Getting ready to be a mother

by Carolyn Conant Van Blarcom

For instance, do not believe for a moment that anything you do, think or see can “mark” or deform your baby, for remember that after conception you give him nothing but nourishment. The only communication between you and the baby is through your and his blood, and blood does not carry mental impressions. Accordingly, no effects of fear, horror or unpleasant memories which you may have can possibly reach him. It is true that once in a while a woman does see something shocking and later gives birth to a marked or deformed baby. But there is little doubt, now, that such an occurrence is merely a coincidence. If you will stop and think for a moment you will realize that most expectant mothers see or hear or think something unpleasant at some time during pregnancy, and yet most babies are born without mark or blemish. Anger, fright or sudden shock may upset your digestion, but it does not directly affect your baby.

As for that common belief that in “reaching up” the mother may slip the cord around the baby’s neck—if you will picture for a moment how the baby lies within the uterus you will realize how impossible this is, for the mother’s arms have no connection with him or the cord.

So dismiss these doubts and fears from your mind and dwell instead upon the loveliness of what is in store for you, for, I repeat, your physical condition will be benefited if you go through pregnancy happily. And remember again that whatever is good for you is good for your baby.

So your first step toward caring for the little life already within your charge is to follow the example of Mrs. Wiggs, who constantly wiped the dust from her rose-colored spectacles.

Now for the more specific details of your care. Of these the question of your diet is of enormous importance.

Let us consider first what your food accomplishes if it is suitable and conditions are favorable for its use by you and the baby. It should provide nourishment for your various tissues, as under ordinary conditions; it should promote the activities of your skin and kidneys, as well as bowels, since it is through them that the waste from your own and your baby’s body must be excreted, and your food should be adequate also, to build and nourish the baby’s body without his having to draw materials from your tissues. Strange as it may seem, the baby’s physical needs are supplied before yours are met, and if there are not enough food materials for you both, your bones, teeth and muscles will be deprived. Furthermore, taking proper food during pregnancy is an important step toward preparing yourself to nurse your baby, after he is born, which is quite as urgent as nourishing him before birth.

To accomplish these ends you not only must eat suitable food, but you must digest and absorb it as well. This requires that you constantly guard against overeating, constipation and indigestion of any kind. Indigestion may be avoided during pregnancy exactly as it is at other times, by eating proper food, by cultivating a happy frame of mind; by having sufficient exercise, fresh air, rest and sleep.

If you are accustomed to a fairly simple, well balanced, mixed diet, you probably will need to make little or no change, except to have the evening meal light if it has been a hearty one. It may surprise you to learn that you need not “eat for two,” in quantity, as is so commonly believed necessary, for during pregnancy you make so much better use of food materials than usual that an amount and kind of food that keep you in good condition will be adequate to meet your baby’s needs, too, until the latter part of pregnancy. On the other hand, it is very unwise for an expectant mother to cut down her diet, with the idea of keeping the baby small and thus make labor easy, except under the direction of her doctor. In general it is the size of the baby’s head that makes labor easy or difficult, and not the amount of fat distributed over his body. And if the mother cuts down the minerals in her diet to make the baby bones soft, the only result is that her own bones and teeth are softened, because the baby extracts from them enough lime to supply what the food lacks.

Three meals a day will usually be enough during at least the first half of pregnancy and they should be taken with clock-like regularity, eaten slowly and masticated thoroughly. The possible need for slight additional food during the later weeks may be supplied more satisfactorily by lunches of milk, cocoa or broth and crackers or toast, between meals and upon retiring, than by taking larger meals. An expectant mother who has a tendency to nausea early in pregnancy often feels better for taking a small lunch regularly five or six times daily instead of the usual three full meals.

It is of the greatest importance that every pregnant woman drink an abundance of fluid to act as a solvent for her food and waste material and promote the activity of her kidneys, skin and bowels. She needs about three quarts daily, most of which should be water, the remainder consisting of milk, cocoa, soup and other liquids. Alcohol should not be taken except upon the doctor’s orders and only moderate amounts of coffee and tea, unless he gives permission for more.