Tokology

The pregnant woman breathes for two. While pure air is desirable for all persons under every condition, it is doubly so for her. Nothing is more essential to the healthful nourishment of the fetus than that the blood be thoroughly oxygenated. Otherwise the child may be weak and feeble, and liable to disease.

Everywhere, in railroad cars, streets, shops, public halls and dwelling houses, there is foul air—air that is loaded with exhalations from the lungs, emanations from the body, and is often vitiated by tobacco and alcohol. Architects, builders and occupants pay but little attention to ventilation. The most important purpose of a building is evidently to keep the heat in during the winter, and keep it out in the summer.

With every breath a person exhales quite a large proportion of carbonic gas, which is a deadly poison, and at the same time inhales the life-giving oxygen, constantly exhausting the supply. Yet the great fear of drafts, as well as need of economizing heat, causes most persons to breathe the same air over and over again. Gases that are inimical to health and life are constantly inhaled. If one breathed deeply and only pure air it would atone for violation of many other physiological laws. The proof of this is seen in the effects of a hunter’s or a pioneer’s life.

The following from the Lancet gives some practical ideas upon the ventilation of bedrooms:

“If a man were deliberately to shut himself for some six or eight hours daily in a stuffy room, with closed doors and windows (the doors not being open even to change the air during the period of incarceration) and were then to complain of headache and debility, he would justly be told that his own want of intelligent foresight was the cause of his suffering. Nevertheless, the great mass of people do this every night of their lives, with no thought of their imprudence.

“There are few bedrooms in which it is perfectly safe to pass the night without something more than ordinary precautions to secure an inflow of fresh air. Every sleeping apartment should, of course, have a fireplace with an open chimney, and in cold weather it is well if the grate contains a small fire, at least enough to create an upward current to carry off the vitiated air of the room. In all such cases, however, when a fire is used, it is necessary to see that the air drawn into the room comes from the outside of the house.

“Summer and winter, with or without the use of fires, it is well to have a free ingress for pure air. This should be the ventilator’s first concern. Foul air will find an exit if pure air is admitted in sufficient quantity, but it is not certain that pure air will not also be drawn away. So far as sleeping rooms are concerned it is wise to let in the air from without. The aim must be to accomplish the object without causing a great fall of temperature. The windows may be drawn down an inch or two at the top with advantage, and a fold of muslin will form a ‘ventilator’ to take off the feeling of draft. This with an open fireplace will generally suffice, and produce no unpleasant consequences, even when the weather is cold.”

While the open fireplace, ’tis true, gives splendid ventilation, at the present price of fuel it is a luxury within the reach of few. Yet, taking into consideration how effectually it “slams the door on the doctor’s nose,” it is an economical investment.

Recently there have been open stoves constructed on a new principle, that are very desirable. They are cheerful and decorative in appearance, equal to other stoves for cleanliness, economical of heat, and what is so needful in every dwelling, furnish a constant change of air—are in themselves ventilators.

One building a new house can easily have ventilation by making a dry well of good dimensions in the yard and filling it with coarse charcoal. There should be an air-shaft leading to it and one from it into the house. The air from it must go directly to the furnace. It should be so constructed that water will drip slowly through the charcoal. In this way the moisture and charcoal purify the outside air, freeing it from dust and smoke, while the pit cools it in the summer, and modifies the temperature in the winter. Better air is obtained than if let in by windows and doors.

The house should have flues for the escape of impure gases. Common grates will answer the purpose. An abundance of pure air constantly supplied.

In regard to fresh air in sleeping rooms, Dr. James H. Jackson says: “There appears to be a want of a clear understanding of the difference between the terms cold air and pure air, and many persons do not seem to comprehend that the air of a room may be both pure and warm. They seem not to know that the temperature does not affect the purity of the air so long as there is opportunity for proper circulation. Pure air is not necessarily cold, nor is cold air always pure.

“In order to have good ventilation, provision should always be made for a circulation of air. It is not sufficient to provide an entrance for outside air; exit through an opposite door or window or flue should also be secured. A good way to do this is to let down a window two or three inches at the top, and the air thus let in becomes somewhat warmed by the heat which rises. Here then you have warm fresh air. Now bad air, being loaded with carbonic acid gas, sinks to the bottom of the room. Some way must therefore be provided for its escape. A transom near the bottom of the door would answer the purpose; an open fireplace furnishes an outlet for impure air, or if both these are wanting, the door may be left slightly ajar, or a simple or inexpensive ventilator may be made by fitting into the stove-pipe, above its damper, another piece of pipe that shall be cut off within two inches of the floor; this pipe also to be provided with a damper which can be opened at will. A very effective draft is thus created near the floor, which takes all foul air up into the chimney.

“I do not approve, on the contrary I condemn the habit of sleeping, even in the coldest weather, in a small room, windows closed, weather strips on the doors and sashes, and every possible device used to keep out the outside air. In such a room one must necessarily respire the same air many times, and the fact that it is cold does not make it the less injurious. Nature throws off by the breathing process certain poisonous elements which to re-breathe and re-absorb is most pernicious. No one who is not robust should sleep in a room so cold that the windows and doors must all be closed to keep warm. A much more healthful way is to have the temperature of the sleeping room the same as that of the living room; under no circumstances do I deem it advisable for an invalid to sleep in a room that can not have pure, warm air.

“Remember that the important point is circulation, and that this may be had without letting in a great volume of cold air.”

A small amount of outside air can be let into a room by raising the window four or five inches and fitting a board at the bottom. There is a space left between the sashes that allows some air to enter. This, however, is not sufficient in a small bedroom, unless for the coldest weather. “The only objection to a draft is, that the draft is generally not strong enough. An influx of fresh air into a room is a ray of light into darkness, a messenger of Vishnu visiting an abode of the lost.” Even the weak and enfeebled can accustom themselves to plenty of pure air, and also to drafts.

To test the condition of a sleeping room, leave it closed in the morning, go into the fresh air for ten or fifteen minutes, return to the room, and if the air seems less pure than the outside air the ventilation is imperfect. The nose is a sentinel to warn us of danger. It should be educated to tell the condition of the air we breathe. What a benefit to mankind if some one would invent a gauge to determine the amount of impurities in the air, as heat is tested by a thermometer. Would it not on many occasions give us startling revelations?

To aid in improving the air of a house, and especially of a sleeping room, we have a safe, efficient and economical means in the use of unslaked lime and charcoal. A small basket of these should be placed in every invalid’s room, or where children sleep, for the purpose of absorbing the carbonic acid gas of the lungs, and the effluvium of the human body.

The discovery of this simple method is attributed to Dr. Bonizzardi, of Italy. He claims, “That people die much more rapidly through the deleterious effects of miasma and carbonic acid gas than by the want of oxygen in the air. To prove his theory, he put three fowls on a perfectly even floor, under three glass cases, and placed in the case containing the first bird nothing but the fowl, in the second one a piece of unslaked lime, while the third contained some pieces of charcoal. In half an hour after the birds were confined he examined them, and found that the bird having neither lime nor charcoal was dead, that the one in the second case containing the unslaked lime was barely alive, while the bird in the case containing charcoal was quite active, and showed no sign of suffering.

“The first fowl, having neither lime to absorb the carbonic acid gas of the lungs, nor charcoal to collect on its surface the effluvium of the surrounding air, died of blood poisoning, produced solely by the action of the carbonic acid expelled from the lungs.

“The fowl that was supplied with the lime was only quite ill, because the lime had removed one of the causes of death by absorbing the carbonic acid gas; while the bird confined in the case containing the charcoal was only slightly indisposed or ill, because the charcoal absorbed all the exhalations of the lungs and body.

“These experiments prove that people die far more quickly from the deleterious action of bodily exhalations than from any deficiency of oxygen in the air. The moral of these experiments is: That a small basket of charcoal should be placed in the room of every invalid, in order that it may absorb the carbonic acid gas floating in the air, and thus render the atmosphere purer and more wholesome.”

REST.

A daily siesta ought to be taken by the pregnant woman. Even if she feels well and is not accustomed to rest during the day, it would be far better for her to take it regularly. She should plan for it as for any other duty, and will gain by the ability to accomplish more.

Near noon is the best time for resting; let it follow the bath. She is then refreshed for her dinner and afternoon occupations. This habit cannot be too religiously observed. If she rests better alone, she should go by herself, and never be disturbed. Some people can sleep better to lie down where others are talking or reading. The hum of voices quiets them by diverting their own thoughts. I knew one mother that could only get a nap in the daytime, even if she had been deprived of much sleep, by lying down in the room where her children were playing. Nothing they could do, except to quarrel, would disturb her. They could laugh, sing, scream and jump—she would sleep soundly, but if one wrangling word passed between them she was instantly aroused.

Do not acquire the habit of sleeping in a chair, more speedy restoration is given by lying flat upon the back, without a pillow.

RECAPITULATION.

To give a woman the greatest immunity from suffering during pregnancy, prepare her for a safe and comparatively easy delivery, and insure a speedy recovery, all hygienic conditions must be observed.

The dress must give:

1. Freedom of movements;

2. No pressure upon any part of the body;

3. No more weight than is essential for warmth, and both weight and warmth evenly distributed.

These requirements necessitate looseness, lightness and warmth, which can be obtained from the union under-clothes, a princess skirt and dress, with a shoe that allows full development and use of the foot. While decoration and elegance are desirable, they should not sacrifice comfort and convenience.

Let the diet be light, plain and nutritious. Avoid fats and sweets, relying mainly upon fruits and grains that contain little of the mineral salts. By this diet bilious and inflammatory conditions are overcome, the development of bone in the fetus lessened, and muscles necessary in labor nourished and strengthened.

Exercise should be sufficient and of such a character as will bring into action gently every muscle of the body; but must particularly develop the muscles of the trunk, abdomen and groin, that are specially called into action in labor. Exercise, taken faithfully and systematically, more than any other means assists assimilative processes and stimulates the organs of excretion to healthy action.

Bathing must be frequent and regular. Unless in special conditions the best results are obtained from tepid or cold bathing which invigorates the system, and overcomes nervousness. The sitz-bath is the best therapeutic and hygienic measure within the reach of the pregnant woman.

Therefore, to establish conditions which will overcome many previous infractions of law, dress naturally and physiologically; live much of the time out of doors; have abundance of fresh air in the house; let exercise be sufficient and systematic; pursue a diet of fruit, rice and vegetables; regular rest must be faithfully taken; abstain from the sexual relation. To those who will commit themselves to this course of life, patiently and persistently carrying it out through the period of gestation, the possibilities of attaining a healthy, natural, painless parturition will be remarkably increased.

If the first experiment should not result in a painless labor, it, without doubt, will prove the beginning of sound health. Persisted in through years of married life, the ultimate result will be more and more closely approximated, while there will be less danger of post partum diseases; and better and more vigorous children will be produced.

Then pregnancy by every true woman will be desired, and instead of being a period of disease, suffering and direful forebodings, will become a period of health, exalted pleasure and holiest anticipations. Motherhood will be deemed the choicest of earth’s blessings; women will rejoice in a glad maternity, and for any self-denial will be compensated by healthy, happy, buoyant, grateful children.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton, in a lecture to ladies, thus strongly states her views regarding maternity and painless parturition: “We must educate our daughters to think that motherhood is grand, and that God never cursed it. That the curse, if it be one, may be rolled off, as man has rolled away that of labor; as it has been rolled from the descendants of Ham. My mission among women is to preach this new gospel. If you suffer, it is not because you are cursed of God, but because you violate his laws. What an incubus it would take from woman could she be educated to know that the pains of maternity are no curse upon her kind. We know that among the Indians the squaws do not suffer in childbirth. They will step aside from the ranks, even on the march, and return in a short time bearing with them the new-born child. What an absurdity, then, to suppose that only enlightened Christian women are cursed.

“But one word of fact is worth a volume of philosophy; let me give you some of my own experience. I am the mother of seven children. My girlhood was spent mostly in the open air. I early imbibed the idea that a girl is just as good as a boy, and I carried it out. I would walk five miles before breakfast, or ride ten on horseback. After I was married, I wore my clothes sensibly. Their weight hung entirely on my shoulders. I never compressed my body out of its natural shape. When my first four children were born, I suffered very little. I then made up my mind that it was totally unnecessary for me to suffer at all; so I dressed lightly, walked every day, lived as much as possible in the open air, ate no condiments, and took proper care of myself. The night before the birth of the child I walked three miles. The child was born without a particle of pain. I bathed it and dressed it myself, and it weighed ten and one-half pounds. The same day I dined with the family. Everybody said I would surely die, but I never had a moment’s inconvenience from it. I know this is not being delicate and refined, but if you would be vigorous and healthy, in spite of the diseases of your ancestors, and your own previous disregard of nature’s laws, try it.”

Every woman can not attain to as perfect health as Mrs. Stanton, for all have not as good conditions of heredity, nor did all learn early that “A girl is as good as a boy.” Mothers in earnest for the best good of their children, will by constant purpose and deliberate effort, approximate the high standard she established, and emulate her example in using the means to enhance desired results.