Getting ready to be a mother

by Carolyn Conant Van Blarcom

If you are going to a hospital you or your doctor will make the necessary arrangements about your room, well in advance of the date upon which you expect to go, in order to feel sure that a room will be ready for you.

It sometimes happens, that for a variety of reasons it is nearly or quite impossible for the expectant mother to go to a hospital, or that her doctor is entirely willing that she shall be confined at home. If it is decided that you are to remain at home, it will be possible, with a little planning and effort on your part, to imitate very nearly in your own home the advantages which are offered by a hospital.

You will remember that in the last chapter I mentioned childbed fever as being one of the serious complications, associated with childbirth, that could be prevented by careful work. In the old days, when the importance of cleanliness was not appreciated, this fever was very common in maternity hospitals, but nowadays it seldom occurs in well conducted institutions because the doctors and nurses know how to do clean work and also because they have clean things to work with. So if you are to be attended at home by a good doctor and a good nurse you may make the conditions of your confinement practically ideal by providing a clean room and such an outfit of sterile sheets, towels, dressings and certain other articles as would be available for their use in a hospital.

Suppose we settle the question of the rooms first.

It is a very important one but need not be the bugbear that some people think it is. In all probability you will have no choice as to a room for yourself and will have to use the one you ordinarily occupy. Should you have a choice, however, it will be well to select one that is cool and shady, if the baby is coming during the summer, but one that is bright and sunny for occupancy during most of the year. It should be conveniently near a bathroom, if possible; have an adjoining room for the nurse and one near by for the baby.

The ideal to work toward is: A room with a washable floor with small, light rugs; freshly laundered curtains at the windows but no heavy draperies; a single brass or iron bedstead, about thirty inches high, with a firm mattress, and so placed as to be accessible from both sides and with the foot in a good light, either by day or night; a bedside table and two others (folding card tables are a great convenience); a bureau; a washstand, unless there is a bathroom on the same floor; one or two comfortable chairs, two or three straight chairs and a couch or chaise longue, all of which should be of wood or wicker or covered with freshly laundered chintzes.

Between such a room as this and the one that must be used there may be a wide difference, but it will be worth while to approach this standard as nearly as possible. It is not necessary to make the room bare; in fact, it should be as cheerful and pretty as is compatible with cleanliness. There is no objection to pictures on the walls, but the room should be free from useless, small articles which are likely to be dust catchers, give the nurse unnecessary work and occupy space needed for other things.

The room should be given a thorough house-cleaning about two weeks before the baby is expected. If there is a carpet on the floor that cannot be taken up conveniently, it might be well to have in readiness a large canvas or rubber or an abundance of newspapers to protect the floor near the bed. If the bed is low, the attentions of the doctor and nurse will be made much easier if you have ready four solid blocks of wood, of the same size, upon which to elevate the bed, after the casters have been removed. The blocks should be of such a size as to bring the height of the bed up to thirty inches. And it is important, too, to have a large board, or table leaves, at hand, to slip under the mattress to make it firm, particularly if the bed is soft or sinks in the middle.

The chief requisites for the baby’s room are that it may be well ventilated and easily cleaned. The floor should be of hard wood, or covered with linoleum, in order that it may be wiped up with a damp cloth every day, and the walls should be freshly papered, or, better still, painted. As bright light and glare are bad for the baby the walls would better be of a soft shade, such as grayish green or blue, than white, and there should be dark shades at the windows, in order that the room may be darkened at will.

The furnishings may consist of a brass or enameled crib, with a hair mattress; a chest of drawers; a low straight chair and low rocker, both without arms, and a low table for the baby’s toilet articles. An ordinary kitchen table, enameled and with the legs sawed off, serves admirably. All of the furniture should have smooth, washable surfaces, such as hard wood or enamel, and the walls should be free from pictures, for the baby’s room will have to be kept scrupulously clean and free from dust.