done up in
attractive wrappings, which are more or
less dangerous, particularly when applied
to the delicate skin of a young infant. As
soaps are constantly employed in the infant's toilet, a few words of caution, in
regard to those which are hurtful, will not
be without use. Drs. Brinton and !Napheys, of Philadelphia, in their work upon
" The Laws of Health in their Relation to
the Human Form," giye the following advice on this subject:—
" Soap and water is the burden of the
song of most writers on health. W e grant
the water, but are by no means so enthusiastic about the soap. Many a lady" (and,
we may add, many a child) " will find her
skin softer, whiter, and healthier by omitting it altogether. The reason is the difficulty in obtaining a perfectly 'neutral' soap,

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261

that is, one that contains no excess of alkali,
and one that has in it no rancid fat-globules,
injurious oil, or coloring matter, or irritating foreign substance,
" N o one needs to be informed that soaps
are made by the action of a powerful alkali,
caustic soda or caustic potash usually, on
fat. The cheapest, and consequently the
almost universal method, is to do this in
the 'cold way,' instead of by the old process
of boiling and 'salting out.' Unfortunately^
the cold way is one of those 'cheap and
nasty' methods which Carlyle says are
becoming daily more popular with this
degenerate age. All soap made thus contains an excess of alkali, and particles of
fat not saponified. Both these ingredients
are harmful to the skin, leaving it rough,
tender, and apt to pimple. It is much
better to use no soap at all, than one
which has these injurious qualities.
"Toilet soaps should be prepared from
clean, sweet tallow, or oil, by a strong
solution of soda, and it is essential that
they be completely deprived of an excess

262

A PHYSICIANS COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

of alkali. Their natural color is always a
yellow or white, and whatever other hue is
giyen them, is artificially done by the
admixture of coloring matter.
Brown
Windsor is colored by caramel or cocoa;
rose color is produced by cinnabar; green
by chrome green, and many of the reds by
aniline colors. These latter are deriyed
from the distillation of coal oil, and some
of them, the fashionable coralline for example, are exceedingly irritating to the
skin of many persons, so they should be
employed with caution. The dark lines in
Castile soaps are produced by a preparation
of iron, which is harmless. Any desired
perfume can be imparted to soaps, and so
long as this is done by the natural odorous
portions of the plants, there is no cause of
complaint. But most of the toilet soaps
sold are perfumed by the artificial essences
deriyed from fusel oil and petroleum, the
effects of which, upon a delicate skin, are
occasionally acrid and unpleasant."

THE "WIFE A MOTHER*

263

The Diseases of the Child while Teething.
The germs of the teeth exist four months
before birth; they develop themselves
silently during the first seven or eight
months of life. A t this epoch the earliest
teeth make their appearance in successive
groups, which follow each other until the
age of two years or two years and a half.
The child has then twenty teeth, and its
first dentition is finished. After a time of
repose, of varying length, which scarcely
ever exceeds two years, the teething process re-commences, and the four first large
molars make their appearance. The child's
mouth is then furnished with twenty-four
teeth. From the sixth to the seventh year
the temporary teeth are replaced by the
permanent. Now also the four second
large molars begin their growth, which is
completed before the twelfth, or fourteenth
year. The third and last teething occurs
somewheres between the eighteenth and
twenty-fifth years; it consists in the appear-

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A PHYSICIAN'S COUNSELS TO WOMAN,

ance of the four last molars, or the "wisdom
teeth/' as they are commonly termed.
The process of teething may therefore be
divided as follows :—
1st. The first or the Milk Teeth.—These
begin to appear between the fifth and eighth
month, and are completed between the
twenty-fourth and the thirtieth month.
They ordinarily show themselves in the
following order:—
a. The two middle front teeth of the
lower jaw.
S. The two middle front teeth of the
upper jaw.
o. The side front teeth of the upper and
lower jaws.
d. The first small molars.
e. The canines.
f. The second small molars.
g. The first large molars, which appear
between the fourth and fifth year.
2d. The Second or Permanent Teeth.—
These first show themselves at about the
age of six or seven years. They push out
and replace the milk teeth completely before

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265

the fourteenth or fifteenth year. The first
large molars which appeared between the
fourth and fifth year remain, and four more
large molars are added to them, making
now twenty-eight teeth in all.
3d. The Third or Wisdom Teeth.—These
consist of four large molars, which appear
after the eighteenth year, rarely later than
the twenty-fifth. The whole process of
teething is now finished; each jaw has its
sixteen teeth, making thirty-two in all.
The teeth appear always in groups. This
fact is an important one for mothers to know,
because there is between them an interval
of repose of greater or less length. Thus
there is between the appearance of the first
infantile molars and the canines an interval of several months, which period is extremely favorable to weaning. A s far as
possible, infants should be weaned before
they have twelve teeth. This period of
rest in teething ought therefore to be seized
upon as the appropriate one, other things
being equal, for weaning, in order that the
troubles incident to teething may not be
23

266

A PHYSICIAN'S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

added to the disorders sometimes occasioned by the removal of the mother's
milk.
"We desire also to call ,the attention of
mothers to the appearance of the first large
molar at the age of the fourth or fifth year.
Many of the mysterious ailments of childhood at this age are due to the cutting of
these teeth. This cause of illness is too
generally overlooked both by physicians and
mothers. Many nervous affections, loss of
flesh, and symptoms threatening some disease of the brain, are simply the effects of
this unnoticed process.
"When the cutting of the teeth is not in
itself a cause of illness, it often places the
health in a delicate condition and renders
it liable to impairment. The child which
is cutting Nits teeth, above all in the large
cities, is a sick child, or at least an invalid,
and in either case demands careful attention.
The teeth are capable of producing the
most singular and the gravest affections to
which childhood is subject. While, how-

THE WIFE A MOTHER.

267

ever, this is the case, the number of diseases falsely imputed to them is incalculable. There results from this often loss
of time and the prescription of useless or
eyen hurtful remedies. The teeth may
occasion wasting in children, may cause a
cough, a diarrhoea, or conyulsions. But all
these affections may arise from yery different causes. Hence the need of medical
intervention in cases at all serious, in order
that these nice and difficult distinctions
may be made.
Remedies for the troubles of Teething
occupy a prominent place in domestic pharmacy. Many mothers spend upon them
much time and money, and call in, too late,
the family physician. They haye a remedy
which prevents pain, another which prevents
fits, a third which will bring forward tardy
teeth. The best remedy, when eyerything
goes ordinarily well, is a well-chosen coral,
aided by well-practised frictions on the
gums with the fingers; when there is any
unusual trouble, recourse should be had to
the physician. No mother should ever

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A PHYSICIAN'S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

permit to run on unchecked an attack of
diarrhoea occurring during teething. A s
for fever, loss of flesh, cough, etc., these
symptoms demand, of course, immediate
and intelligent care.

THE
SOEOFULOUS
CONSTITUTION.
T H E signs of the presence of the scrofulous taint in the system of a child are generally these, hair and complexion, light;
skin, coarse and wanting in clearness; expression, heavy and dull; cheeks, full, rather
flabby, and with a tendency to too much
color; lips, particularly the upper one,
thick; teeth, white, but quickly decaying;
eyes, large and * pale, often weak and inflamed; nostrils, open, and frequently a
discharge from the nose; belly, full and
hard; kernels in the neck; the whole body
gross, and the flesh soft and cold.
The prevention of this disease, so common
in our country, is a matter in which many
parents are interested. There are four important considerations in this connection,
two of them relating to the parents, and
two to the children.
23*
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A PHYSICIAN'S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

The first is a point upon which we have
dwelt before, in the interest of infantile
health, namely, the value of well-assorted
marriages—that is, the union of those with
unimpaired health and strength. In the
second place, if either parent be affected
with a scrofulous or consumptive predisposition, the utmost care should be exercised by the mother during the whole
period of pregnancy. She should avoid
heated rooms, be warmly clad, take proper
exercise, forego late hours and fashionable
pleasures, and heed the other precepts in relation to the care of her health, during this
time, which we have laid down in treating
of Pregnancy.
In regard to the child, every attention
should be paid to its food, air, clothing, etc.,
with the view of maintaining its health, and
repressing the hereditary tendency to disease. Dr. Paris has strongly reqommended
milk impregnated with the fat of muttonsuet. This he directs to be prepared by
inclosing some suet in a muslin bag, and
simmering it with the milk.

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271

Lastly, in all cases, badly ventilated and
damp houses must be avoided, as well as
localities which are unhealthy.
The treatment of scrofula, although less
satisfactory than its prevention, often determines by its wisdom or folly the future
of the child. In former times, many superstitious notions prevailed, which led to the
use of silly and hurtful remedies. For instance, the touch of the dead felon's hand,
the drinking out of human skulls, the pilgrimages to sacred places, the royal touch
—all these, and many equally foolish practices, were in more or less repute as possessing curative powers.
There are two agents which, in our time,
are chiefly relied upon for the cure of this
disease. One is iodine, which is used both
externally and internally. A good iodine
paint, for swollen glands, is the following:—
Take of—
Iodine . . . . . . .
30 grains,
Iodide of potassium . . 15 grains^
Alcohol
1 ounce.
Mix.
Apply by means of a camel's-hair brush over the
swollen glands.

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A PHYSICIAN'S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

Or an ointment may be used, as follows :—
Take of—
Ointment of iodine . . 1 drachm.
Lard . . . . . . . .
2 drachms.
Mix.
To be rubbed over the enlarged scrofulous glands.

Internally, iodine is looked upon by some
as little short of a specific. I t has certainly,
in many cases, an effect which is all that
could be desired. The following recipes
will be found valuable:—•
Take of—
Iodide of potassium
Syrup of orange-peel

. 6 grains,
. J ounce,
. 1^ ounce.

Mix.

Dose, for an infant six months old, a teaspoonful three
times a day.
Take of—
Iodide of potassium . . 16 grains,
Syrup of sarsaparilla . . 1 ounce,
Simple syrup
1 ounce.
Mix.
To a child three years old give a teaspoonful three
times a day.

THE WIFE A MOTHER.

273

The use of mineral waters, and of baths
containing iodine, is also of great service.
Cod-liver oil is the second remedy to which
we referred. I t does good by increasing the
flesh and strength of the child. Its use, in
order to be beneficial, must be continued a
long time. A small dose only should be
given at first, say half a teaspoonful three
times a day. This may be gradually increased to a teaspoonful, and finally to a
dessertspoonful, three times a day. It is not
often worth while to increase the dose
beyond this for a child. Children soon
learn to like the oil. In cases, however, in
which the stomach will not bear the oil, it
may be administered through the skin.
Rub each night a couple of tablespoonfuls
into the skin of the abdomen. The addition
of a few drops of oil of cajeput will disguise
the disagreeable odor.

PART IV.

Simian in Bistro*.
I T is a matter of common observation,
that American women are subject to a
crowd of affections peculiar to their sex.
In this country, female diseases are more
general than in any other. This is not due
to climatic influence at all. That there is
nothing in the air, water, and food of our
land, which predisposes the gentler sex to
disease, is shown by the condition of the
Indian squaws and southern negresses. In
the Indian and negro races, we find the
women as powerful, as capable of endurance,
and as free from any chronic disease, as the
men. It is only in the more refined society
of our own race that we notice their predilection to sickness and feeble health. I t
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276

A PHYSICIAN'S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

would seem as if the habits of civilized life
had a great deal to do with this much to be
regretted invalidism. Let us, therefore,
before treating in detail of the principal
female diseases, consider some of their main
causes, and point out the means of prevention.
The Causes of Disease in Woman.
The principal influences at work, in
bringing about the ills peculiar to woman,
may be enumerated as follows: folly in
dress, neglect of exercise and fresh air,
improper nervous excitement, imprudences
during the monthly periods, production of
abortion, and want of care after childbirth.
Folly in Dress.—"We have already pointed
out, at length, the evil effects of tight-lacing.
To the abuse of the corset is to be traced
much of the womb disease so prevalent at
the present time. These ill effects are
increased by dancing in the tightened
compress, and subsequent exposure to the
chilling air of a winter's night. Season

WOMAK IN DISEASE.

277

after season such imprudences are repeated,
until disease or age forever stops what the
dictates of prudence should have long "before
checked. The lower limbs are, as a rule,
improperly clad. Thin cotton cloth affords
but slight protection against damp and
cold.
Neglect of Exercise and Fresh Air.—In
America it is not fashionable for ladies to
row, bowl, ride, or walk much. All active
exercise is considered unfeminine, and injurious to that delicacy of the complexion
and figure so much desired. In Europe,
on the contrary, ladies are encouraged to
participate in most of the out-door sports
calculated tox increase muscular power and
offer a healthful diversion to mind and
body. The result is seen in the ruddier
look of the young, and the better preserved
comeliness of the old. American ladies
attract the attention of foreigners quite as
much by their apparent delicacy of health
as by their acknowledged beauty. "With
more air and more exercise, much of the
24

278

A PHYSICIAN'S COUNSELS TO WOMAN,

former would be dissipated, while the latter
would be heightened.
Improper Nervous IJxcitement.—Undue
stimulus is applied to the neryous system
eyen during the days of girlhood. The
minds of young girls are taxed by tasks
too prolonged and too difficult, their ambition is aroused by the emulation excited
by competitiye examinations, and their
powers overstrained under the plaudits of
injudicious friends. This training may,
indeed, produce brilliant talents and cultivated tastes, but these qualities, too early
developed, are purchased at the expense of
a neryous system morbidly sensitive, and a
physical organization peculiarly liable to
the diseases of which we are about to speak.
Imprudences during ike Monthly Periods.
—Ignorance, carelessness, or stern necessity
leads many women, during their periods, to
expose themselves, when insufficiently clad,
to cold and damp weather. Inflammation
and pain, often obstinate, sometimes incurable, are the consequences. *
A t this time of the month, of all others,

WOMAN IN DISEASE.

279

the body should be warmly covered, kept
at rest, and sheltered from any inclemency
of the weather. There are few women so
situated that they cannot care for themselves during their monthly illnesses, but
there are many who disregard the warnings
of common sense and experience, in the
pursuit of pleasure or profit. If our words
can do aught to impress upon such the folly
and danger of imprudences during menstruation, we shall have done much towards
preventing disease.
The Production of Abortion.—"We have
already emphasized the criminality of destroying the product of conception before
maturity. W e speak of it now, not as a
crime, but as a cause of disease. She who
conspires against the life of her unborn
child, risks her own health; in striking at
its existence, she wounds herself. Criminal
abortion is the cause of a vast amount of
severe, painful, and unyielding disease. In
all classes of society, its effects are unfortunately too frequently observed by physicians.

280

A PHYSICIAN'S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

Want of Care after Childbirth.—Most
women get about too soon after confinement. In so doing, they expose themselves
to many risks. If the usual occupations
are resumed while the cleansings are yet
present, they will be probably checked, and
mischief will result. Besides, the womb
remains very heavy for about six weeks
after the birth of the child. If the mother
be about, standing and walking, she runs
the danger of displacing that organ. A
large proportion of the displacements of the
womb, so difficult entirely to remedy, are
caused in this way. The parts from which
the child has been lately expelled, remain
for a number of weeks very sensitive to
cold or moisture. Ignorance or disregard
of this fact may occasion severe and even
fatal inflammation.
The Prevention of Disease in Woman,
.Providence never designed that women
should suffer, to the extent they do, from
diseases peculiar to their sex. There is

WOMAK IK DISEASE.

281

nothing inherent in the female constitution,
which causes the undue amount of physical
misery now so common. Most of the affections, under which the maids, wives, and
mothers of our country and age labor, are
preventable. They originate in ignorance
or imprudence. This is true of two-thirds
of all the cases.
"We see constantly about us the results
of inheritance, and of the want of proper
care during infancy and girlhood; every
physician knows how frequently the monthly
periods are recklessly interfered with, how
imprudently marriages are contracted, how
commonly miscarriages and abortions are
made light of, and how difficult it is to
induce the mother to confine herself to her
bed and room sufficiently long after confinement. Is it to be wondered at, therefore,
that so many suffer from the various forms
of womb disease?
Before entering upon the treatment of
some of the principal complaints to which
women are liable, we will point out a number of measures which, if carried out, will
24*

282

A PHYSICIAN'S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

go far towards preventing many of these
affections, and their sad consequences, in
loss of health and happiness. First, we
will mention
Systematic Health Culture.—By this we
mean a regular and judicious system of
physical education from the period of
infancy. It is easy to point out many
injurious customs which yet prevail in
regard to the conduct of girlhood. "We
imitate, to a certain extent, the Chinese
and our own aboriginal Indians, in the
treatment of our daughters. The feet of a
fashionable American young lady are nearly
as cramped and deformed as those of any
of the belles of China. Do not mothers
often insist upon compressing the waist out
of shape, and proper size, for fear the girl
may be clumsy? In what respect is this
practice more creditable than that of the
red-skinned matron, who alters the form
nature has given to her child's head ? In
none is it less hurtful. W e have never
heard that the mental faculties were injured by distorting the bones of the skull

WOMAK IK DISEASE.

283

by means of gradual bandaging. The evil
effects of tight-lacing are only too familiar
in our professional experience. Again,
is the custom altogether unknown, of preventing the full development of the body
and limbs of girls, lest they should become
ungenteel, or of confining them to the
house, lest their complexions should suffer
by exposure to the air and sunlight?, There
is no reason why girls should not ride and
wim as often and as well as boys. Both
exercises are beneficial^ and, if indulged in
at proper seasons, as free from injury to
one sex as the other.
Precautions during the Monthly Periods.
—By careful management at these times,
very much may be done towards averting
disease. A great amount of harm is consequent on the habit of looking lightly upon
the monthly sicknesses, regarding them as
the expressions of a natural function requiring no oversight or thought. A s a
consequence, we find that those who have
little or no pain impose upon themselves
no restraints whatever; while those who

284

A PHYSICIAN'S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

suffer acutely, regard this suffering as
unavoidable, and without the control of
medicine and hygiene.
"We cannot too emphatically urge the
importance of regarding these monthly
returns as periods of ill health, as days
when the ordinary occupations are to be
suspended or modified. This rule holds
good in all classes of society. Long walks,
dancing, shopping, riding, and parties
should be avoided at this time of the
month invariably and under all circumstances. Inasmuch as cold applications
usually check the flow, and may give rise
to serious disease, women ought to avoid
exposure to wet weather, to cold draughts
of air, to damp clothing, and to the chilling
influence of iced drinks, while sick. During
this time, also, all medicines that are being
taken should, unless otherwise specially
ordered by the physician, be stopped. A
slight purgative just before the expected
illness is often of benefit, but the too frequent use of purgatives may do much
mischief. If the flow become too abun-

"WOMAIST IK DISEASE.

285

dant, the patient should confine herself for
most of the day to a sofa or lounge, and
take but little fluid. If, on the contrary, it
stops too soon, a brisk walk, a hot drink, or
a warm foot-bath, will be of service. If the
periods be habitually painful, profuse, or
scanty, the treatment we shall shortly lay
down for these troubles should be heeded.
Another reason wThy every woman should
look upon herself as an invalid once a
month, is that the monthly flow aggravates
any existing affection of the womb, and
readily rekindles the expiring flame of
disease. To the imprudences of patients,
at this time, are to be attributed the relapses
which retard their recovery. Most patients
give up treatment before they are quite
cured of a womb complaint, on account of
the expense. They then resume their usual
mode of life, act in a culpable manner at
the menstrual epochs, renew their trouble,
and blame their medical attendant for the
effects of their own folly.
A well-assorted Marriage.—"We have already spoken of the good effect, upon

286

A PHYSICIAN'S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

female health, of a judicious marriage.
"Weakness, not dependent upon organic
disease, under its influence often quickly
disappears; monthly periods, previously
deranged, become normal; and the general
condition improves.
Marriage has this salutary influence only
when well ordered; if contracted too early
or too late in life, it may prove injurious to
the health.
Pregnancy is also a preservative of female
health. It is only a miscarriage, or a bad
confinement,. that is productive of injury.
Many serious diseases of the, womb arise
from abortion; many others, from the want
of proper care after confinement. But it must
be recollected that conception and childbirth are natural functions, and cannot, in
themselves, be hurtful.
The accidents
which may attend them are the cause of
mischief. But these accidents are avoidable, as a rule. A woman who has passed
successfully through a pregnancy, and
nursed her child, has not thereby weakened,

WOMAN IN DISEASE.

287

on the contrary, she has strengthened all
her powers. Child-bearing, if not excessive, preserves health and prolongs life. I t
may, therefore, properly find a place here
among the preventives of disease in woman.

P A I N F U L PERIODS.
T H E monthly periods should be attended
with little or no suffering, merely slight
pains in the back and loins, a feeling of
fulness in the lower part of the body, and
an inclination to languor. "When the pain
is great, out of proportion to the occasion,
the patient has a disease known to physicians under the name of dysmenorrhoea—
a term formed from three Greek words, 8vg9
"difficult," {IYIV, " a month," and pea, " I
flow," and meaning therefore difficult, laborious, or painful menstruation.
Different Forms of the Affection.—The
excessive pain may be due either to neuralgia of the parts, to congestion, or
inflammation, or to some obstruction in the
natural outlet to the monthly flow. In
order that we may have a better understanding of this disease we must consider
(288)

WOMAK IN DISEASE.

289

each of these forms separately, for their
symptoms, causes, and treatment vary.

Painful Periods due to Neuralgia,
The pain, in this form of the affection,
is unconnected with any actual disease or
change in the structure of the parts. The
whole trouble lies in a deranged condition
of the nerves. Each month, previous to
the appearance of the flow, the bloodvessels
are filled to distension, and press upon the
filaments of the nerves, which, being sensitive in their disordered condition, feel
acutely this pressure. Hence, we have the
pain. The nerves alone are at fault, and
the disease is, therefore, said to be neuralgic.
The causes must be looked for among the
various influences which affect the nervous
system. Whatever tends to produce neuralgic pain elsewhere, will produce it here,
in those liable to the complaint. Green sickness and deterioration of the blood from
insufficient or improper nourishment; an
25

290

A PHYSICIAN'S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

idle life, and excessive indulgence in the
pleasures of the table; exposure to the air
of a fever and ague country; gout and
rheumatism; excesses of all kinds; overexcitement and fatigue, are all agencies
which may occasion neuralgia of the monthly
periods.
The symptoms are reducible to one, pain.
This paiji precedes and ushers in, as it
were, the flow. I t is the dread announcement of the coming sickness, and the forerunner of days of torture. In some cases,
the pain ceases so soon as the flow is
established; ordinarily, it continues during
the whole period, varying in intensity from
time to time. The seat of the pain is
usually in the loins. Sometimes it is
located at some distant part of the body;
for instance, it may be situated in a finger,
or, as in one instance on record, at the root
of the nose, where it continued during the
whole duration of each monthly flow.
The treatment of painful periods due to
neuralgia, depends, to a great extent, upon
the cause which is at work. The first aim

WOMAN IK DISEASE.

291

should be to determine, and the second to
remove this cause, whatever it may be. If
green sickness and impairment of the blood
exist, then the proper treatment is that
which is best calculated to restore the blood
to a healthy condition. The means to be
employed for this purpose we shall hereafter
mention in treating of "Poverty of the
Blood."
If there be reason to suspect that luxurious and indolent habits are deranging the
health, the mode of life should be changed.
Unless the patient will make the necessary
effort to this end, it will be in vain for her
to expect relief from her sufferings. In
these cases, a removal to the country is
often beneficial, where the active, out-door
life, the regular hours, the plain, simple,
but wholesome food, often effect wonders.
Horseback exercise, carriage riding, and
daily walks, are all beneficial.
When the system is infected with the
ague poison, a removal to a healthy location
is of the first importance. The malarial

292

A PHYSICIAN'S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

poison may then be readily eradicated from
the system by the use of the following
recipe:—
Take of—
Sulphate of cinchonia . . 1 drachm.
Sulphate of iron . . . . 3 0 grains.
Confection of roses . a sufficient quantity
to make into a mass. Divide into thirty pills.
Take one pill three times a day.

"With the disappearance of the malarial
infection, tlje neuralgic pain will also be
dissipated. In fact, there is no form of
disordered menstruation so readily cured
as that depending upon malaria, for with
proper treatment the cause is soon removed.
When a tendency to gout and rheumatism is the cause of the trouble, the treatment is more complicated and difficult.
"When the means of the patient will permit,
it is desirable to spend the winter months
in a warm climate. Flannel is to be worn
next to the skin during cold weather. In
these cases, guamc and colcMcum are of
service:-—

WOMAK IJST DISEASE.

293

Take of—
Tincture of guaiac . . . .
1 fluidounce,
Syrup of orange-peel . . .
3 ounces.
Mix.
Take a dessertspoonful three times a day in some
water.

A good formula for colchicum is the following :—
Take of—
Wine of colchicum seeds . . 1 fluidounce,
Sweet spirits of nitre
. . 1 fluidounce,
Syrup of orange-peel . . . 2 fluidounces.
Mix.
Take a teaspoonful three times a day.

Or, the guaiac and colchicum can be
combined in one prescription as follows:—
Take of—
Tincture of guaiac . .
. 1 fluidounce,
Wine of colchicum seeds . . 1 fluidounce,
. Syrup of orange-peel . . .
2 fluidounces.
Mix.
Take a dessertspoonful three times a day.

The one of these prescriptions chosen,
should be taken during the week or ten
days previously to the expected return of the
25*

294

A PHYSICIANS COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

monthly sickness and continued throughout
the whole period of the sickness. Neither
of the recipes will be found very agreeable
to the taste; either, however, will be found
of great benefit in the cases of rheumatic
origin. The use of the Turkish bath is also
often of benefit in these instances.
Those who labor under these attacks are
frequently sterile. In many cases, pregnancy and child-birth effect a radical cure.
Painful Periods due to Congestion.
The painful periods may not be owing to
neuralgia; the nerves of the parts may be
in a healthy condition, and the patient may
never have had any neuralgic affection in
her life. Yet she suffers almost martyrdom every month. The trouble in these
instances is frequently due to congestion,
that is, an unusual flow of blood to the
parts, distending the vessels to an unnatural extent, and hence causing pain.
The causes of this undue congestion are
exposure to cold and moisture, mental ex-

WOMAIST IK DISEASE.

295

citement or alarm, derangement of the liver,
or displacements of the womb.
The symptoms are different from the neuralgic affection we have just described.
The suddenness of the attack is one peculiarity, the pain comes on unexpectedly, in
the midst of a monthly period in a patient
who has never suffered before. There is
also much constitutional disturbance, that
is, other parts of the system are affected.
The eyes are flushed, the pulse is full and
bounding, the skin hot, the head aching, and
the sufferer nervous and restless.
The treatment Here again we come face
to face with the question as to the cause;
for this must be ascertained before we can
institute successful treatment. If the patient has taken cold, a warm bath, and some
hot drink, with the addition of a little
sweet spirits of nitre, will be the proper
remedies. The application of a large hot
linseed-meal poultice, over which a dessertspoonful of laudanum has been sprinkled,
will be found to afford great relief. It
should be placed over the lower part of the

296

A PHYSICIAN'S COUNSELS TO WOMAN".

abdomen, and renewed every two hours.
From twenty to twenty-five drops of laudanum in a little thin starch may also be used
as an injection.
Painful Periods due to Obstruction.
"We have now spoken of two forms of
difficult menstruation, i.e.9 that in which
the pain is occasioned by neuralgia and that
in which it is due to excessive distension
of the bloodvessels. It remains for us to
mention that if the monthly flow is retained or obstructed in its passage by any
obstacle, severe pain is the result. The
obstruction may be caused by a narrowing
of the passages, by a displacement of the
womb, or by the presence of some tumor or
polypus.
I t is evident that where an obstruction
exists, the aid of the surgeon is required
both to ascertain its nature and to apply
the proper remedy. Fortunately the occurrence of disease of this kind is comparatively rare. When excessive pain exists at

WOMA1ST IN DISEASE.

297

the monthly epochs, it is usually either
neuralgic in character, or due to some congestion or inflammation.
The following ointment may be used with
benefit in any of the forms of painful menstruation :—
Take of—
Belladonna liniment . . 2 drachms,
Glycerine ointment . . 1 ounce.
Mix.
Rub a small portion of this daily into the skin of the
lower part of the abdomen, during the continuance
of the pain,

For two or three evenings, prior to the
expected sickness, a warm hip-bath or footbath will be a useful palliative. The bath
will not merely be grateful and soothing
to the patient, but it will relieve congestion
and facilitate the flow.
Injections of warm water into the vagina,
thrown well up in contact with the mouth
of the womb, are followed by marked
alleviation of the pain. The injections
should be repeated several times a day
during the period.

298

A PHYSICIAN'S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

A safe, efficient, and pleasant remedy for
the pains of the monthly period has lately
come into use in the profession. It is apiol,
the active principle of parsley. This is put
up by the pharmaceutist in the form of very
little pills, or " pearls," as they are called,
each containing four grains. One taken
every two hours after the pains begin acts,
in some cases, like a charm. This drug is
only useful, however, in those instances in
which there is no actual organic disease of
the womb.
A very useful prescription is the following:—
Take of—
Camphor
1J drachm,
Extract of belladonna,
Sulphate of quinine,
each 15 grains,
Pulverized gum-arabic,
a sufficient quantity
to make in forty pills.
Take one every four hours until the pain is relieved.

Much benefit is derived in many cases,
particularly iq those of idle and luxurious
habits, from the use of bromide of potassium.

WOMAN" IX I3ISEASE.

299

Take of—
Bromide of potassium . 2 drachms,
Water
2 fluidounces.
Mix.
A teaspoonful of this, in half a wineglass of water, is
to he taken an hour after each meal.

The use of this prescription should be
begun two or three days before the expected
time of suffering, and continued until the
amount given above is exhausted. The
same quantity is to be obtained and taken
at the next period, in the same manner, until
permanent relief is secured.

PROFUSE PERIODS.
"WHEN-

the flow of blood, at the monthly
period, is excessive, the woman is said to
have menorrhagia, a medical term, which
means profuse flooding. It is derived from
two Greek words, (iyjy7 " a month," and
pyiyvvfit, " I flow fiercely." This derangement of the menstrual function is not at all
unfrequent. The amount of blood lost in
this way is sometimes very considerable.
The flooding often continues after the usual
period has passed away.
The causes of excessive flooding are congestion or inflammation of the womb, some
disease of the lining membrane or walls of
that organ, or some trouble consequent on
pregnancy. A t the change of life women
are very liable to congestion of the womb,
and hence flooding is frequent at this age.
Any violent or unusual muscular effort
(300)

WOMAN IN DISEASE.

301

may occasion it. I t is the usual concomitant of an abortion, and may also occur as
the result of derangement of the liver.
The effects of profuse flooding are pallor,
loss of flesh, dyspepsia, hysteria, sterility,
and, if severe and unchecked, death.
There are two varieties of this affection:
one, in which the undue loss of blood occurs
at the time of the monthly periods; the
other, in which the flooding takes place at
some time between these periods.
Treatment.—This is twofold: first, treatment of the attack; and, secondly, curative
treatment, instituted to prevent the recurrence of an attack.
The object sought, during the flooding, is
to check it as soon as possible. This may
be accomplished by placing the patient on
her back, and applying cold wet cloths to
the lower part of the body and thighs.
Cold, sour drinks may be given in small
quantity, but no warm drinks are to be
allowed. The patient must be kept quiet,
her fears allayed, and the room made cool
36

302

A P H Y S I C I A N ' S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

and still. Ordinarily this is all the treatment which will be required.
Before instituting this, it must be recollected that some women lose naturally and
regularly a large amount of blood each
month, and that this loss takes place without any injury to them. Every woman is
a law to herself in this respect. !N"o one
should, therefore, seek to check a flow
which is natural to her, although it may
seem excessive^ as compared with the habit
of some others. It must also be borne in
mind that, during the early months of
pregnancy, it is not unusual for a loss of
blood to occur from time to time unexpectedly. When there is reason to suspect
pregnancy, care should be taken in those
cases not to haye recourse to any treatment
likely to induce loss of the foetus. In such
instances, rest in the recumbent position
will usually be all that is required.
In severe cases of flooding, either of the
following prescriptions will be found invaluable.

WOMAJST IN DISEASE,

303

Take of—
Gallic acid . . . . .
3 drachms,
Aromatic sulphuric acid 2 drachms,
Tincture of cinnamon,
Water
each 2 ounces.
Mix.
Take a tablespoonful, mixed in a wineglassful of
water, every few hours until the bleeding is checked.

In the manner directed, this prescription
can be taken without hesitation, for it contains nothing which is hurtful.
Take of—
Oil of turpentine . . .
\ ounce,
Tincture of red pepper . . \ drachm,
Tincture of ergot . . . . 1 drachm,
Compound tincture of la2 ounces.
Mix.
Shake the bottle, and give from half a teaspoonful to
a teaspoonful, in milk, every few hours.

SCANTY

AND
SITPPKESSED
PEKIODS.

the menstrual flow is less than is
ordinary, it is said to be scanty; when it is
suppressed, after puberty and before the
change of life, we have, unless the suppression be due to pregnancy or nursing, the
disease known to physicians as amenorrhcea,
a word derived from the Greek, meaning
an absence of flow.
This trouble is by no means a rare one.
I t is particularly common among those in
easy circumstances, who lead indolent and
luxurious lives.
There are two varieties of this affection:
in the one, the monthly sickness fails to
appear, or is suddenly suppressed, in a
woman who is regular; in the other, it has
never made its appearance, although the
period of puberty has been attained and
passed.
(304)
WHEK

WOMAN IN DISEASE.

305

The causes of .suppression of the menses
are numerous. The monthly sickness may
never have appeared, because of the absence
of the womb, or some of its appendages.
This cause is of course a rare one. So,
also, is some obstruction of the natural
outlet which retains the monthly secretion.
Much more commonly we find the disease
owing to some disorder of the moral feelings.
Anxiety, grief, disappointment, fear, etc.
may, by acting first upon the brain and
nervous system, and then upon the blood,
bring about irregularity in the monthly
periods. Under such circumstances, both
body and mind are depressed, the muscular
powers become languid, there is a sense of
fulness about the head, associated with
giddiness, the lungs and heart seem oppressed in their action, the appetite is
disordered, the blood becomes vitiated, and
the cheeks and lips lose their color, perhaps take a bluish or greenish hue. The
monthly function, of course, sympathizes
with this general disorder of the system;
its derangement reacts upon the general
26*

306

A P H Y S I C I A N ' S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

system, and unless the train of morbid
action is interrupted, the patient becomes
seriously ill, and may even die of "disappointed affections," or " a broken heart."
""When," as Dr. Tilt well remarks, "we
hear of the hair turning gray, in the space
of one night, from the mind being racked
with unutterable woe; when we know that
even slight emotions may cause the heart
to palpitate, and to push ""forth wearily the
ever-gushing blood stream; when, again,
from emotion, the ^cheeks become damask
with blushes, or pallid, damp, and cold, need
we wonder that mental emotion should
affect other equally sensitive parts of the
body; that it should, in fact, turn off the
sanguineous current from the pale-grown
surface of the womb? It is, therefore, of
no trifling importance to the health of
women forcibly to impress upon their
friends that at this particular period of the
month no bad news or disastrous event
should be suddenly communicated. If it
be not possible to have some previous conversation with a female relative, the blow

WOMAK IN DISEASE.

307

should not be struck until the gay and
unsuspecting spirit has been untuned, and
by degrees brought down to the diapason
of grief, by an increasing gravity of manner,
by gradual forebodings of possible misfortune, and such preparatory steps as can
only be suggested by the nature of the
misfortune. It also behooves all who have
the care of girls so to strengthen the
nervous system that they may in after life
suffer as little as possible from this cause;
a part of education which should be begun
as soon as the infant, by its shiverings,
fears, and passions, has convinced its
mother that it has a nervous system. "We
have certainly met with ladies who, at all
periods of the month, could with impunity
wash in cold water, or take a cold-bath,
and we are acquainted with one who has,
in winter, to break the ice in her bath before
she plunges in; but we only notice these
cases as remarkable exceptions, in order to
show the possibility of these ladies being
able to do so with impunity, on account of
the absence of all tendency tp nervousness,

308

A P H Y S I C I A N ' S COUNSELS TO W O M A N .

and the superior strength of mind exhibited
by them under the most t r y i n g circumstances of an agitated life."
The most frequent causes of continued
suppression are physical rather than moral.
They are want of proper diet, air, and
exercise, hereditary tendencies, mental excitement, over-stimulation of the passions,
too prolonged devotion to physical or mental labor, and continued disorder of the
nervous system.
I n consumption of the lungs, the monthly
sickness, as is well known, gradually lessens
in amount, and finally entirely disappears.
This is due to the want of vital power, and
the impoverishment of the blood.
But
little of course can be done under such circumstances. Treatment should be directed
towards the diseased lungs, and no endeavors made to restore a function which is
not in itself disordered.
JRTimmatism and gout occasionally bring
about suppression.
So, also, do various
eruptive and skin diseases. The remedy in
such instances is to be sought in the relief

WOMAN IN DISEASE.

309

of the rheumatic and cutaneous troubles.
T h e cases on record show t h a t when these
diseases are cured the monthly sickness
reappears without other treatment* *
Fevers, and other serious attacks of sickness, naturally react upon the womb. T h e
cessation of the natural flow, under such
circumstances, is not unexpected, and need
never excite alarm. After convalescence
shall have begun, its reappearance may be
confidently looked for.
I f delayed, the
attention of the attending physician should
be called to the fact, as it occasionally
happens that some little treatment is r e quired before the wonted healthy action is
restored.
Nervous irritations produce in some m y s terious way disorder in the menstrual life.
I n some cases, the cause of this nervous irritation is hidden, and its true nature not fully
understood. Prof. Hodge, of Philadelphia,
describes such a condition as follows :—
" T h u s suppression of the periods occasionally occurs in girls who are apparently
healthy.
The phenomena of puberty are

310

A P H Y S I C I A N ' S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

decided; the skeleton, the muscles, the
breasts, the fatty tissue, are all well developed, under the influence of good rich
"blood, which distends the smaller vessels,
and gives the ruddy tinge of health to the
whole surface. The brain is active; the
muscular, mental, and1 moral powers are all
indicative of perfect adolescence. Nevertheless, there is no menstruation. I t is a
case of suppression in a strong girl, arising
therefore, not from -want of strength, but
from some peculiar state of the nervous
system; there is a sedation, that is, a want
of that peculiar excitation which gives
origin to menstruation. In some such
supposed cases, there may be an absence,
or an obliteration, in the structure of the
uterus or of the ovaries, etc., or an obstruction in the vagina, or some other cause
explanatory of the non-appearance of the
menses. But, in many cases, no such
cause can be detected, and indeed does
not exist; for, eventually, the menses appear and return regularly."
This same state may also be? observed ia

WOMAN IN DISEASE.

311

cases of suppression of the menses, from any
accidental cause, as mental disturbances,
exposure to cold, etc. The menses stop, but
the general condition continues very good.
The cases are numerous of young women
whose* menses have thus disappeared, and
yet they have enjoyed good health for a
longer or shorter time, or even for the rest
of their lives.
" In those cases of suppression where the
irritation is located in the brain or spinal
cord, the consequences may be severe,
although seldom dangerous. Usually, the
patient appears perfectly well, is cheerful,
happy, and actively devoted to her ordinary
pursuits, but with a nervous system so susceptible that the least impression disturbs
it. A disagreeable object, an unpleasant
odor, a transitory mental or moral emotion,
will sometimes produce sensations of exhaustion, giddiness, languor, and even complete fainting; and if the cause be more
powerful, as fear, joy, anger, or severe pain
in any portion of the body, we have manifested the various forms of hysteria, such as

312

A P H Y S I C I A N ' S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

headaches, a sense of suffocation, the ball in
the throat, spasms, and convulsions."
These symptoms of nervous disturbance
usually quickly disappear under healthful
influences, the monthly habits are restored,
and the whole trouble passes away never to
return.
Cold exerts a marked influence upon the
suppression of menstruation. Particularly
is this the case, when moisture also is
present. "Wet or damp feet often check the
menstrual flow, and may prevent its return.
In many instances, in which, in order to
spend an evening in pleasure, recourse has
been had to immersing the feet in cold
water, or to taking a cold hip-bath during
the period, not only has an attack of illness
been brought about, but the health for ever
after has been impaired. No woman can,
with impunity, commit such an imprudence. Every girl should be warned of its
danger. A single indiscretion of this kind,
we repeat, may be attended with the saddest
consequences; may render miserable and
burdensome to self and others a life which

WOMAN" IN DISEASE.

313

would otherwise have been happy and* useful.
Prof. Charles D. Meigs relates one instance, of many which might be mentioned,
wherein a future has been wrecked by a
jingle act of imprudence:—
" A young lady, in consummate health,
wished to go to a ball; but, unfortunately,
before the time for dressing arrived, she
was taken poorly, and began to fret at the
occurrence. Her nurse, an old and confidential servant, made her take a hip-bath
of cold water, and the courses disappeared.
She went to the ball; came home before
the end, with a blinding headache; was
attacked with a brain fever, lost her bloom
and embonpoint; and now, at the age of
near fifty, still feels the effects of the
dereliction of duty on the part of the confidential servant. That lady's whole life
was rendered a scene of bitterness, of
vapors and caprices, by that single hipbath."
There is no excuse for wet, cold feet, at
any season of the year, in this country.
27

314

A PHYSICIANS COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

Every woman can protect herself against
them during her monthly illness. If the
weather be inclement, and it be necessary
for her to go out of doors, thick boots and
shoes, rubber overhauls or boots, and waterproof, will, protect her. Damp clothes
should be at once removed on returning to
the house, and, if the feet be cold, they
should be immersed in warm water and
dried before a fire.
Dr. Raon, of Copenhagen, mentions that
suppression of the monthly flow is extremely
frequent in the Feroe Islands, on account
of the women wearing, instead of shoes, a
skin round their feet, which keeps them
constantly wet, in damp, cold weather.
The treatment of a case of sudden suppression, to whatever cause it may be due,
should be prompt and decisive. A warm
hip-bath, containing mustard, should be
taken at once, and the patient should then
place herself in a warm bed, and take freely
of hot drinks. These precautions ought
never to be neglected. They can never be

WOMAN I1ST DISEASE.

815

p r o a c t i v e of any injury, and may avert
some fatal brain affection, or a life-long
disease.
"When the time of the expected monthly
sickness arrives, and no flow appears, inquiry should at once be made into the cause,
for it is obvious that the same treatment is
not required in a case of suppression due
to mental emotion, as in one due to rheumatism. W e will pass, therefore, in review
the principal cau£es we have already enumerated, in order to point out the treatment
required for their removal, and for the
eradication of their effects.
Mental and Moral Disturbances.—'When
it is possible to minister successfully to
" the mind diseased," this is usually all the
treatment required. Restore the nervous
system to a state of tranquillity, by soothing
the anxious or grieved feelings, and all
irregularity will quickly disappear.
In consumption, and other organic disease,
the primary affection must receive the
principal attention. It alone calls for treat-

316

A PHYSICIAN'S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

ment. 'No good can possibly result from
endeavoring, by forcing medicines, to cause
a. renewal of the monthly flow, the absence
of which is not the cause, but the effect, of
the constitutional disease. In rheumatism
or gout, the same course of action is
required. The remedies administered are
aimed at the rheumatic or gouty affection,
which stands like a barrier in the way of a
return of the periodic flow.
Want of Strength.—"When feeble health,
exhaustion of the vital powers, unaccompanied with any positive organic disease, is
the cause of the suppression, the proper
remedies are sufficiently obvious. They
consist of those articles of food, those forms
of exercise, and those tonic medicinal remedies, which are known to exert a revivifying
influence upon the prostrated system. For
the purpose of restoring the appetite, and
toning up the system, in those cases, a very
useful and elegant preparation is the following, known as the

WOMAN IN DISEASE.

317

s
Elixir of Gentian and Iron.
"~
Take of—
Pyrophosphate of iron . 1 drachm,
Boiling water
. . . . ^ ounce,
Mix and add
Fluid extract of gentian . \ ounce,
Curacoa
1J ounce,
Wine
1 | ounce.
Mix.
A teaspoonful three times a day is the proper dose.

Or, the pyrophosphate .of iron (a most
excellent and not disagreeable form of iron)
may be given alone, dissolved in water,
with a little curacoa added to give a pleasant flavor, as follows:—
Take of—
Pyrophosphate of iron . 2 drachms,
Curagoa
|- ounce,
Water . . . . . . . 2J ounces.
Mix.
Take a teaspoonful three or four times a day.

A n excellent remedy for suppression,
when there is no disease of the womb, is
apiol—the active principle of parsley—
which is so useful in painful periods. Apiol
may be obtained from first-class druggists
27*

318

A PHYSICIAN'S COUNSELS TO "WOMAN.

in the form of granules, or "pearls." Each
pearl contains four grains. One pearl
should be taken four times a day, for three
or four days, before the time of the expected
monthly sickness. This remedy is a perfectly harmless one, and is productive of
great good in those cases in which the
trouble is not "dependent upon actual womb
disease.
The following pill will also be found of
service in some cases:—
Take of—
Assafoetida,
Myrrh
each 1 drachm,
Socotrine aloes . . . .
1 scruple,
Lactate of iron . . . .
1 drachm.
Mix.
Make into forty pills.
Take one night and morning.

STERILITY IN MARRIAGE.
As maid, as wife, and as mother, woman
happily passes through the three destined
stages of her physiological life. "When she
fails to become a mother, the wife stops
short of full womanly development and
happiness. A childless household was regarded by the ancients as an evidence of
Divine displeasure. I t is often with us the
cause of much domestic infelicity.
A
French poet, singing of the joys of maternity, says:—
" Le bonheur sans enfant, c'est le ciel sans etoiles."

The study of the nature of barrenness, with
the view to its prevention, is, therefore, a
proper part of family hygiene, and r its
treatment a legitimate department of medicine.
During two portions of the life of every
woman, she is naturally, that is to say, in
accordance with physiological laws, sterile.
(319)

320

A PHYSICIAN'S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

These periods are before the age of puberty,
and after the "change of life." She is only
capable of bearing children subsequent to
the first appearance of her monthly sickness, and before their entire cessation—a
variable number of years, embracing between a third and a half of her natural
expectation of life.
Sterility makes itself apparent very
shortly after marriage. If the wife be
fertile, she will have, as an average rule, an
infant within the first twenty months of
wedded life. If three years pass without
the occurrence of pregnancy, the great
probability, as shown by exact statistics, is
that she is destined to be barren.
The causes of infertility in marriage may
rest either with the wife or the husband.
The latter may be the party at fault, even
though he be to all appearance robust, and
in the full enjoyment of all his functions.
The constitutional conditions and local
disorders which induce sterility in the wife
are, however, the more numerous, and it is
to them that we shall confine our remarks.

WOMA^ m DISEASE.

321

One marriage in eight fails in the great
object of the marital union—the increase
and multiplication of the race. It must
not be supposed that conception has never
taken place in all of these childless marriages. In some instances, a tendency to
miscarriage exists, and the abortion occurs
at so early a period as to escape attention.
"When recognized, this cause is happily, in
most cases, removable.
Influence of ike Age of Marriage on the
probable Size of the Family.—The age of
the maiden, at the time of her marriage,
has a sensible influence upon the number
of children she will probably have. This is
not a matter of conjecture. Averages have
been carefully collated, from the most extended research. Dr. Matthews Duncan,
of Edinburgh, has recorded, in his recent
learned work on "Fecundity, Fertility, and
Sterility," a number of most interesting
results of his investigations on this subject.
These, freed from their sombre statistical
array and scientific terminology, we will

322

A P H Y S I C I A N ' S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

transfer, for the benefit of our non-medical
readers, to our pages.
A woman married between twenty and
twenty-fiye years of age, is less apt to be
sterile than if married earlier or later; for,
it has been found in England, that nearly
all such wiyes are fertile. The probabilities of a woman married after her twentyfourth year, being childless, are greater the
older she is. One in fourteen of all wiyes,
between fifteen and nineteen years of age,
is barren. Among these youthful wiyes,
also, under twenty, instances of excessiye
fertility are more frequently met with than
among any other. Thus, the bride under
nineteen runs a much greater risk of suffering from the eyils both of childlessness and
of oyer-production than if she had tarried
a few years longer in single life.
The Age at the time of Marriage also influences the Period which will probably elapse
before the Wife becomes a Mother.—"We haye
stated that the ayerage interyal for all
wiyes, between the date of marriage and
the birth of the first child, is about twenty

WOMAN" IN"' DISEASE.

323

months. In cases in which the marriage
takes place between the twentieth and
twenty-fourth year, this interval is lessened. Neither younger nor older wives
enter so soon, on the average, upon their
career of child-bearing.
The Age of Marriage likewise affects the
time during- which the Wife will continue to
hear Children.—The older she is when married, the more advanced will be her age at
the time she ceases to increase her family.
I t must not be understood, however, that
her period of child-bearing is longer than
that of the younger bride. Such is not the
case. I t is, in its actual number of years,
shorter. But by continuing her fertility to
a more advanced age, nature makes the
attempt, as it were, to render it of an equal
duration with that of the younger wife.
Periods of Temporary
Sterility.—During
the child-bearing period of fertile wives the
average interval between successive births
after the first is from twenty months to
two years. If a mother, in good health,
does not conceive during the space of

324

A PHYSICIAN'S COUNSELS TO WOMAN*

three years, the chances are that she has
become sterile.
Conception rarely takes place while the
mother is nursing her child. This is a
wise proyision of nature against the too
rapid increase of family.
Constitutional Causes of
Sterility.—In
many cases barrenness is associated with
want of vigor, pallor, a condition of languor,
and a general feebleness. Before the wife
can give life to another, her own vitality
must be increased. Attention to the general
health and a renewal of physical force will
render her capable of becoming a mother.
In other instances some disordered condition or poisonous element in the blood,
that vital fluid which animates all the
animal functions, is the barrier to maternity.
Excessive Obesity.—Embonpoint
often
goes hand in hand with sterility. When
this undue accumulation of fat is unassociated with disease, it may readily be gotten
rid of by a proper course of diet. Its disappearance alone may secure the desired

WOMAN IN DISEASE.

325

end. Any woman may decrease her flesh
at will and without injury to her health if
she will partake only of a certain bill of fare.
And this without lessening the amount of
food she takes during the day. In order to
do this she must avoid sugar, molasses and
sweet dishes, potatoes, fat meat, butter,
bread, pastry, Indian corn, turnips, beets,
milk, and beer. Denying herself of these
articles, she may use as freely as she may
desire of the lean meats, game, eggs (discarding the yelk), fish, gluten or bran
bread, peas, cabbages, onions, tomatoes,
asparagus, egg-plant, apple-sauce, pickles,
and for drinks, coffee or tea without sugar
or milk, and plain water. The greater the
amount of meat eaten, and the less of vegetables, the better. Adverse circumstances
reduce flesh, and it not unfrequently happens that wives who, when rich, were barren, become mothers when poor.
Extreme Leanness.—"We speak now of
thinness as a constitutional trait, unassociated with disease. Such spareness very
often disappears after marriage, and par28

326

A PHYSICIAN'S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

ticularly after maternity. "When this does
not occur, and the wife is sterile, it is
desirable to change the constitutional condition by increasing her flesh and color.
This also may be accomplished by a judicious system of diet. She should avoid
vinegar, pickles, sour wines or fruits, acid
vegetables, and highly spiced food. She
should partake largely of vegetables, particularly potatoes, sugar-beets, carrots,
green peas, turnips, milk or cream, bread
and butter, molasses, sugar and the sweets
generally.
Hippocrates, recognizing the influence of
corpulence and leanness upon fertility, advised that thin women should be united in
marriage to stout husbands, and vice versa.
Other Causes of Sterility.—These are
sometimes very obscure. Why, for instance, should a woman prolific in her first
marriage be barren in her second, although
united to a man who has had children?
This question we cannot answer, and therefore are in the habit of saying it is due to

WOMATST Iltf DISEASE.

327

incompatibility of temperament, which term
is merely an expression of ignorance.
Excess of passion in the marital relation
is far less frequently a cause of sterility
than undue frigidity.
Counsel to Sterile Wives.
Barrenness is very often remediable.
Nor need hope be necessarily abandoned
because of lapse of time. The records of
modern medicine contain cases of fertility
even after thirty years of sterility.
The most favorable time for conception
is that immediately before or a few days
after the monthly sickness. This information conveys the most important advice we
can give to wives who desire to have children. Almost every physician of experience in this department of medicine, can
point to instances in which counsel to this
effect has resulted in the gratification of
hopes long deferred.
The physiologist Marshall Hall has advised the putting of a strong infant to

328

A PHYSICIAK'S COUSTSELS TO WOMAIST.

the breast as a remedy for barrenness. I t
is well known that the breasts and the
uterine system are closely linked. Their
sympathies are so strong that the one is affected by any impression or excitation of the
other. For this reason the application of
the breast pumps, several times a day (with
due caution not to irritate), immediately
before the appearance of the monthly sickness, is not without benefit. Use may also
be made with advantage, at the same
periods, of warm fomentation of milk to
the breasts and to the portion of the spinal
column directly opposite. Horseback exercise sometimes predisposes to pregnancy.
Of course, when the sterility depends, as
is often the case, upon some disease, ulceration, or displacement of the womb, this
must be remedied by medical treatment.
A bed of hemlock boughs, and the odor
of pine forests, have both long enjoyed
an established reputation in cases of sterility. It is a matter of common observation that the families of those living among
pine trees are usually large. Beds of sponge

WOMAN IN DISEASE.

329

are also recommended as conducive to fruitfulness in wedlock.
Many cases of sterility have their origin
in disorders of the monthly periods. The
proper care of the health, in this regard, we
have dwelt upon at some length in previous
pages, and we would advise that the precautions mentioned be adopted by married
women, particularly during the first months
of married life, if they value their prospects
of maternity.
"When displacement of the womb is. the
cause of sterility, as not unfrequently happens, the use of a pessary is followed by
the happiest results. The pessary should
be continued to be worn for three or four
months after conception, in order to guard
against miscarriage.
Dr. Tilt, of London, in his " Handbook
of Uterine Therapeutics," points out two
not infrequent causes of sterility, and suggests the remedy. He says: " The physical
appearance of organs may be perfectly
satisfactory, but the hidden power that
works the machinery may be above or below

330

A PHYSICIAN'S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

that moderate standard, which is the best
guarantee of healthy action. That connection should be pleasurable is a sign of the
reproductive organs being healthy- but
there are barren women in whom the trouble
appears to lie in too much passion. I
remembered a case in which it subsided
after the prolonged use of cold hip-baths,
cooling injections, and the internal use of
camphor; soon afterward the patient became
pregnant. Whether or not such cases are
more carefully concealed, they less frequently come under my observation than
those of the opposite sort—frigidity. "Women may be well formed, happily married,
and without any tangible imperfections of
the sexual organs, and yet completely indifferent to connection, which neither gives
pain nor pleasure, and I have been consulted
by nine such women who have, never conceived."

"WHITE F L O W I N G .
T H E whitish, yellowish, or greenish discharge which takes place from the vagina
under the influence of disease of its lining
membrane, or of the womb, constitutes the
affection known to physicians as" leucorrhoea, and to patients as " €he whites."
I t is important that every woman should
have correct information in regard to the
discharges to which she is subject, for
while some are harmless, others are fraught
with danger, and indicative of disease requiring attention. She should know that,
in a condition of perfect health, the first
sign of established puberty is often preceded
by a white discharge. This should not?
therefore, excite any alarm. I t frequently
happens that each period is preceded and
followed, for a few days, by a whitish discharge, which may then be looked upon as
( 331)

332

A PHYSICIAN'S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

part of the regular monthly flow. A white
discharge, slight in amount, occasionally,
also, appears in the time between two
periods, particularly in those who are not
strong. If attended by no pain, this discharge is not probably associated with any
actual disease, and merely calls for greater
attention to personal cleanliness.
The case is different, however, when the
discharge, in place of being white, and
unattended by any pain, is of a yellowish
or greenish tinge, and accompanied by pain
in the lower part of the back and in the
thighs. Then energetic treatment is required, lest the general health be impaired
by the drain upon the system.
"White flowing is an exceedingly common
trouble; but few women, it is said, ever
pass through life without, at some time,
suffering from it.
The causes of whites are, as may be supposed, from the frequency of the complaint,
very numerous. "Whatever prostrates the
general health, impoverishes the blood, or
disorders the digestion, may occasion it.

WOMAIST IN" DISEASE.

333

Irregularity in the monthly periods will
quickly bring it on. Displacements and
ulcerations of the womb are, perhaps, the
most prominent causes, and generally lie
back of the more abundant, constant, and
annoying forms of the affection.
Besides the suffering and inconvenience
attaching to this discharge, sterility often
results from it. I t s cure may, therefore,
remove the reproach of barrenness.
The treatment consists in ascertaining and
removing the cause which has excited the
complaint. I f the general health be impaired, tonics and change of scene are of
service. These we shall more particularly
specify, in treating of poverty of the blood,
hereafter.
If there be irregularity of the
monthly periods, those measures of precaution and cure already mentioned are to be
resorted to. I n all cases, however, the use
of astringent injections is important, in
some instances all that is required. W e
shall, therefore, give a number of useful
prescriptions for this purpose.
Before doing so, we wish to give some
directions as to the proper manner of using

334:

A PHYSICIAN'S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

them. Injections often fail of effect, hecause improperly administered. Comparatively few, indeed, unless instructed, ever
employ them in a right way. In the first
place, the syringe should not be a small
glass or pewter one. Such an instrument,
holding only two or three ounces of fluid, is
useless—worse than useless. It is impossible to inject, at one time, a sufficient
amount of fluid to do any good, and the
frequent removal and reintroduction of the
syringe irritates the parts. The only effectual instrument is the rubber hand-ball
syringe, by means of which a continuous
stream can be injected at any given time.
As it is important that the upper part of
the canal, and the lower surface of the
womb, should be reached by the injected
fluid, the reclining posture, on a hard sofa,
with the edge of the basin under the seat,
is the best position in- which to use the
S37ringe; and the liquid ought to be pumped
up for at least five minutes. In regard to
the temperature of the injection, no fixed
rule can be given. Some patients bear

WOMAK INT DISEASE.

335

cold injections badly. In long-standing
cases, a cold fluid is preferable; in a recent,
painful case, a warm solution is more
soothing.
The following injections are arranged in
the order of their strength:—
Equal parts of warm water and milk make a bland,
cleansing solution, to be used several times a
day.

Another soothing injection, when there
is much pain, is a mixture of glycerine and
water, in the proportion of two or three
tablespoonfuls of glycerine to the pint of
water.
Linseed tea is also useful, either alone or
with the addition of alum or lead. I t is
made as follows:—
Take of—
Slightly bruised linseed
. J ounce,
Water
3 pints.
Gently boil for ten minutes, and carefully strain, so
as to remove any fragments of the seeds which
might otherwise obstruct the pipe of the syringe.

To this, or either of the preceding injections, laudanum may be added, in the

336

A PHYSICIAN'S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

proportion of a teaspoonful to each pint of
the fluid.
The following are excellent cooling injections :—
Take of—
Borax
Cool water
Mix.

1 drachm,
1 pint.

Or, substitute for the borax the same
quantity of chlorate of potash, or of acetate
of lead. When the parts are irritable, and
the discharge acrid, add to each of these
solutions before use, a teaspoonful of laudanum, and a tablespoonful of glycerine.
Astringent injections should be as cold
as the patient can well bear. The following are approved solutions :—
Take of—
Oak bark
1 ounce,
Wa^er
2 pints.
Boil down to one pint, strain, and cool.

Ordinary green tea, as prepared for the
table, when cold, makes an excellent injection.

WOMAK IN DISEASE,

337

Take of—
Tannin
30 to 60 grains,
Cold water . . . . . .
1 pint.
Mix.

Or,
Take of—
Alum
1 drachm,
Sulphate of zinc . . . . 1 0 grains^
Cold water
1 pint.
Mix.

Alum alone, in the proportion of about
a teaspoonful of the powder to the pint of
water, makes a good solution for injection.
When the discharge is offensive, a tablespoonful of the solution of chlorinated soda
(Labarraque'g solution) may be added to
the injection employed, or may be used
alone as follows:—
Take of—
Solution of chlorinated soda
(Labarraque's solution) . 1 fluidounce,
Water
1 pint.
Mix*

An equally good deodorizing mixture is
made of permanganate of potash:—*
29

338

A P H Y S I C I A N S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.
Take of—
Permanganate of potash .
Water

I drachm,
1 pint.

To these injections, as to the others
mentioned, a teaspoonful of laudanum, and
a tablespoonful of glycerine, are to be added
if they cause any smarting.
The following is also a useful injection,
when there is fetor:—
Take of—
Creosote . . ' . . .

. 20 drops,

*Yelk of egg

1

Water

8 ounces.

Mix.
Add half of this to a pint of water.

The soothing injections may be used as
often as three times a day; the cooling
injections, twice a day; the alum injections
not more than once a day, unless they are
employed to check the loss of blood, when
they may be repeated several times during
the twenty-four hours.
A s a rule, all injections should be discontinued during the monthly periods, unless otherwise specially directed by the
physician.

WOMAK I K DISEASE.

339

Take of—
Lead water

. . . .

6

fluidounces.

Direct one large tablespoonful to be mixed with a
pint of water, to form, an injection.

Use twice a

day.
Take of—
Extract of H e m a t o x y l i n (logwood)

1 ounce,

Alum

2 drachms,

"Water

1 pint

Mix.

A useful injection, when .there is an
offensive discharge. Care should be taken
in using it, for it will stain all linen with
which it comes in contact.

POYEKTY

OF THE

BLOOD.

condition of the blood is known to
physicians under the technical term of
anosmia. The red particles in the circulating fluid are diminished in number, and
paleness of the surface results. This impoverishment of the blood may arise from
want of nourishment, owing to improper
food or disorder of the digestive apparatus;
from some drain upon the system, owing to
excessive loss at the monthly periods or
white flowing; or from some poison in the
blood. "Whatever be the cause, the trouble
should not be treated as a trifling one.
Unfortunately it has become so fashionable to have a pale face, that it is no longer
looked upon as an indication of ill-health
in woman. Hence it happens that both
mothers and daughters consider pallor of
the complexion as natural to them; or if
(340)
THIS

WOMAH IN" DISEASE.

341

denotiye of impaired vitality, that all attempts to improve in strength and flesh are
useless. They quietly and indolently endure infirmities which they consider as
indissolubly wedded to their constitution.
The young and beautiful passively suffer
themselves to become quickly old, sad, and
weak. The way is t h u s prepared for the
invasion of consumption and cancerous
affections. This decline in health and the
irremediable results therefrom might all
be prevented by timely care and a prompt
use of tonics, especially those containing
iron.
I t has been aptly said that the
fabled fountain of youth must have been
an iron spring, for such alone is able to
restore the charms and freshness of youth
to women who have fallen into premature
old age.
The causes of poverty of the blood are
numerous. Over-exertion of mind or body,
hardship, grief, disappointment, and pain
are among the most frequent agencies at
work in bringing about a watery condition
of the blood. Too profuse periods, con29*

342

A P H Y S I C I A N ' S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

tinned discharges and over-nursing are
also common causes of this affection. The
greater frequency of this complaint in large
towns and cities, and among the higher
classes of society, shows that it is often produced by want of attention to the physical
development of young girls and women, by
deprivation of fresh air, pure food, and outdoor exercise.
The symptoms are easily recognized.
Failure of strength is a prominent one.
This general debility is associated with a
pale, waxen skin, blanched lips and tongue,
a blue tinge of the " whites" of the eyes, a
quick, feeble pulse, shortness of breath on
the least exertion, loss of appetite and increase of thirst, low spirits, capricious, irritable temper, headache, disturbed sleep, and
cold extremities. A sense of fainting, h u r ried breathing, and palpitation of the heart,
result from any exertion. These symptoms
#xe nearly all marked when the complaint
is well established. The earliest noticeable
are the loss of strength and of color.
These should receive prompt attention. I f

WOMA^ST nsr DISEASE,

343

combated at the outset, the impoverishment of the blood is usually checked without difficulty* W e have alluded to the
dangers encountered by a neglect of early
remedial measures*
There is no absolute or necessary connection between poverty of the. blood and
nervousness, as cause and effect, as has
Toeen well pointed out by Prof. Hodge*
The two may go hand in hand, but are not
always associated. "All females arc comparatively nervous, even with excellent
organic actions, rich blooa, free capillary
circulation, rosy complexion, and an abundance of animal heat continually generated.
Their temperament is nervous. In some
cases, by no means few in number, this is
wonderfully true. Every one, of any experience, must have known women, who
were of the most robust appearance, with
excellent appetite and digestion, an abundant supply of blood of the purest character^
with all their functions in an admirable
condition, being strong and feeling strong,
and yet who were excessively nervous, ex-

344

A P H Y S I C I A N ' S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

citable, and irritable. The least cause,
mental or physical, will disturb their sensations or perceptions, and induce the worst
forms of hysteria. Such women look well,
but feel supremely wretched. Few, sometimes not even their physician, sympathize
with them. They are regarded as imaginative or even as deceitful beings. The reverse of the picture is often equally true,
poverty of the blood existing to a very
great degree with few or no special manifestations of nervous irritability. In men,
especially, this is often the case, as in many
cases of exhaustion from dyspepsia, diarrhoea, hemorrhages, and chronic diseases.
In women this is, of course, not so frequent, owing to their natural temperament;
yet, often, in the delicate, pallid, emaciated
woman, you will discover few symptoms of
nervous irritation, and you will hear the
declaration, "Doctor, I have never been
nervous."
Although nervous irritability is, in many
cases conjoined with the poverty of the

WOMA1ST IK DISEASE.

345

circulating fluid, it is not therefore to be
looked upon as a constant accompaniment.
The treatment of this complaint is usually
very satisfactory, if early instituted.
If
the cause of the trouble can be discovered
and readily removed, as is generally the
case, the blood is soon enriched with the
aid of preparations of iron and other tonics.
T h e avoidance of all excesses, change of
air, due repose of mind and body, and a
nutritious, easily digested diet, seldom fail
to complete the cure.
Good, plain, nourishing food is to be
taken as freely as it can be digested. The
patient may begin with milk and eggs and
beef-tea, and advance as rapidly as possible
to fish, poultry, and mutton. To enable
her, however, to take and digest this food,
tonics, conjoined sometimes with slightly
laxative medicine, arc needed. Of all the
tonics, in this complaint, iron Is the best.
I t is, indeed, imperatively called for.
It
may, however, be advantageously combined
with vegetable bitters. "We shall give a
n u m b e r of recipes, containing various pre-

346

A P H Y S I C I A N ' S COUNSELS T O W O M A N .

parations of iron, united with different
vegetable tonics. A l l of these prescriptions
are valuable and safe.' W e are sure a knowledge of them cannot b u t be useful and
fraught with no danger. Here, as elsewhere in this book, we have avoided all
hurtful combinations, and recommended
only those which can be safely employed in
family practice.
The following tonic is an excellent one,
particularly when the poverty of the blood
has been induced by excessive loss of blood
at the monthly periods :—
Take of—
Pj-rophosphate of iron
Tincture of colomba
Water

.

.

. 1\ drachm, •
.

.

\

fluidounce,

2}

fluidounces.

Mix.
Take two teaspoonfuls, before each meal, in water.
Keep quiet and avoid stimulating food and drinks
while menstruating.

If the bowels be constipated, take at the
same time the following:—

WOMAST I K DISEASE.

347

Take of—
Sulphate of magnesia .

.

2 ounces,

Cream of t a r t a r . . . .

1 ounce,

Water

2 pints.

. . . . . . .

Mix.
To be taken in wineglassful doses sufficiently often to
move the bowels once a clay.

Another excellent preparation is the
combination of iron with cinchona, as fol
lows:—
Take of—
Tincture of the chloride of
iron
Sulphate of cinchona .

3 drachms,
. 15 grains,

Simple syrup

1 fluidounee,

Water

2 fluidounces.

Mix.
A teaspoon ful, in a wineglassful of water, is to be
drawn through a glass tube three times a day before
meals.

A s iron is the agent mainly to be trusted
to in the treatment of impoverished blood,
we will mention a number of other reliable
forms and combinations of this metal.
Meduced iron^ or iron in a state of very
minute particles, is a valuable agent.

348

A PHYSICIAN'S COUNSELS TO* WOMAN.
Take of—
Reduced iron .
Sugar

. . . .

J drachm,

. . . . . . .

1 drachm.

Mix, and divide into twelve powders.
One powder is to be taken, in syrap or molasses, three
times a day.

Or, the reduced iron may be combined
with quinine and gentian, as follows :—
Take of—
Reduced iron

J drachm,

Sulphate of quinine

.

. 1 2 grains,

Extract of gentian .

.

. 1 0 grains.

Mix, and divide into twelve pills.
One to be taken three times a day.

The sulphate of iron is also an excellent
preparation. It may be given alone, made
up into pills, one or two grains in each pill,
three times a day; or it may be united
with quinine, as follows:—
Take of—
Sulphate of iron

.

Sulphate of quinine
Syrup
to make a pilular mass.

.
.

. 24 grains,
. 12 grains,
a sufficient quantity
Divide into twelve

pills.
One of these pills is to be taken three times a day,

WOMAIST IJST DISEASE.

349

"When the impoverished blood results
from too severe mental occupation, or distress, then the phosphate of iron, or the
phosphate of zinc, will do much good. *W"e
give a prescription for each.
Take of—
Phosphate of iron . . .
2 scruples,
Pulverized myrrh . . . -| drachm,
White sugar
J drachm.
Mix, and divide into twelve powders.
One is to be taken three times a day.
* Take of—
Phosphate of zinc . . .
2 scruples,
Dilute phosphoric acid . 1} fluidrachm,
Compound tincture of
cinchonia
. . . . 1} fluidounce,
Peppermint water . . .
6 fluidounces.
Mix.
Take a tablespoonful, in a wineglassful of water, three
times a day.

Cod-liver oil may be taken with advantage at the same time with either of the
foregoing prescriptions. This treatment,
together with rest, good diet, fatty articles
of food, and, if possible, a change of scene,
will be usually all that is required.
30

350

A P H Y S I C I A N ' S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

"When there is indigestion, pepsin is
Wonderfully effective in restoring digestive
power, wanting which it is impossible to
introduce into the blood the enriching material it so much needs. It is of no use to
administer tonics and nutritious food, if the
stomach be unable to digest them. This
inability of the stomach to perform its work
is frequently met with when the poverty of
the blood is calling most imperatively for
restoratives. The value of pepsin in these
cases is readily explained.
The food is subjected in the stomach to
the action of the gastric juice. This gastric
juice consists of water, acids, and a peculiar
substance of the nature of a ferment, known
under the name of pepsin. "When the
gastric juice, for any reason, is not secreted
in sufficient quantity, artificial pepsin may
be introduced into the stomach with great
advantage. The pepsin may be taken
either in the form of a powder or in that of
a wine. If the powder be used, fifteen
grains, is the proper dose, taken at the
commencement of the meal, between two

WOMA1ST IN DISEASE.

351

slices of bread, or in a little lukewarm soup.
The wine of pepsin is employed in teaspoonful doses, before each meal.
The only curative means, other than
those we have just given, to be borne in
mind, are exercise in the open air, not too
prolonged, and cold bathing, especially in
sea-water.
Under the influence of these agencies,
the blood will gradually lose its watery
character, and refind the red particles of
which it has been deprived. But as these
red particles are not quickly reformed in
proper numbers, time is an important element in the treatment, and the patient must
patiently persevere in the remedies for many
weeks.

NEURALGIC PAINS.
this head we design to call
attention to some of the painful affections
to which women alone are subject. "We
refer to rheumatic and neuralgic inflammations of the womb and ovaries.
The sufferers from neuralgia of the womb
and of the ovaries are ordinarily delicate
women, wTith a constitution naturally feeble,
or one that has been impaired by a series
of imprudent acts. Attention to the general
health is required, therefore, in most cases,
as we shall presently point out. Neuralgia
of these parts occurs, not unfrequently, in
young girls directly after the age of puberty,
associated with painful periods. The disease is most frequent, # however, among
wives and mothers. It sometimes first
makes its appearance a short time after
childbirth.
(352)
UNDER

WOMAN" IN DISEASE.

353

The symptoms are pain and soreness.
The pain may be of a sharp, shooting
character, or dull and aching. I t is situated
in the lower part of the abdomen, the groin,
the back, and the inner surface of the
thighs. I t is rendered much worse by ex-,
posure to cold damp weather, by fatigue,
by mental emotion, and by disorders of the
monthly periods.
Patients, at all liable to this trouble,
should most sedulously seek to improve
and preserve their general health. "Warm
clothing is of the utmost importance. In
summer, cotton drawers are always to be
worn, and during the winter flannel ones.
The diet claims particular attention. It
should be nourishing, animal food being
taken at least once a day. Cold bathing is
usually dangerous and injurious; warm
hip-baths are beneficial, and may be repeated
several times a week.
During pregnancy and nursing, women
are peculiarly liable to rheumatism and
neuralgia of the w° m b, on account of the
susceptibility of the skin. During these
80*

354:

A PHYSICIAN'S COUNSELS TO WOMAN".

periods the perspiration is readily checked,
which may give rise to serious trouble.
Extra precautions ought, therefore, to be
taken against exposure to draughts, changes
of clothing, and atmospheric vicissitudes.
In these cases, in which there are also
floating neuralgic pains throughout the
body, and in which the strength and appetite are impaired, the hitter wine of iron is
an excellent remedy. The following prescription is a good one.
Take of-^
Bitter wine of iron
. . 4 fluidounces,
Tincture of nux vomica . 2 fluidrachms.
Mix.
Take a dessertspoonful (that is, two teaspoonfuls) in
a wineglassful of water, just after each meal.

The following is an excellent preparation.
It is often of great benefit in those cases
in which no other sedative and tonic can be
taken:—

WOMAK IN DISEASE.
Take of—
Extract of henbane
Sulphate of quinine
Mix. .

355

. each 20 grains.

Divide into twenty pills.
One is to be taken every night.

The following ointment affords much
relief, when rubbed into the skin over
the painful parts of the abdomen or
back:—
Take of—
Belladonna liniment . . 2 drachms5
Glycerine o i n t m e n t . . . 1 ounce.
Mix.

In cases of neuralgia of the ovaries, the
prescription given below exerts an almost
magical influence in some cases:—
Take of—
Muriate of ammonia . . 2 drachms,
Tincture of aconite leaf . 2 fluidrachms,
Syrup of orange-peel . . 8 fluidounces.
Mix.
The dose is a teaspoonful three times a day.

Jn inanj instances in which ordinary

356

A PHYSICIAN'S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

anodynes have been employed without benefit, the pains will be relieved by the time
the above prescription is finished in the
doses directed.

HEADACHES.
are more common among
women than men, and those which are
peculiar to the female sex are quite numerous. They are, to a great extent, associated
with her physiological destiny and duties
as maid, wife, and matron. They add to
her sufferings in most of the diseases which
we have considered. The amount of misery
they occasion is much underrated. They
are too frequently classed among the minor
HEADACHES

#

evils of life, and looked upon as unavoidable trials to be patiently borne. It is their
cruel influence which is active in folding
the furrows and ruling the wrinkles on the
faces of many suffering women. How
often, also, upon the smooth, fair brow of
the young girl may be noted that worn
look of unrest which tells, to the experienced observer, of a headache. In many
( 357 )

358

A P H Y S I C I A N ' S COUNSELS TO W O M A N .

of these cases a simple remedy, properly
employed, will afford effectual and lasting
relief. May we not, therefore, hope to do
some good by recording here, in plain
though brief language, the principal varieties
of headache, the symptoms by which they
may be recognized, the causes to which
they are due, the preventive measures
which may avert them, and the treatment
which may alleviate or cure t h e m ?
A headache is not always an unmixed
evil. I t is often, especially during pregnancy and nursing, a caution signal—a
warning sign, kindly made by nature, to
call attention to a threatening disease, while
it is yet time to prevent its establishment.
Headaches also occur during the course of
many general diseases, such as fevers. B u t
besides these forms of headaches, which
are symptoms of disease, there are other
kinds in which the pain in the head is
the most prominent, or the only trouble.
A m o n g these we will first mention

WOMAK EN- DISEASE.

359

Sick-Headache.
This compound name appropriately expresses the two sensations—constant sickness at the stomach, and pain in the head
•—experienced during the attack. Commencing in childhood or youth; it often
clings persistently to the unhappy patient
throughout life. "Everything has changed
with me," remarked one who had so suffered for twenty years, "except my headaches." Such sufferers, wearied with their
ineffectual efforts to relieve themselves of
their heavy burden, abandon all hopes of
freeing themselves, and find their only
remedy in patience. Such apathy cannot
but be regretted, for, in many of these
cases, the cause may be finally discovered,
or an effectual remedy at last secured.
A sick-headache generally commences in
the morning on waking from a deep sleep,
especially in hot weather, or after sleeping
in a close room, or if some irregularity of
diet has been committed on the previous
day. The irritation caused by food which

360

A P H Y S I C I A N ' S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

disagrees, is probably produced after the
food has passed the stomach, and during
its presence in the intestines. The time
usually taken for a meal to pass through
the stomach is from two to five hours;
whereas, after leaving that organ, the food,
which is reduced to the consistence of
gruel, has to traverse about twenty-six feet
of intestine. Hence the ill effects are often
manifest only the day after an indiscreet
indulgence in the pleasures of the table.
There is, at first, a dull and distressingly
oppressive sensation in the head, merging
into a severe and heavy (not throbbing)
pain in the temples, usually more severe on
the left side, and accompanied by a tenderness and sense of fulness in the corresponding eye, or extending across the forehead.
Sometimes it fixes itself over the inner
corner of the eyebrow, and in these cases
light is especially oppressive. There is a
clammy and unpleasant taste in the mouth,
the breath is offensive, and the tongue
covered with a yellowish-white ftnv The
sufferer^ usually desires to be alone, and in

WOMAIST IN DISEASE.

361

the dark. The body is chill, and a sensation is often experienced as of a stream of
water trickling down the back. The hands
and feet are cold and moist, and the pulse
feeble.
Accompanying these symptoms, there is
a depressing sense of sickness at the
stomach, with entire loss of appetite. The
nausea is increased by the erect posture,
and by moving about. There is usually
great flatulence, for the irritating, ill-digested food actually undergoes a species of
decomposition.
Then—after several ineffectual attacks of retching, which terminate only with shuddering at the nauseous
taste in the mouth—vomiting at length
ensues. The stomach is relieved of whatever food it contains, if any has been taken
during the day, in an undigested state; but
more frequently only a thin glairy fluid of
an acrid, sour taste is ejected. During the
concussion of the system, produced by
vomiting, there is considerable pressure
exercised on the bowels bj r the muscles of
the abdomen. The badly digested mass is
si

862

A PHYSICIAN'S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

dislodged from the situation where it m
producing irritation, and passes oil its
appointed course. Th§ pain in the head,,
though increased during the act of vomiting, subsequently becomes relieved. There
remain merely a squeamishness of the
stomach and a general uneasiness and
languor which induce a desire for repose.
After a short sleep, the patient may awake
perfectly well, or only a little debilitated?
according to the previous condition of the
general health.
In other cases the vomiting continues?
and adds still further to the distress. The
acid fluid at first ejected gives place to bile
—yellow, nauseous, and bitter; and with
the intense depression that always accompanies its presence in the stomach. This
urgent sickness, if allowed to continue
unchecked, may go on for two or three
hours, until, worn out with vehement exertion, the sufferer falls asleep and wakes
to comparative ease.
Sometimes, however, the vomiting does
not supervene at all. The pain in the head

WOMA1ST IK DISEASE.

363

then usually becomes worse as the day
advances, until lost in sleep at night. It
may even continue throughout a second
day, or on into a third.
The causes of sick-headache are found
principally in the digestive organs. Sedentary habits, especially when combined with
anxiety of mind and insufficient exercise,
seldom fail to weaken the powers of digestion. These habits are often associated
with irregularity in diet; too long an
interval being allowed to elapse between
the meals, or an excessive quantity of food
being taken to subdue the sensation of
hunger. The golden rule, that "you should
eat when you are hungry, but not as long
as you are hungry," is neglected.
It is seldom that an attack of sick-headache cannot be traced to some previous
excess at the table. Some persons can
never take particular articles of diet without suffering from a headache.
The treatment of sick-headache requires,
on the part of the sufferer, a careful selfexamination into the peculiarities of her

364

A P H Y S I C I A N ' S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

individual case. The removal of the immediate cause of the pain should not be so
much an object as the permanent relief of
the unhealthy condition of the stomach.
Without the accomplishment of this, by
steady perseverance and self-denial, no
power can avert the recurrence of the
trouble on any irregularity of diet.
"When the headache comes on very shortly
after a meal, especially where it can be
traced directly to one or more indigestible
articles of food, copious draughts of*warm
water or warm chamomile tea, to induce
vomiting, will usually remove the offending
food and the pain together. Any continuance of the headache may be relieved by an
hour's quiet, and the application to the
forehead of a thin cloth damped with
cologne water, with essence of verbena, or
with simple spirit and water. As a rule,
the use of emetic drugs, such as ipecacuanha,
should be avoided. If often repeated, they
lower the tone of the stomach and render
another attack more probable.
"Where the pain ensues some hours after

WOMAN" m

DISEASE.

365

t a k i n g food, a warm draught, with rhubarb
and magnesia, is generally beneficial.
Take of—
Powdered rhubarb,
Carbonate of magnesia, each 40 grains,
Syrup of ginger
Peppermint water

^
.

.

.

fluidounce,

. 1 ^ - fluidounce.

Mix.
A d d a tablespoonful to half a wineglassful of warm
water, and take as one draught.

T h e uso of stimulants, so frequently
indulged in in cases of sick-headache,
proves eventually injurious. This is especially the case where the headache is of
habitual occurrence. The momentary relief
they afford is followed by an increase in
the intensity and frequency of fature
attacks.
T h e headache that comes on some hours
after a meal, may often be warded off by
t a k i n g a few grains of rhubarb and aloes,
as a dinner pill. F o r this purpose the
following is an excellent combination:—
31*

366

A P H Y S I C I A N ' S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.
Take of—
Powdered rhubarb

.

.

. 1 8 grains,

Powdered capsicum . . .
Dried carbonate of soda

5 grains,
.

6 grains,

Powdered aloes,
Castile soap, .

.

each 10 grains.

Mix
Divide into twelve pills.
One to be taken an hour before each meal.

But it must be remembered that so long
&s the use of a dinner pill is necessary,
there is an unhealthy state of the stomach,
to which the dose only serves as a temporary palliative, and which requires other
and further treatment to do away with the
need of coaxing it to good behavior in this
manner.
The first and most essential requisite
towards permanent relief of sick-headache
is a determination on the part of the
patient to strictly regulate the diet; to
carefully attend to the action of the bowels;
and to take more exercise and air. The
effects of various articles of food should be
noticed, and whatever manifestly disagrees
forthwith shunned. More than six hours

WOMAN m

DISEASE.

367

(exclusive of sleep) ought never to pass
without the taking of food. The best diet
is the plainest, and those subject to dyspepsia should deny themselves rich soups
and broths, and avoid over-diluting the
contents of the stomach by fluids of any
description. The quantity of food taken at
a meal should be especially restricted; for
persons of delicate digestions will often
complain of the ill effects of some particular article of diet, when their sufferings are,
in reality, owing to the quantity of all,
rather than to the disagreement of any one
part. The how much, must be determined
by every woman for herself. She is happy
who is able to do this with accuracy, and
to carry out the dictates of her judgment.
Where, on the other hand, the appetite
is deficient, a little ice, or a draught of icecold water, taken half an hour before
dinner, usually proves very serviceable.
Its efficacy depends on the reaction that
follows the first effect of the cold on the
stomach. In this way, the keen appetite
often excited by taking a few raw oysters
is probably produced.

368

A PHYSICIANS COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

The strict observance of a low or meagre
diet is seldom advisable and often hurtful;
though great discrimination is required in
the food that is chosen. The following
plan of daily diet, if rigidly continued for
a while, very seldom fails to prove beneficial, where the precautions in reference to
medicines and exercise are, at the same
time, observed:—
For breakfast, a cup of coffee with a biscuit or dry
toast, a fresh egg lightly boiled; or a small portion of
cold fowl or game. For dinner, a tender beefsteak
dressed on a gridiron, care being taken that each
mouthful be properly masticated; no vegetables, or
only a well-cooked potato; a light pudding, with
brown bread. Mutton or poultry, with a little fish
(plainly boiled), may be substituted on alternate
days. For supper, some dry toast and a little sago,
or carrageen-moss jelly, may be taken.

I t is important to avoid heavy and late
suppers. The poet well says:—
" But would you sweetly waste the blank of night
In deep oblivion; or, on fancy's wings
Yisit the paradise of happy dreams,
And waken cheerful as the \ive\y morn;
Oppress not nature sinking down to rest
With feasts too late, too solid, or too full."

WOMAX IN DISEASE.

369

The use of the flesh-brush, or a coarse
hair-glove, over the surface of the body,
especially in the region of the stomach, is
often very beneficial. I n s t e a d of either, a
salt-towel may be employed. This is made
by immersing a towel in a basin of salt
water, in the evening, and throwing it over
the back of a chair to dry during the night.
I n the morning, take one end in each h a n d
and draw the roughened towel briskly to and
fro over the stomach, until the skin is in a
glow. Repeat this friction every morning.
Exercise, either walking or, if possible, on
horseback, should never be omitted a single
day that the weather will permit i t ; before
dinner being the best time to choose. The
regular action of the bowels should be
carefully attended to, and when the diet
and exercise prove insufficient, an occasional laxative should be taken. I n cases
of constipation, the following pill is strongly
recommended by Prof. "Van Buren, of ]STew
York, who terms it the " P i l Salutis"—the
" P i l l of Health."

370

A P H Y S I C I A N ' S COUNSELS TO W O M A N .

Take of—
Extract of aloes . . .
J drachm,
Extract of nux vomica . 6 grains,
Extract of hyoscyamus
20 grains,
Powdered ipecacuanha . 1 grain.
Mix.
Divide into twenty pills.'
Take one each night at bedtime.

Change of air and scene is always
attended with advantage in cases of sick-*
headache.
Nervous Headache.
The ordinary nervous headache is more
frequent in women, and is especially common in the female sex between the ages of
fifteen and forty.
This is owing to the
fact t h a t t h e female nervous susceptibility
is greater than the male. I t is of greater
frequency in large towns, and cities t h a n in
country neighborhoods, which can oply be
attributed to the difference in habits, and
in t h e air that is breathed. I t is also of
greater frequency among women of the
upper

and

middle

classes, which

may

WOMAtf IN DISEASE.,

371

doubtless be attributed to the mode of
education and of life to which they are
subject. The body is too generally cramped,
in defiance of its natural tendencies, to
produce that artificial shape known as a
"good figure." The mind is trained, in
despite of its natural bias, to acquire a
knowledge of what are considered accomplishments, whether there be any natural
aptitude or not for such studies. The
feelings are more excited than the understanding. Exercise of the body is restricted. The bright sunshine and the
bracing breeze are shunned, for they produce freckles and roughen the cheek—
signs, it is true, of the Beauty of Health,
but that unfortunately is not our standard
of beauty.
This particular form of headache—the
nervous—is most apt to occur in women
possessing high susceptibility, both mental
and physical; whose spirits are variable,
easily elevated, and easily depressed ; whose
tempers are fickle and readily excited.
Nervous headaches are usually sudden,

372

A P H Y S I C I A N ' S COUNSELS TO W O M A N .

both in attack and termination. The pain
is ordinarily acute and darting, aggravated
by sound or light, with a sensation as if
the temples were being pressed together.
Some women become peeyish and irritable
during the a t t a c k ; others are dull, languid,
and almost constantly yawning. There is
sometimes a sense of sinking, with a dread
of falling, great despondency, and a restlessness which renders the patient incapable
of continuous attention, and of physical or
mental exertion. The pulse is small and
feeble, its frequency yarying with the least
excitement; whilst palpitation of the heart
ensues on the slightest exertion. Coldness
of the hands and feet is constantly complained of. There is often a short, dry,
j e r k i n g cough, which occurs on the least
excitement, or sudden change of temperature. The bowels are usually costiye; the
sight is d i m ; and, where the sufferer has
long been subject to these headaches, the
eyes appear sunken and the countenance
wan and careworn. The headache comes
on most frequently in the morning, lasts

WOMAK rN" DISEASE.

373

throughout the day, and abates in the
evening.
I t not unfrequently happens that any
excitement or shock, which suddenly arouses
the system, relieves the nervous pain.
Hence, in olden times, it is said a headache of this kind was cured "by setting the
patient's head on fire. In our day most
patients would object to such a heroic
remedy. In some instances, women are
free from nervous headache during every
pregnancy, though constantly suffering from
it at other times.
The nervous headache, which is of such
frequent occurrence in girls and women of
hysterical tendencies, although presenting
certain of the foregoing symptoms, according to its greater or less severity and
duration, has, in addition, especially wellmarked peculiarities of its own. It usually
comes on suddenly, its commencement
being accompanied by cramp-like pain in
the abdomen, mounting thus to the throat
(where the sensation resembles that of a
82

374

A PHYSICIAN'S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

ball lodged there), and finally reaching the
head.
"With the abdominal pain, in these cases,
there is usually excessive flatulence, amounting to a sense of distension, this being due
to impaired or deficient powers of digestion.
And flatulence, whenever it occurs, is
injurious. It distends the coats of the
stomach and bowels, enfeebling their energy, whilst it diminishes their power of
action. If the flatulence be followed by
eructation, immediate though only temporary relief is experienced. This often forms
the excuse for the use, and still more
frequent abuse, of that lady-like form of
dram-drinking which consists in dissolving
in the mouth a lump of sugar moistened
with a spirituous stimulant, as cologne
water; a medical stimulant, as sal volatile;
or a combination of both, as spirits of
lavender. The purpose with which these
are taken (to communicate an unnatural
exaltation to the spirits, and to dispel the
uneasy sensations in the stomach) is precisely that which influences the drunkard

WOMA^T 1ST DISEASE.

to swallow his
brandy.

stimulant—whiskey

375

or

" Observe what ills to nervous females flow,
"When the heart flutters and the pulse is low,
If once induced these cordial cups to try,
All feel the ease, and few the danger fly;
For while obtained, of drams they have all the force,
And when denied, then drams are the resource."

The result is the same whichever be
taken—miserable subsequent depression,
and aggravation of all the causes of suffering.
The pain in the head, where it is essentially dependent on that eccentricity of the
nerves known as "hysteria" usually presents certain characters. It is confined to
one small space, or to a single spot, frequently over one eyebrow. I t is often
likened to the sensation of a wedge or
nail driven into the sku'l, or pressing on
the brain, accompanied at times by darting
pains.
The headaches that accompany excessive
debility, from any exhausting drain on the
system, as over-nursing, prolonged diarrhoea,

876

A PHYSICIAN'S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

etc., are nearly allied to nervous headaches,
and are, also, most frequent in the female
sex. The cheeks are blanched, and the
lips pale; there is a dark halo around the
sunken eye, the sight is impaired, the legs
swell if allowed to hang down, and the
whole frame is greatly wasted and debilitated. The pain is generally referred to
the top of the head, and is frequently
described as resembling a "ticking" or the
beating of a small hammer on the skull.
The direct causes that produce these
various forms of nervous headache are very
numerous. They need only be very trifling
when the predisposition is strong; a loud
noise, a vivid light, or a disagreeable smell,
will suffice. Impurity of the air breathed,
whether resulting from freshly-painted
rooms, from open drains, from the presence
of flowers in the sleeping apartment, or the
collection of a large number of persons in
a close room, or an ill-ventilated theatre,
especially where gas is burning, are common causes of nervous headaches. It need
hardly be remarked that the influence of

WOMAN IN DISEASE.

377

mental suffering is very great. Grief for
the loss of a beloved object; disappointed
hope; mental strain beyond the powers of
the intellect; all these give rise to headaches of the most varied characters; the
true cause being often a secret locked in
the sufferer's breast.
Hysterical headaches are generally produced in persons of hysterical habit, by
some unfitting excitement or injudicious
exposure. The attack may often be traced
to over-exertion, as in dancing, followed by
exposure to cold.
Those pitiable headaches', the predisposition
to which is produced by any long-continued
drain on the system, are frequently brought
on by the influence of any of the exciting
causes that give rise to other nervousv
headache. In these cases, it is not that
the nervous system is unduly excited or
irritated, but that the rest of the body no
longer retains a proportionate force or
development. "With returning strength,
as the balance between the nervous system
and the rest of the body becomes re-estab32*

378

A PHYSICIAN'S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

lished, the excessive excitability diminishes,
and the nervous headache ceases.
The Treatment of Nervous Headaches.—
The first object is to subdue the intensity
of the pain. This, however, is really a
minor consideration. The principal aim
should be to afford permanent relief by directing the attention unswervingly to the
cause from which the trouble arises. When
the cause is mechanical or organic, as when
due to a decayed tooth, etc., the aid of the
dentist or surgeon is required.
The combination of hyoscyamus with
camphor, generally affords great relief to
the intensity of the pain in common nervous
headache:—
Take of—
Extract of hyoscyamus,
Powdered camphor, . each 20 grains.
Mix.
Divide into sixteen pills.
One or two to be taken when the pain is very severe.

The following is also a useful preparation
for the same purpose:—

WOMAH I K DISEASE,

379

Take of—
Tincture of hyoscyamus,
Compound tincture of cardamoms, . . . .

each -J fluidounee,

Chloroform
Oil of lemon .

1
.

.

.

fluidrachm,

. 1 5 drops,

Powdered tragacanth .

.

1 drachm,

Camphor water .

.

T fluidounces.

,

.

Mix.
Dose, a tablespoonful to relieve the pain.

Coffee, made quite strong, with the
addition of the juice of a lemon to a cup,
sweetened to the taste, often affords marked
relief to the pain.
Dr. "William A. Hammond, of New
York, strongly recommends oxide of zinc
as of great value in this affection:—
Take of—
Oxide of zinc

.

.

Confection of roses

.

. 4 0 grains,

.

a sufficient quantity

t o make a mass.
Divide into twenty pills.
One is to be taken, three times a day, after each meal.

When the stomach is much irritated, the
following pills may be taken for a while,
instead of oxide of zinc:-—

380

A PHYSICIAN'S COUNSELS TO WOMAN".

Take of—
Subcarbonate of bismuth . 40 grains,
Confection of roses . a sufficient quantity
to make a mass.
Divide into twenty pills.
One three times a day, after meals.

A combination of bromide of potassium
and bromide of ammonium is very serviceable when the nervous system is irritated, but of no benefit when there is
exhaustion of the nerve force :—
Take of—
Bromide of potassium . 3 drachms,
Bromide of ammonium . 2 drachms,
Cinnamon water
. . .
4 fluidounces.
Mix.
Dose, a dessertspoonful (two teaspoonfuls) three times
a day.

"When there is much flatulence (wind in
the bowels), the following is of advantage:—
Take of—
Aromatic powder . .
Carbonate of soda . .
Tincture of cinnamon
Peppermint water . . .
Syrup of ginger
, .
Mix.
Pose, a tablespoonful,

, 6 0 grains,
. 30 grains,
. -J- fluidounce,
2 fluidounces,
. 1J fluidoujice,

WOMAN nsr DISEASE.

381

In the treatment of nervous headache
there are three main points which should
be remembered: i. e., that diet is of the
chief importance in the simple nervous
headache; exercise in hysterical cases;
medicine in those headaches which depend
on extreme exhaustion.
The diet should be proportioned to the
amount of exercise taken. The meals
should be regular, everything but the
plainest dishes being avoided. All rich
pastry, fat meats, and condiments must be
avoided. Exposure to cold and damp, or
the risk of wet feet, should be guarded
against, especially during or near the
monthly periods. The hours should be
regular, and though cheerful society or
amusements, that divert without exciting
the mind, are to be commended, yet even
these must be pursued with moderation, lest
" t h e toiling pleasure sicken into pain."
All enervating habits are to be broken
through. Sea-bathing is very beneficial,
or cold sponging of the surface of the body;
pr the shower bath, when the progress

382

A P H Y S I C I A N ' S COUNSELS TO WOMAN.

towards recovery is somewhat advanced,
for it can seldom be borne before. This
free use of cold water is especially advantageous in hysterical cases. It acts as a
>tonic; and, if combined with regular and
brisk exercise and careful diet, will often
suffice to move the hysteric tendency, without the use of medicine, for which the
natural mineral waters may often be substituted with advantage.
In cases of- headache clearly traceable to
debility or exhaustion, the first thing is, of
course, to remove the drain on the system
that has so enfeebled the frame. The diet
should be in the highest degree nutritious.
The temperature of the body should be
carefully maintained by judicious clothing.
Any undue exertion or excitement must be
avoided. Removal into the country, especially to the native air, or to a warm spot
at the sea-side, is often almost magical in
its effects. The tonics wre mentioned, in
speaking of "Poverty of the Blood," are
all beneficial. Care must be taken not to
take too large a dose of any tonic at first,

WOMAK Etf DISEASE.

383

for the digestion in nervous persons being
delicate, it may produce a sensation of
tightness across the forehead, a tendency to
costiveness, and a sense of fulness and
irritation of the whole body. Commence,
therefore, with smaller doses, and milder
tonics, and increase the strength as the
system becomes better able to bear their
action.

A T length we draw near to the end of
our work. The Counsels which we had to
impart to the other sex are now concluded.
They are drawn from a wide experience of
suffering and sickness; they are culled from
the lengthy works of professional teachers;
they have been carefully phrased in such
terms that no one can misunderstand them.
I t now remains for them to be conned and
heeded.
"We have addressed the delicate girl at
the hour when her constitution is forming,
and when she is laying up for herself either
that strength which is to support her under
the trials of maturity, and the assaults of
years, or else that frailty which is to render
her a care to those around her, and a trouble
to herself.
S3
( 385 )

386

PARTING WORDS.

W e haye admonished her who has as*
sumed the fillet of the matron, and solemnly
yowed to fulfil the responsible duties of
the wife and mother. She now knows the
risks to which she is exposed, and with
them the precautions which will diminish
these risks to the utmost. She who, haying
passed the period of childlessness, has upon
her mind the welfare of other and more
tender liyes, has learned in what way she
can insure them prosperous and happy
years to the extent of her human ability.
The changes which mark the era of the
departure of the maternal power haye been
chronicled, and their gravity estimated.
Finally, turning aside from these events,
which take place, as it were, in the natural
and normal life of every female, we have
laid particular stress on the peculiar diseases to which woman is subject. "We
have described them with such minuteness
that no one can fail to recognize them; we
have pointed out the deleterious influence"
they often exert on the well-being of the
whole frame; we have dilated on the ease

PARTING WORDS.

387

with which they frequently may be prevented; and lastly, we have called attention to the methods by which they can be
relieved and, in cases, cured by simple
means within the reach of every one.
Such has been the ground over which
the reader has passed in our company.
That the information conveyed has been
conscientiously brought forward, we feel j
that it will be carefully applied, we hope.
In such case, the sad spectacles of women,
ignorant and unfitted for their destined
duties, and seeking to shirk them by
unlawful means, will diminish. And we
may look forward to the time when, once
again, like the mother of the Gracchi, the
wife and mother of our own country will
proudly bring forward her many sons and
daughters, as the most highly prized jewels
in her cabinet of treasures, and the antique
virtues will return to our hearts and homes.

nbtx.
A.
PAGE

Abortion, the crime of

150

the production of, a cause of female diseases

2?9

Accidents to children which do not require the
physician's care

249

Age of bride and groom, proper difference in the

9T

of the child, when it may have other food «
than milk

.

.

.

.

.

.

23T

of parents, effect of, on sex of the children
Amount of milk the infant needs
Animal and spiritual love .

.

.
.

.
.

139
. 223
. 10T

Astringent vaginal injections, receipts for .

.336

B.
Beautiful children, can we have them at will? . 120
Bed and its coverings

114

33*

( 389 )

390

INDEX.
PAGE

Blood, how to examine the condition of the
poverty of the

340

Burns and scalds in childhood •

252

C.
Causes of disease in woman
Change of life, the

2*6
81

the age of decline

82

its diseases .

85

its hygiene .

92

its signs

83

Changes in the milk, means of recognizing

234

Child-bearing, a preventive of female diseases

286

Chills and fever during pregnancy

193

Chlorosis

35

Confinement, how to learn the date of

200

Constitution and temperament, influence of, on
the mother's milk

232

Consumption, how to prevent

44

Corset, the abuses of the

.

45

a mother's letter on the

4f

391

INDBX.

PAGE

Cooling vaginal injections, receipts for

.

.336

Counsel to sterile wives

327

Cousins, should the marriage of, be forbidden ?

100

D.

Date of confinement, how to learn the

.

. 200

Deodorizing vaginal injections, receipts for

. 337

Desire, the indulgence of

Ill

Dickson, Dr. Samuel H., his views on the marriage of cousins
Disease, how affected by pregnancy .

103
.

.191

Diseases of childhood, the rOle of the mother in

255

of teething

263

in woman

275

Dislocations, in children, the first cares in

. 254

Disposition, woman's

21

Distinction of the sexes, conclusion regarding
the

26

Diverse influence of fathers and mothers .

. 128

Dress, folly in, a cause of female diseases .

.276

Dressing of small wounds in children

.251

.

392

INDEX,

E.
PAGE

Early matrimony, dangers of

13

Emotion, influence of, on the milk

229

Excess of milk, treatment of

236

Experiences, the first .

110

F.
Families, the limitation of

146

Favorinus, on the moral obligation of the mother
to nurse her own child
Female diseases

.

.

205

.

.

215

causes of

216

prevention of

280

mortality contrasted with male
Feminine attributes, the

15

Food, influence of mother's, upon her milk
.

224
239

prop4er for infants
Form, woman's

23

.

.

.

Fractures in children, the first cares in

16
254

IJSTDEX.

393

G.
PAGE

Gout and rheumatism, causes of painful periods
in women, when most frequent

.

292

.

. 8 9

Green-sickness

35

H.

Hammond, Dr. Wm. A., on the influence of
mother's milk over child .

.

.

.230

on mother's marks

Ill

Hair, woman's, how it differs from man's .

.

Headaches

It
357

Health and peculiar diseases, woman's

.

.

24

culture, systematic, a means of preventing
female diseases

282

Height and weight, differences in, between
the sexes

17

Hidden sin, the

51

Hippocrates, on mother's marks

.

.

How soon after birtli should the mother give the
breast?

.170
215

394

INDEX,

How often during the day ought the child nurse
Hygiene of puberty

220
40

of the infant before weaning

.

.

. 242

Hygienic facts and rules relative to nursing

. 213

Hysteria

38

L
Imprudences during the monthly period, a cause
of female diseases

.

. 2T8

Inability to suckle, reasons of .

.

216

Indulgence, the, of desire .

.

Ill

Infant hygiene before weaning

. 242

the air it breathes
the clothing it wears

.

.
.

243
248

. 245
its temperature

.

.m

.

246

. 24T
. 238
Infertility in marriage, the causes of

.

320

Influence of emotion on the milk

.

229

of the marital relation on the milk

.

226

of the monthly sickness upon the milk

.

225

395

INDEX.

PAGE

Influence of mother's food upon her milk .

224

of the mother's mind on the unborn child

no

of pregnancy on the milk

228

.

Inheritance

116

beauty of form and features inherited

120

diseases inherited

131

different forms of

11?

intellectual qualities inherited

121

moral qualities inherited

130

muscular and vital powers inherited

124

physical peculiarities inherited

118

.

Injections, vaginal, how to make and use

334

astringent, receipts for

336

cooling, receipts for

336

deodorizing, receipts for

337

soothing, receipts for .

335

Iron, receipts for, in the treatment of debility . 346
Is it necessary at night to give the breast so
often as in the daytime ? .

221

K.
Knowledge, importance of, to mothers

203

396

IHDEX.

PAGE

Late matrimony, the dangers of

.

i

. 1 5

Laws, the, of marriage

6T

Lead-poisoning during pregnancy

.

.

.194

LeVy, Dr. Michael, on the influence of pregnancy
over female health and beauty .

.

Life, average duration of, with woman

.

.182
.

23

Longevity, woman's

23

Love, animal and spiritual

.

.

.

.101

Marital relation, influence of, on the milk .

. 226

M.

relations during pregnancy .

.

.

Marriage, a preventive of female diseases

.199
. 285

the laws of .

61

the age of

69

May and December, the union of

.

.

. 9 8

Measles, during pregnancy

.

.

.194

.

Medicines for children, useless and dangerous,
forms of .

.

.

.

.

.

, 256

397

INDEX.

PAGE

Meigs, Dr. Chas., a case reported by .

.

• 313

Monthly change, the

55

its duration and amount

.

.

. 5 9

its hygiene

60

its nature

56

sickness, influence of, upon the milk .

. 225

Morning sickness of pregnancy, treatment of . 195
Mortality, female, contrasted with male

.

.

Mother, the wife a

23
203

Mott, Dr. Valentine, on mother's marks

.

.115

Muscular system of girls and boys contrasted .

16

Music, influence of, on young girls

32

.

.

.

N.
Napheys, Dr» George H., his views on tne marriage of cousins

.

interesting case reported by

.

.
.

.101

.

.141

on criminal abortion

151

on mother's marks

1?2

Necker-Saussure, Madame, her remark upon
woman

15

Neglect of fresh air and exercise, a cause of
female diseases

*

277

398

INDEX.
PAGE

Nervous exrcitement, a cause of female diseases

218
. 370

headache

.

Neuralgia, painful periods due to
.

Neuralgic pains

289
.352

.

66

difference between, and puberty .

.

66

its period

.

67

Opium, danger of its administration to children

258

Painful periods .

288

Nubility

0.

due to neuralgia
due to gout and rheumatism

289
.

•

. 292

due to congestion

294

due to obstruction

296

Parents, what they transmit to their offspring . 116
Parting words
Passion, how to check bursts of, in children

385
. 252

399

INDEX.

PAGE

Perils of pregnancy

188

of womanhood and manhood compared

.

25

P l ^ s i c a l condition of parents, effects of, on the
sex of the children

142

Position, the best in which t o nurse .

.

.219

Poverty of the blood
Precautions, during the

340
monthly

periods,

means of preventing female diseases
in giving the breast

.

.

a
.

.

283
.216

Pregnancy, the hygiene of

159

the nervous system during pregnancy
influence of^ on the milk

.

.

.
.

influence of, on the intellectual faculties

169
.228

.

185

is it useful or hurtful to female health and
beauty?

182

perils of

188

precautions during

180

a preventive of female diseases
signs and symptoms of
Preliminaries of marriage, the
Prevention of disease in woman
Profuse periods

Puberty

.

hygiene of

.

.

.
.

.

.286
.

.
.

154
. 9 6

.

280
300

treatment of
!

.

.

301
.•

28
40

400
PAGE

Puberty, its perils

33

signs of

29

when it comes

.

.

.

.

, 3 0

Puerperal mania.

.

.

.

.

{

.189

Pulse, the female

.

.

.

.

.

. 1 9

.

.

.

.252

Remedies for the troubles of teething

.

26 7

Q.
Quieting children, means of

R.

R&nusat, Madame de, the opinion of, on early
marriages

75

Respiration, the female

19

S.
Scantiness of milk, treatment of

•

•

• 236

Scanty and suppressed periods .

.

*

.304

Scarlet fever> during pregnancy

.

.

. 193

401

INDEX.

PAGE

Scrofulous constitution, the

.

.

.

.

269

treatment of scrofula .

.

-

.

.211

Sex, the voluntary production of

.

,

.135

Sick headache

358

causes of

363

treatment of

363

Signs and symptoms of pregnancy

.

.

.154

Sin^ the hidden
Single life, the

51
.

.

.

.

.

.

. 1 1

Size of family influenced by age of marriage

. 321

Skeleton, the feminine

16

Skin diseases during pregnancy

.

.
.

woman's, how it differs from man's

.194
.

11

Sleeping apartment, the

112

Slight accidents, what the mother should do in

249

Smallpox during pregnancy

.

.

.

.193

Small wounds and cuts, treatment of, in children
Soaps, injurious medicated

.

.

Social arithmetic, the, of the sexes

.

.

.

Soothing vaginal injections, receipts for
Statistics of life, woman's .

.

.

.

Sterility in marriage

.260
.

.

251
22

. 335
22
319

Strength, woman's, contrasted with man's
34*

18

402

INDEX.

T.
PAGE

Teeth, the order of, the appearance of

.

.

Teething, diseases and dangers of
Temperament, the feminine

.

264
263

.

.

. 2 0

Temporary sterility, periods of .

.

.

.

Thury, Prof., the theory of

.

.

.

.136

Too much or too little milk

.-

.

.

.236

.

.

.

Twins, how to foretell

.

,

323

15T

W.
Weight and height, difference in, between the
sexes

IT

W h a t the mother needs to fit her to nurse her
child
makes nursing difficult

209
.

.

.

.211

.

.116

forbids nursing

212

parents transmit to their offspring .

the mother should do in slight accidents
makes woman
Which sex is the more numerous

.

249
15

.

.

.144

INDEX.

403
PAGE

White

flowing

331

cause of

332

treatment of

333

Who should not marry

99

Wife, woman a
Woman, what makes
Woman's diseases

10?
15
2?5

Womb, rheumatic and neuralgic pains in .

.352

Wounds and cuts, children's, treatment of

. 251

The following are a few of the many commendations received : —
From W. S. Tyler, D.D. LL.D., Amherst College.
* I seldom read these books of special medical counsels to men or women,
children or youth. It is the chosen field of quackery. But there is no
quackery in Dr. Taylor's l Counsels to Woman,' which you have recently published. It is based on sound physiological and pathological
principles, written in a clear and simple style, in good taste and with
rare good sense, and remarkably fitted to promote the health and happiness of women who will read and heed its. counsels."
1

From Rev. E. M. Parsons, Columbus Avenue Church, Boston, Mass.
" I have been deeply interested in the reading of the book. It is one
that will have wide and quick currency wherever offered, and will justly
be accepted as a most useful contribution on the subject treated. There
is so much ignorance among the educated upon this subject (from the
impression morbidly prevailing that such knowledge is indelicate), that
many lives are every year sacrificed to the delusion. Dr. Taylor's work
will dispel this foolish prejudice. Every thing pertaining to the physical
health of woman is treated with such purity andplainness, that the most
timid and delicate may read and understand without a fear or a blush."
From the Medical and Surgical Reporter, Philadelphia, July 8, 1871.
" ' A PHYSICIAN'S COUNSELS TO WOMAN' is carefully written, and

contains a large store of useful information. The last section treats of
the prevention and home treatment of the diseases of women, and this,
to our mind, is decidedly the most interesting part of the work. It is the
only successful attempt we know of to explain in popular language the
varieties and treatment of female complaints. The choice of language
is excellent, being at once perspicuous, lucid, and accurate. The directions will be approved by every physician; and though we are by no
means in favor of 'every man his own doctor,' and still less of * every
woman her own doctoress,' no one will question the wisdom of affording
to the weaker sex all the assistance possible to render them stronger and
more able and more willing than they now are to bear their heavy yet
unavoidable burdens.'"
From Thos. Beven, M.D., Prof. Hygiene and Clinical Medicine in Chicago Medical College.
" I have carefully read Dr. Taylor's book, ' A Physician's Counsels to
Woman,' and quite unhesitatingly commend it to the public, as placing
before them, in a readable style, much useful information on the subjects
treated. The author seems a sensible man, and gives good guidance in
the matter of sexual and maternal relations.
" I do not notice any thing in the volume before me that the gospel of
sound physiology would not fairly approve, and think it the best treatise
on the topics discussed yet published."

From C. N. Fowler, M.D., Youngstown, 0.
The "Counsels to Woman," by W. G. Taylor, contains information
adapted to the wants of ladies generally. To read and practise the
suggestions of the author, implies " Prolonged life and abbreviated
Doctor's bills."
From Ira D. Hopkins, M.D., Utica, N. Y.
Dr. Taylor's treatise, "A Physician's Counsels to Woman," I have
read with care and pleasure. The theme which he has chosen is of the
utmost importance to all women. I know of no treatise upon this subject of equal merit. The information it contains should be familiar to
every woman. This excellent work ought to find its way into every
family; for it is an incontrovertible fact that many of the diseases of
women are preventable, and that their frequent occurrence depends
upon the ignorance concerning all that relates to those very functions
by which they are constituted women.
From John D. mil, M.D., Buffalo, N. Y.
Dr. Taylor's "Physician's Counsels to Woman" is a work which I
can most cheerfully commend to those for whose benefit it was written.
The language is unobjectionable, and the instruction of great value to
woman.
From "Buffalo Express."
This is the work of a competent author upon a somewhat delicate,
yet confessedly important, subject, and is treated in a manner that commends it to the attention of those to whom it is addressed. "Know
thyself" is an injunction too little heeded; and there is manifestly a
great want of correct knowledge of their own nature on the part of the
women of America, which this work seems admirably adapted to
supply.
From Rev. G. W. Heacock, D.D.
I have looked over the volume " A Physician's Counsels to Woman,"
and regard it as a useful book.
It contains much valuable information and direction how to avoid
manj of the common ills of woman's life.
From Rev. Samuel Wolcott, D.D., Cleveland, 0.
This book discusses topics which it is difficult to handle with delicacy;
but in this respect it is unobjectionable. It aims to present the facts of
science in relation to vital matters, respecting which there is profound
ignorance.
These conclusions ought to be known: and the possession of the
knowledge by the parties most interested in it cannot fail to conduce
to the health both of mothers and their offspring.

From. Rev. A. T. Chester, D.D., Buffalo, N, Y.
I have no hesitation in commending it as eminently practical and
philosophical, and calculated to give sound instruction upon the important topics of which it treats. It can be read with great profit by
women, whether married or unmarried; and, were its lessons of wisdom
heeded, would add greatly to the comfort and happiness of the female
sex.
From J. F. Miner, M.D., Editor Buffalo Medical and Surgical
Dean Buffalo Medical College.

Journal,

A careful examination of this book convinces me that it can be read
by every woman, to her instruction and advantage. Its style is remarkably simple, and its manner unexceptionable. Its substance evinces
professional knowledge and extensive study. Those curious to know
themselves can obtain the truth in many things by its perusal.

From S. W. Wetmore M.D., Prof, of Descriptive and Surgical
University of Wooster, Cleveland, Ohio.

Anatomy,

I have just finished reading Dr. Taylor's new work entitled " Counsels to Woman," and take no little pleasure in commending it to the
public; for no reasoning mind can fail to be benefited and edified by its
careful perusal. The author appears to have had experience as a physician, a teacher, and a writer, and treats delicate subjects so delicately,
so genteelly, yet so comprehensively, that the most fastidious cannot well
be captious. It is a great desideratum; and I trust the reading world
will find it of great utility, the "erring o n e " a work of discipline and
correction, and the young wife and mother, a physician's hand-book,
correct in its suggestions and useful in emergency.

From Rev. Alexander Dick, Buffalo, N. Y.
This book is written with care and good judgment, in the language of
every-day life. It is replete with important instruction and excellent
advice. It fully meets its object, and should be in the hands of every
wife and mother.
From Rev. D. H. Muller, Pastor Grace M. E. Church, Buffalo, N. Y.
The ignorance prevailing on subjects treated justifies the publication
of this book. False modesty should not reject the light here given; for
the darkness this book seeks to disperse is akin to sin. I cheerfully
commend it because of the importance of its expositions and the inoffensive and comprehensive style- of treatment. To the women who
are wives and mothers, it will be invaluable; and judiciously placed in
the hands of maidens, it will be wisely instructive.