God thought about you, and so I am here.
—GEORGE MACDONALD.
Child Bearing Without Pain.
HOW TO DRESS, DIET AND EXERCISE IN PREGNANCY.
1. Ailments.—Those ailments to which pregnant women are liable are mostly inconveniences rather than diseases, although they may be aggravated to a degree of danger. No patent nostrums or prescriptions are necessary. If there is any serious difficulty the family physician should be consulted.
2. Comfort.—Wealth and luxuries are not a necessity. Comfort will make the surroundings pleasant. Drudgery, overwork and exposure are the three things that tend to make women miserable while in the state of pregnancy, and invariably produce irritable, fretful and feeble children. Dr. Stockham says in her admirable work "Tokology:" "The woman who indulges in the excessive gayety of fashionable life, as well as the overworked woman, deprives her child of vitality. She attends parties in a dress that is unphysiological in warmth, distribution and adjustment, in rooms badly ventilated; partakes of a supper of indigestible compounds, and remains into the 'wee, sma' hours,' her nervous system taxed to the utmost."
3. Exercise.—A goodly amount of moderate exercise is a necessity, and a large amount of work may be accomplished if prudence is properly exercised. It is overwork, and the want of sufficient rest and sleep that produces serious results.
4. Dresses.—A pregnant woman should make her dresses of light material and avoid surplus trimmings. Do not wear anything that produces any unnecessary weight. Let the clothing be light but sufficient in quantity to produce comfort in all kinds of weather.