What Women Should Know/Chapter 10

Nausea, or "Morning-Sickness."—Usually the first symptom of pregnancy is nausea, commonly called "morning-sickness." Why it should ever have received this latter name is more than I have been able to determine. Nausea is liable to be felt by a pregnant woman at any and all hours of the day and night. It may come immediately upon waking, or it may delay its appearance until the exertion of rising and dressing. Again, it may assume its worst features after retirement at night. It may come on upon the least activity and be allayed by positive quiet. Or, on the contrary, it may be scarcely felt while the woman is actively employed, and return in full force as soon as, from weariness, she feels impelled to lie down to rest. I knew a woman who experienced the latter phase of the disorder. She felt tolerably well while upon her feet, or even while busy at work in a sitting posture. But the moment she attempted to lie down in the daytime, the dreaded nausea seized her, and she was forced to arise at once. No matter how weary she was, it seemed as though she was not to be allowed a moment's rest.

​Nausea Aggravated by the Sight of Food.—There are as many phases of this complaint as there are individuals, and each one's experience frequently differs at different times. There is one symptom which all exhibit in a greater or less degree, and that is that the nausea is greatly aggravated at the sight and smell of food. Sometimes it is only special articles which excite this disgust and sickness. I think all workingwomen who have become mothers will testify that their greatest, most unendurable I sufferings were whilst preparing the family meals.

I wonder that those physicians who have claimed to give the matter attention, and have propounded such wise theories to the world regarding what women can and what they cannot do at such times, do not leave their theorizing for a brief time, and deal with absolute facts. They would soon find ample reason to declare that, when in a certain condition, women should be exempt from all household labor, as it tends to greatly aggravate their sufferings. There is no denying this. I am not prepared to suggest any better manner of conducting domestic affairs than the present one; still, it is an incontrovertible fact that there is scarcely any department of active housekeeping which does not only aggravate the sufferings of a pregnant woman, but is actually injurious to her in a greater or less degree. Yet many physicians who have made their views public persist in condemning women more closely than ever at such times to a round of domestic duties, and declare them to be ​totally unfit, both physically and mentally, for occupation of other than a domestic character.

Duty of a Husband to Assist His Wife.—As I have already said, I do not propose to take women out of the kitchen, so long as I can suggest no efficient substitute for them there. But if a husband expects his wife to bear her burden patiently, and even cheerfully, he must not shrink from his, which is, in this case, to lighten hers as much as possible. If his means permit, he should engage her ample help in the kitchen, so that when her comfort requires it she can keep clear of its sights and smells. If he cannot do this, then he should not hesitate to help her himself, so far as he is competent and his business will allow. Even if he is a mechanic, and goes to and from his work at stated hours, there is nothing to prevent him from doing many a little thing to lighten his wife's cares and sufferings. Instead of disgrace attaching to him from this, as most men seem to feel there does, it will redound greatly to his credit and honor.

I have known men who, during their wives' sickness, in addition to their own work, took the whole round of household duties into their hands and performed it well, and, what was most remarkable, with extreme neatness. And these men lost nothing in their wives' esteem. I never saw husbands more loved, honored and revered—love, honor and reverence which I thought they well deserved.

"Out of Her Sphere."—I can tell a story of a ​man who, to help a sick wife, undertook to do a washing which had been accumulating for five weeks. He began his work at six o'clock in the evening. At nine the clothes were all in the last rinse, the boiler, tubs and all the paraphernalia of washing put away, and the rug which had been spread down on the carpeted floor to preserve the latter from slops showing not the slightest trace of wet. The washing would have been a good day's job for a poor woman to do, and would have utterly exhausted her; while our washerman felt none the worse for wear. I have felt convinced ever since that whenever a woman occupies the wash-tub she is encroaching upon man's sphere, as he can to a washing quite as well as she, and so much more expeditiously, neatly and easily.

It is the Rev. Thomas K. Beecher, I believe, who says a boy's education is never completed until he has been instructed in the rudiments of housework and sewing; nor a girl's until she knows how to harness a horse, and use carpenters' and gardeners' tools with ease and dexterity, with which I fully agree, if it were only for the purpose of rendering each sex more helpful to the other in time of need.

Similarity of "Morning-Sickness" to Sea-Sickness.—I think few men have any realizing idea of the sufferings of this so-called "morning-sickness." All who have suffered from sea-sickness unite in bearing testimony that it is most dreadful. Now, the sickness of a pregnant woman is similar in many respects to sea-sickness, and quite as severe. I have ​felt both, and I think, if the choice were left me, I should prefer the latter to a severe attack of the former, as being of shorter duration, while "morning-sickness" may remain for months, perhaps until the very hour of confinement.

Description of Nausea.—Let men imagine what their sufferings would be, if forced, during an attack of sea-sickness, to prepare a meal three times a day for healthy, hearty appetites, the owners of which expected to see upon the table a variety of food the very sight and smell of which would send them to the door every few moments, gagging and straining until the blood seemed bursting from eyes, ears and nose! But this is no more than prospective mothers daily suffer, and too often the best word of comfort for them is that they "ought not to mind it, for it is all in the order of nature." Poor comfort indeed to the miserable woman, who, in her despondency, often feels that death itself would be welcomed as a relief to her present discomfort!

Nausea may be Relieved.—But I have not dwelt thus at length, upon the suffering produced by nausea, without having, as I confidently believe, some suggestions to offer for its amelioration at least, if not for its perfect cure. No suffering woman need go to a doctor expecting to find relief. I never saw a doctor yet who knew of a cure, or even seemed to care to find one. Knowing it is not a dangerous symptom, doctors regard it in the spirit of philosophy, and advise women to do the same, telling them that "it ​cannot be helped," and that "it won't last for ever." It is so easy to endure the sufferings of another! At the most, they will prescribe drugs, which, to the best of my belief, never do any good.

Nausea Considered a Favorable Symptom in Pregnancy.—I have found that medical men almost invariably agree in considering this so-called "morning-sickness" as a desirable symptom in pregnancy; and one authority which I have consulted on the subject goes so far as to declare that in cases where it is absent it is imperatively necessary to take measures to bring it on, or miscarriage or a dangerous delivery will be the probable result. He quotes in support of his assertion the old proverb, that "a sick pregnancy is a safe one."

Dangers of Plethora.—Plethora seems something much dreaded by physicians, and they look upon a disordered stomach as a safety-valve through which escapes the surplus nourishment, which would otherwise produce plethora. If the woman, however, along with the sickness, does not possess the power of relieving her stomach by vomiting, I do not see where the good is in the sickness, unless we look to indigestion and consequent lack of assimilation as a door of escape from the threatened danger.

Can Plethora and Nausea both be Avoided?—Is it not possible to avoid this dreaded plethora and its train of serious evils in a manner which shall at the same time render the dreadful nausea unnecessary? As a woman who knows what she says, and ​bases her statement upon no theory, but upon actual indisputable facts, and who is ready to argue the question with any number of doubting physicians, I reply, most certainly there is a way so safe, so simple, so easy, that it is—a wonder men, understanding the entire pathology of pregnancy, have not already seen and comprehended it.

I find in a work published nearly fifty years ago—a work which is even yet accepted as authority by medical men, for its sterling common sense if not for its therapeutics—that the author, one of the most celebrated and advanced physicians of his day, actually stumbles upon the truth, yet does not see it.^[1]

​Is Pregnancy a State of Disease or of Health?—The first thing to be considered is whether pregnancy is a natural and healthy state or a state of disease. It seems an insult to nature and to the Creator to imagine that pregnancy was ever intended to be a sickness. It is the legitimate result of a law ordained by nature. If all the conditions are favorable, it ought to be attended with little or no inconvenience. I believe it is safe to declare that all its evil accompaniments are the result, not of direct laws of nature, but of violations of natural law. False states of society, false modes of dress, false habits of life, etc., all contribute to bring suffering at this time, much of which is undoubtedly the result of a wise and kindly ordering of Nature by which she averts more disastrous results. For instance, with these false habits, if it were not for the nausea and vomiting which reduce the system and limit the amount of nutriment supplied to it, the plethoric condition which would follow would most certainly result in abortion or in a dangerous and possibly fatal delivery.

Perfect Health Requisite in Pregnancy.—When pregnancy takes place, the sudden activity of hitherto dormant organs demands a corresponding and sympathetic activity in all the other organs of the body. If any of these organs fail to do their proper duty regularly and efficiently, the whole system be​comes deranged. Thus, while the bile is continually secreted by the blood, if the liver is slow in performing its functions, the bowels will become constipated and the stomach deranged. Whatever in the way of diet or habits tends to increase this secretion and retard its discharge through the proper channels will, of course, augment this derangement and increase the inconvenience which the patient experiences. Consequently, whatever produces a healthy activity of the liver will keep the bowels properly open and relieve the oppression of the stomach.

Condition of Blood in Pregnancy.—Physicians tell us that the blood of a pregnant woman, after standing a short time, usually presents a white or. yellowish coat of coagulating lymph upon the surface, the same as or similar to that found in cases of inflammation. This shows a tendency in pregnancy toward a febrile state; hence, the mode of life which will counteract this tendency will conduce most surely to a condition of health and comfort. I cannot believe that this symptom of inflammation in the blood is a natural and healthful one. I am convinced that it is, like nausea and the other attendant ills of pregnancy, the result of violations of the laws of nature.

Remedies for "Morning-Sickness."—There is neither variety nor efficacy in the remedies usually proposed for morning-sickness. Some authorities pass it over as of too slight importance to require any attempt at alleviation, and even go so far as to recommend that means should be taken, if it is ab​sent, to bring it on. I lose my patience here, and only wish that such writers might have an attack of it from four to nine months in duration. I think after such an event they would view it in a different light. One of the most common remedies suggested is a cup of strong coffee before rising in the morning. But if the woman is herself the only cook of the establishment, as is not infrequently the case, how is she to obtain this cup of coffee before rising? Equally absurd is it to recommend that she shall take a slight breakfast at the same period preparatory to her usual meal. There is one fault which writers on all subjects are prone to commit. When they write, they have only in view the needs and the abilities of the wealthy. They entirely ignore the laboring class-a class in this country as large at least, and as intelligent, as respectable and as worthy of consideration, as any other.

Healthful Pregnancy.—The advice which I would give a pregnant woman is far different from that usually bestowed, and so catholic in its character that women of all stations and ranks in life can benefit by it if they will. There is no necessity for sickness or inconvenience during pregnancy. A woman may be as well, as happy and as capable in the exercise of all her faculties at that time as at any other. She not only may be, but she ought to be; and she is receiving the punishment due to ignorance, indolence and want of self-control if she is not.

Exercise a Preventive of Nausea.—If a wo​man's life has previously been a sedentary one, when she finds herself pregnant, let her change it to one of activity. Let no regard be paid to medical authorities which prescribe more than ordinary quiet. I would not advise violent exertion which might result disastrously; but an exercise which shall stimulate every organ of the body to vigorous and healthful action. If the woman's daily duties seem to prevent this, then it is best to let them go neglected. Her present health and comfort and the health of her future child are of more importance than the usual domestic duties which employ a woman's attention, let writers on domestic affairs say what they may.

Advantages of Out-door Work.—Let the woman take time, if she never did it before, to cultivate a flower, vegetable or fruit garden. If she finds the actual labor too much for her strength,—and, if she is not already accustomed to it, it may be,—let her have her garden all the same, and detail husband, hired man or boy to do the spading, hoeing and raking, while she stands or sits by to give it her constant supervision. She must not go into the house, content in leaving her garden to progress in her absence. We do not care about the garden itself; it is the woman's health that needs cultivating. If she neglects her out-door work, she is a loser in two ways. One way I have already stated, the aim being to bring the system to a condition in which the dreaded nausea shall be no longer a necessity; and every breath of fresh air she breathes, and every bit of out-of-doors ​play-work she does, is a help to her. The other way I shall describe in a future chapter.

She must take as long walks as her strength will allow, and ride as often as circumstances will permit. A little wholesome neglect of her house, and all the duties and objects which it contains, will be found the very best thing in the world for her health. It may require a little effort to make the extra exertion I suggest; and it may at first be attended by disagreeable feelings; but the result will be certain to be a good one.

Indolent Feeling during Pregnancy.—I believe one of the most common symptoms during pregnancy is a disinclination for exertion-a positively lazy feeling, for which one can assign no direct cause. This feeling should be yielded to so far as to allow the woman to take more rest than usual.

Amount of Sleep required in Pregnancy.—A woman in a pregnant condition needs more sleep than in ordinary health. Whatever she may believe in regard to early rising usually, she should now feel no scruples at lying in bed in the morning until a reasonably late hour if she is so inclined. It is useless to mention any hour as a proper time at which she should rise; for what would be an extremely late one for some women would be extremely early for others. The only practical rule is that, if her duties permit, she should allow her morning sleep to continue undisturbed until she wakens rested and refreshed. I am not an advocate for mid-day naps for ​persons ordinarily. People who indulge in them lose the heart out of the day, while they are surprised that they "never find time to accomplish anything." But the pregnant woman will feel better and stronger if she can devote a half hour or hour of each afternoon to sleep. Exercise she must—exercise if possible more than usual; and she needs a corresponding amount of repose. Aside from the prescribed hours of rest, the indolent feeling should be battled against and overcome by the extra exertion I have already described.

Diet of a Pregnant Woman.—And now I come to the consideration of diet, which is a subject still more important. No woman should allow herself to be persuaded or compelled by any one who claims to have a right to influence her—on no better ground perhaps than that of having had a large number of children, and having gone through with dreadful sicknesses and dangerous confinements with them all, and "so, of course, knows all about it"—to eat more than the stomach calls for; to eat at all even if she does not feel so inclined, or to eat anything for which an aversion is felt, on the supposition that the strength must be kept up by strong, hearty food.

Appetite a tolerably Safe Guide.—If the woman is in ordinary health in other respects, her own appetite may be considered a safe and reliable guide in the matter of eating.

"Eating for Two."—Instead of being obliged "to eat for two"—the most common of fallacies—a ​woman requires to eat less during pregnancy than at other times. Nature now insists that she shall take into her stomach no more than she actually requires for her own sustenance and that of the embryo whose existence depends upon her. Whenever more than this is taken, a protest is made against it in the form of nausea. Again, Nature, usually so lenient and forgiving—so slow to punish—when the woman alone is concerned in what she eats, now that the welfare of another being is involved, suddenly becomes simple in her demands and imperative in her requirements.

Fruit Diet.—A few years since I read an article in a health journal in regard to the proper diet of a pregnant woman, the substance of which article has since been embodied in a little volume by Dr. M. L. Holbrook, entitled "Parturition without Pain." A partial trial of the diet prescribed in this book has convinced me that if its requirements were fully complied with, the result might be that pregnancy and childbed, if not entirely devoid of suffering, would be a hundredfold less to be dreaded than now. I advise every woman to get this book and read it for herself. I have not space for a repetition of all the directions concerning diet, but the substance of it is, to avoid all meats unless it be the flesh of young animals, such as lamb, veal or chicken; to avoid also all articles made of wheaten flour, and substitute farina and rice in their place; to live principally on vegetables, and to indulge unsparingly in acid and subacid fruits. To comply fully with all the exactions of the volume referred to ​would require time, trouble and expense beyond the ability of most women. But vegetables and fruit are always to be had; and if one meal in the day is made entirely of fruit, it will save much distress.

Fruit in the place of Medicine.—I have found, in my own experience, a most simple remedy (used in conjunction with the exercise I have already recommended) for the sickness accompanying pregnancy, which always on previous occasions was severe in the extreme. If I did not eat, I suffered terribly from hunger; if I did eat, I suffered still more terribly from a sickness which kept me on the verge of vomiting, yet never relieved me in that manner. Thus I constantly fluctuated between nausea and semi-starvation. There was always, day and night, a bad taste in my mouth, which sensibly affected the flavor of everything I ate. My remedy was no more troublesome or expensive than this: immediately after each meal—at which I was careful that no inappropriate article was used—I ate a single tart apple or orange, which at once quelled all symptoms of nausea or heartburn, took away the unpleasant taste, and left me as free from distress as under ordinary circumstances, and with a hearty, healthy appetite to enjoy my next meal. Let me add, that my inclination led me to prefer a vegetable diet, and to avoid as far aª possible meat, bread, pastry and sweets.

Let women suffering from "morning-sickness" try the acid fruit—apples, oranges, or even lemons if their sourness is not unpleasant. If a single apple or orange ​after each meal does not suffice, let them try two; let them eat ten if that number is necessary to conquer the distress. The principle is a correct one, and relief is certain. Let fruit be eaten at all hours of the day—before meals and after, on going to bed at night and upon getting up in the morning. If berries are in season, let them be eaten abundantly in their natural state—that is, without sugar. If the sickness still continues, omit a meal now and then, and substitute fruit in its stead. By a persistence in this course, not only will nausea be conquered, but an easy confinement guaranteed.

Reasons for the Exercise and Diet Prescribed.—As already stated, exercise will conduce to vigorous and regular action of all the organs of the body, and will avert biliousness and plethora. A diminution in the quantity of food will lead still farther away from a plethoric condition. Avoidance of meat, pastry, and articles of a like character will produce a like result in regard to biliousness. Bread is omitted from the diet, because wheat flour—even bolted flour—contains a large proportion of phosphates or bone-making materials, the use of which will tend to harden the bony structure of the embryo in too great a degree, and render parturition exceedingly painful. Vegetables furnish all necessary nourishment, and fruit, especially that of a sub-acid character, will correct any remaining tendencies of the stomach to biliousness or heartburn. It will also dissolve whatever bone-making material the food of ​the woman may contain, and the result will be that the bones of the unborn child will remain gristly and soft, yielding easily to pressure at the hour of birth, and rendering that hour far safer and more free from suffering to the mother without detriment to the babe itself.

Perverted Appetite during Pregnancy.—The woman who tries the fruit remedy will not only find her nausea cured, but will be saved from those disagreeable and unreasonable dislikes which a perverted appetite so often during pregnancy takes against things best liked in ordinary health. The favorite article of food will still remain the favorite, and will, perhaps, be indulged in with more than ordinary relish.

Longings.—While on the subject of diet, it may be well to refer to so-called "longings." It is an old wives' tradition that a longing must always be gratified at whatever inconvenience or trouble to others; else serious consequences may be visited upon the unborn child. It is true that the capricious appetite of a pregnant woman often takes, sudden and strange fancies. It is well to gratify these fancies if convenient, because the gratification will do no harm, and will afford a suffering woman temporary satisfaction. But there is not the slightest danger of any serious result if these fancies remain ungratified. If they are unreasonable, the woman should herself be conscious of the fact, and not even mention them. The discipline of self denial is well for her now, if it ​never was before, for reasons which I will state hereafter.

Class of Longings to be Gratified.—There is one class of longings, however, which should not be disregarded. The plea of the pregnant woman, that an unreasonable wish should have immediate gratification, because she may not feel it to-morrow, is the very best reason in the world why it need not be gratified at all unless convenient. But if a desire for something is constant and persistent, returning day after day, and week after week, it is safe to regard it, not as caprice, but as the voice of nature calling for what is required for the well-being of the little one, the good or ill of whose future existence is now being determined.

Example of an Ungratified Longing.—I knew a woman—a poor woman—who, during one of her pregnancies, had, from first to last, an immoderate desire for sweets of all kinds-particularly for candies and cakes. It was misery for her to pass the windows of confectionery stores, yet she was obliged to do so almost daily. Her means were small, and she had to work hard at the sewing-machine for the little she had; and she felt it would be a foolish, almost a criminal, act to take the money which belonged to her family and spend it on such trifles for herself. So she denied herself from first to last with a strength of purpose which those only can appreciate who have been in a like situation.

The child was born, a little nervous thing, brighter ​in intellect, perhaps, than her other children, but early displaying involuntary nervous motions, somewhat spasmodic in character, which made the mother fear Saint Vitus' dance. She kept the child from school, and made her live as much as possible in the open air, hoping that by this course her health would improve, and she would recover from or outgrow her nervousness. But at eight years old the girl was as odd in her ways as ever, and the mother was in despair.

Chancing one day to read a paragraph in a newspaper to the effect that sugar was good in nervous diseases, as it possessed an element which the nerves required for their healthy growth, the truth flashed upon her. That which she had looked upon as the unreasonable caprice of a pregnant woman, and in denying which she had taken a certain amount of credit to herself, was the urgent call of nature, in refusing which she had done her then unborn babe great injury. At the time of her pregnancy her own nervous system had been often completely exhausted by severe and steady labor, and she had had no nervous force left to bequeath to her child.

To make a tardy reparation she placed the sugar-bowl at the free disposal of the little girl. There was a marked improvement in the child's condition from that time. The nervous twitches disappeared gradually, and she grew healthy and hearty like other children.

Longing for Lager Beer.—Another case of ​persistent desire came to my knowledge. A woman of exceedingly rigid temperance principles once, during pregnancy, was seized with a fancy that lager beer would cure her nausea. She had only a vague idea what lager beer was like. Years before she had once taken a single sip from a glass, and had found the taste so disagreeable that she had not repeated it. But now she could think of nothing but lager beer. Like the woman previously referred to, she regarded her longing as a whim which it would be foolish to gratify, and it was two weeks before she mentioned the matter at all. Finally one day her wish slipped out, almost accidentally, it seemed, in the presence of her husband.

"Let me get you some beer if you think it would do you good," said he.

"Oh no," she replied, "I won't be so foolish. Besides, I don't think it would be right. You know I don't approve of drinking lager beer under any circumstances."

So the days went on, but the desire grew so strong that she finally thought she might try the beer as a medicine without any serious shock to her conscience. She asked her husband to get her some; but when she tried it, she was disappointed. It seemed to make her worse rather than better. She mentioned the result to her husband, who laughed and told her it was not lager beer but ale he had brought her. He could not get the beer at the time, and thought that ale would probably do just as well.

​He made another effort to get the beer, and succeeded. Upon trial it acted precisely as she had felt it would. She took it only by the tablespoonful, sometimes a single half-pint bottle lasting her two days, and the relief from nausea was always immediate. She continued the use of beer in this manner for two weeks, when it was no longer necessary, for the nausea was gone. She had always in previous pregnancies suffered to the very last.

Rule regarding Longings.—The rule I would lay down regarding the "longings" of pregnant women is this: try these longings, and see if they are mere passing caprices. If they are, not the slightest harm will follow the refusing to indulge them, though it may be equally true that there is also no harm in gratifying them if convenient to do so. If they are persistent and seem to strengthen rather than decrease as time goes on, their gratification may result in positive good, their denial in absolute harm, to mother or child.