Patients who have followed my advice to place themselves in the care of a physician as soon as they clearly recognize the existence of pregnancy will receive his assistance in properly estimating the significance of what they notice. This service is by no means the least the obstetrician renders his patients. His opinion should always be sought when symptoms are not understood; but it is not unusual for patients to bring to the doctor's attention many complaints that would pass unnoticed if they taught themselves to restrain the imagination, to refrain from pessimistic reflections, and to divert their thoughts from themselves to outside affairs.
Generally it is during the early months of pregnancy that patients are most likely to be self-centered, and consequently suffer from many annoyances that either proceed from or are exaggerated by this faulty frame of mind. During this period a prospective mother is not fully aware of the meaning of pregnancy. Toward the twentieth week, however, she perceives the movements of the child and her thoughts are turned to it instinctively. About this time many of the discomforts of pregnancy disappear and there ensues a period of unusually good health. Perhaps it would be going too far to give this more wholesome altruistic mental attitude the entire credit for the relatively better health of the second half of pregnancy, but without doubt it is a most important factor.
Such then is the influence of the mind over the body that anyone who wishes to cultivate good health must correct the faulty habit of always thinking of herself. The most suitable form of diversion will depend upon personal taste. Domestic duties absorb the attention of most prospective mothers, but domestic duties should not occupy them exclusively. Outdoor recreation is necessary and serves the double purpose of strengthening mind and body. Public amusements should also be patronized; no prospective mother has the right to sacrifice herself to pride. Music, the various arts, a systematic course of reading, the acquisition of a foreign language—all these are commendable forms of diversion, and others will occur to anyone. Obviously the avocation will be most happily chosen if it directs the attention into channels likely to lead to the greatest pleasure.
CHAPTER VII
THE AILMENTS OF PREGNANCY
Nausea and Vomiting—Heartburn—Flatulence—Defective Teeth—Pressure
Symptoms: Swelling of the Feet; Varicose Veins; Hemorrhoids;
Shortness of Breath—Leucorrhea—Toxemias.
Most of the ailments to which prospective mothers are liable are merely the natural manifestations of pregnancy, exaggerated to such an extent as to cause inconvenience and discomfort. In the early months, for example, persistent nausea and vomiting may become the source of great annoyance, and later the pressure of the womb against neighboring structures may cause a variety of symptoms. It does not follow, however, that any of these ailments will necessarily appear. On the contrary, many women are more healthy during pregnancy than at any other time.
Occasionally illness is charged to pregnancy with which in reality pregnancy has nothing to do. While awaiting the birth of a child, just as at other times, women may suffer from coughs or colds, from aches or pains, from malaria, pneumonia, typhoid fever, or in fact from any disease. It is evident that such complications are accidental; and, though pregnancy confers no immunity against them, it does not, on the other hand, render women more susceptible to all kinds of ailment.
And yet there are diseases for which pregnancy is directly responsible. These are, to a very large extent, preventable; and, though they occur rarely, precautions for their prevention should be taken in every case of pregnancy. By far the most important members of this group are the toxemias of pregnancy. These, as will be explained later, cause symptoms which the patient herself may recognize, and her physician may often detect their presence still earlier by alterations in the composition of the urine. For this reason routine examination of the urine during pregnancy is a means of prevention indispensable for safeguarding the health of the prospective mother.
A number of ailments of which prospective mothers may complain do not require treatment with medicine. This, however, will not be taken to imply that there is no need to consult a physician. On the contrary, and it cannot be emphasized too strongly, the prospective mother should seek professional service whenever there is anything about her condition she does not understand. Sometimes, when she thus consults the physician, he will explain to her that what she has noticed is merely one of the natural manifestations of pregnancy and that she can have no control over it; at other times he will suggest changes in her mode of life which will very likely afford her relief. The frequency with which physicians find that ailments may be corrected by the adoption of hygienic measures indicates that such ailments are more often due to ignorance or carelessness than to the existence of disease.