As pregnancy advances, particularly after the sixth month, a larger amount of food, and that of a more substantial character, will be required. The number of meals in the day should then be increased, rather than the quantity taken at each meal.
CLOTHING.
The dress during pregnancy should be loose and comfortable, nowhere pressing tightly or unequally. The word enceinte, by which a pregnant woman is designated, meant, originally, without a cincture,—that is, unbound. The Roman matrons, so soon as they conceived, were obliged to remove their girdles. Lycurgus caused the enactment of the Spartan law, that pregnant women should wear large dresses, so as not to prejudice the free development of the precious charges of which nature had rendered them the momentary depositaries. Stays or corsets may be used, in a proper manner, during the first five or six months of pregnancy, but after that they should either be laid aside, or worn very loosely. Any attempt at concealing pregnancy, by tight lacing and the application of a stronger busk, cannot be too severely condemned. By this false delicacy the mother is subjected to great suffering, and the child placed in jeopardy. The shape of the stays should be moulded to that of the changing figure, and great care should be taken that they do not depress the nipple or irritate the enlarging breasts.
The amount of clothing should be suited to the season, but rather increased than diminished, owing to the great susceptibility of the system to the vicissitudes of the weather. It is especially important that flannel drawers should be worn during advanced pregnancy, as the loose dress favors the admission of cold air to the unprotected parts of the body. A neglect of this precaution sometimes leads to the establishment of the painful disease known as rheumatism of the womb.
Pressure upon the lower limbs, in the neighborhood of the knee or the ankle joint, should be avoided, more particularly towards the last months. It is apt to produce enlargement and knotting of the vein, swelling and ulcers of the legs, by which many women are crippled during their pregnancies, and sometimes through life. Therefore the garters should not be tightly drawn, and gaiters should not be too closely fitted, while yet they should firmly support the ankle.
EXERCISE.
Moderate exercise in the open air is proper and conducive to health during the whole period of pregnancy. It should never be so active nor so prolonged as to induce fatigue. Walking is the best form of exercise. Riding in a badly-constructed carriage, or over a rough road, or upon horseback, as well as running, dancing, and the lifting or carrying of heavy weights, should be scrupulously avoided, as liable to cause rupture, severe flooding, and miscarriage. During the early months, in particular, extraordinarily long walks and dancing ought not to be indulged in. Journeys are not to be taken while in the pregnant state. Railway travelling is decidedly objectionable. The vibratory motion of the cars is apt to produce headache, sickness at the stomach, faintness, and premature labor. All these precautions are especially to be observed in the first pregnancy.
We must not be understood as condemning exercise and fresh air. They are of the greatest importance to mother and child. But the amount of exercise should be regulated by the dictates of common sense and the woman's own sensations. If she can only walk a short distance each day with comfort, let that suffice. She should not force herself to go to a certain place nor to promenade during a certain time in the twenty-four hours. So soon as fatigue is felt, the walk should cease. Let the walks be frequent and short, rather than few and long. They should also be made as pleasant as possible, by companionship and surroundings that will occupy the feelings and imagination in an agreeable manner with new and cheerful impressions. A tendency to indolence is to be combated. A gently active life is best calculated to preserve the health of the mother and her unborn child. But with even the most robust a moderation of the ordinary pursuits and avocations is called for. The nervous and delicate cannot make with safety their customary daily exertions in the performance of their household or social duties and pleasures.
Towards the end of pregnancy the wife should economize her forces. She should not remain long standing or kneeling, nor sing in either of these postures.