Plain Talks on Avoided Subjects

by Henry N. Guernsey

At the end of the seventh month the length of the fœtus is from twelve and a half to fourteen inches, its weight is about fifty-five ounces, and it is both well defined and well proportioned in all its parts. The bones of the cranium, hitherto quite flat, now appear a little arched, and as the process of ossification goes on, the arching increases till the vault is quite complete. The brain presents greater firmness, and the eye-lids are opened. The skin is much firmer and red. The gall-bladder contains bile.

At the end of the eighth month the fœtus seems to thicken up rather than to increase in length, since it is only from sixteen to eighteen inches long while its weight increases from four to five pounds. The skin is red, and characterized at this period by a fine downy covering, over which is spread a quantity of thick viscous matter, called the sebaceous coat, which has been forming since the latter part of the fifth month. The lower jaw has now become as long as the upper one, and in the male the left testicle may be found in the scrotum. Convolutions appear in the brain structure.

At nine months the anxious time of parturition has arrived. The fœtus is from nineteen to twenty-three inches in length and weighs on an average from six to eight pounds. Children at birth sometimes weigh as much as fourteen pounds; but such extremes are very rare. At this period the white and grey matter of the brain are distinct, and the convolutions are well marked; the nails assume a horny consistence, hair upon the head is more or less abundant, the testes are in the scrotum, and the entire external genital organs of both male and female are well formed.

The above particulars respecting the development of the human being have been narrated to show that one organ is just as important as another, and that each is really dependent upon the other; no one could exist without the other and all are to subserve a use. First must be the esse (the inmost) the vital force imparted to the ovule. A little later certain changes take place in the ovule, later still other changes, and finally about the fifteenth day a slight development of the new human being can just be outlined by the help of the microscope, which, as before stated, has form at about the third week after conception. First the vestige of a head and body, a little later the heart and lungs appear lying in the open chest; then the hands are protruded from the sides of the trunk, afterwards the forearms, then the arms, all pushed out from the body; the feet and legs gradually protrude from the lower end of the trunk, and the chest closes up so that the heart and lungs can no longer be seen; the face, mouth and eyes take form, the external genital organs make their appearance in conjunction with other developments, and in due course of time the boy or girl is born ready for further developments in childhood, and adolescence. When the latter development has been attained, if due care has been taken by all interested parties, we have pure men and pure women fitted to enter upon the privileges and the uses of a wedded life according to the design of our Creator.

How wonderfully and how instructively are all organs in the animal body disposed and arranged! In the highest place we find the brain to govern and rule over all below. It is the first organ formed and in an orderly life should control all the others. Next in order and importance are the heart and lungs, which put into motion all other parts and enable the animal frame to continue in motion. So each and every organ is developed in its proper order, all to obey the commands of the first and most important—the brain, the seat of the reason and the will. Happy are they of either sex who will govern themselves by a pure enlightened reason and a pure affectionate will.

CHAPTER II.
The Infant.
Embracing the First Year of the Child's Life.

The battle of life really begins as soon as the child is born. Its cleanliness, its clothing, its temperature and its food are matters for daily observance and care, as also are the light, sunshine and air which it is to breathe. Opiates, soothing syrups and cordials, are to be strictly avoided as being deleterious to health; proper sanitary measures usually suffice to render all dosing unnecessary. Spirituous potions and lotions should be avoided as being contrary to the laws of hygiene as well as for fear the child may learn to love and to become addicted to their use later in life. Every organ of the body should be carefully protected even at this early age, so that health may reign supreme. Particular care and the utmost solicitude should be bestowed upon the genital organs. No rubbing or handling of these parts should be permitted under any pretense whatever—beyond what may be absolutely necessary for cleanliness. The genital organs require just as much watchful care, if not more, as the stomach, the eye, the ear, &c. I regret to say that I have known some fathers to tickle the genital organs of their infant boys until a complete erection of the little penis ensued, which effect pleases the father as an evidence of a robust boy. The evil effects of such a procedure are too manifest to require dilating upon. Fathers take warning!

Nurses are known to quiet young children by gently exciting pleasurable sensations about the genital organs both of males and females—practices which are the most vicious and vice-begetting that can possibly be invented. Many a young man and young woman has fallen to very low depths from influences developed by these and similar means. Nurses should be cautioned in this matter and carefully watched too, as even the least suspected may (innocently perhaps) be guilty of this fault to save themselves the trouble of quieting their charges in a proper way. Early impressions upon these animal passions, as well as those made upon other senses of the young, are very abiding. Mothers be watchful!

Great care should be exercised in the choice of a diaper for infants and the material of which it is made. The diaper should fit easily about the organs which it covers and protects, so as not to cause undue heating or friction of the parts; and immediately after a babe has soiled itself either with urine or from a motion of the bowels, it should be made clean and dry at once to avoid any irritation that would otherwise ensue upon these delicate parts. The material of which the diaper is made should not be stiff or harsh, but very limp, soft and pliable; nor should it be thick and bungling. There are great objections to the use of oil-cloth, rubber or other impervious materials as they prevent the escape of perspiration, urine, fecal matter, etc. As soon as possible, say near the end of the first year, the child should be taught to use its little chair-commode, thus dispensing with the diaper at an early age. This is much better for the sexual organs, is more comfortable for the child and is more healthy; it also favors a more perfect development of the limbs and joints, the hip joints particularly.