And the answer is, that it can never be accomplished by careless and hap-hazard cohabiting! On the contrary, it can only be compassed by the most careful and watchful processes of engaging in coitus, and by a full knowledge of physiological facts, and by acting, always, in accordance with the same. It is no road for careless travel, but it is a way worth going in, for all that.
On this point, let it be said that all sane and intelligent men and women agree that anything even approaching infanticide is nothing short of a crime, and that abortion, except for the purpose of saving the life of the mother, is practically murder.
But, while this is all true, to prevent the contact of two germs which, if permitted to unite, would be liable to result in a living human form, is quite another affair.
It is only this aspect of the situation which will be considered in what follows.
Now, as has already been shown, the essentials for conception consist of having the ovum present in the womb, and its meeting the semen there. The corollary of this is, that whenever these coincidences take place, there is a possibility for conception.
But in all normal cases, the ovum only passes into the womb once in every twenty-eight days; and, as a rule, it only remains in the womb for about half that period of time, that is, for about 14 or 15 days in each month. And so, since the menstrual flow ceases after about five days from its beginning, in about ten days after its stopping, the ovum will have passed out of the womb, and hence that organ contains nothing that is impregnable. Under these conditions, semen may be deposited in the womb, without danger of impregnation. This is a simple proposition, and easy to understand if once known.
However, it must be said that these generally common conditions do not always obtain—that is, they are not true in the case of all women. There are women who will conceive at any time in the month, if they are given a chance to do so. The physiological reason for such possibility is said to be this: There are always ova in the ovaries, in varying stages of development. Ordinarily, only once a month do any of these pass down into the womb; but, in exceptional cases, sometimes these ova are so partially held in the ovaries that, under the excitement of coitus, and because all these parts dilate so much during the act, an ovum may slip its moorings, under such conditions, pass down into the uterus at an untimely season, meet the semen there, and pregnancy result. Such are the facts in some cases.
How, then, can a husband and wife tell how it is, or will be, in their particular case?
The answer is that they can only tell by trying, and that should be done as follows: