The surest guarantee against the occurrence of conditions which may injuriously affect the future offspring, either at the time of procreation, or during the subsequent period of gestation, is to be found in the general life of the parents. This will give the general impress which affects the disposition of the child as a whole, and it will show what are the conditions of the family life under the influence of which it was born. The nature of the "home" is thus an important factor in determining that of the offspring, and it will necessarily be a reflection of the general character of those on whom it depends. A noble life in the parent will bear fruit in the physical, intellectual and moral character of the child, and although this is true in relation to the father as well as to the mother, it is doubly true as to the latter, seeing that the mother alone is the bearer and nourisher of offspring during the period of gestation. During this period the child acquires probably many of the characters which it inherits from its mother, and the maternal influence may thus be extended to the period of lactation. The importance attached to fosterage, where this practice became an established custom, as with the early Irish and Arabs, would seem to prove that the characteristics of the nurse were to some extent transmitted to the child with the milk. The early Arabs regarded the milk-tie as constituting a real unity of flesh and blood between the foster mother and the foster child, and between foster children, so much so as to be a bar to marriage.
Self-control.—One very serious matter which should be kept in mind by an expectant mother is the duty of exercising self-control. The influence of this principle in relation to the general life and conduct has been repeatedly pointed out, and it is referred to by Jennie Chandler in The Journal of Hygiene for August, 1895, where we are told: "The power of self-mastery is believed by scientists to be the last one acquired by the human race in the process of evolution, and the last powers acquired are not so firmly fixed in our natures as some which have been longer in our possession. The result is, it becomes deranged more readily than more fixed forces. In many cases, self-control has never been acquired at all, and so the person can only partly master himself. As a rule, children have little of this power. They are like animals. Little by little, as they grow older, it grows, and in some it becomes so well developed that it is almost perfect. In others, like music in those who never acquire it, or any other faculty, it never becomes a potent factor in life."
Dr. Chandler adds, "Woman as well as man needs to learn self-mastery. With a large amount of feeling in her nature, it is very hard for her to do it, but she should try. Too many of us go through life never making any effort to be our own masters. We give way to caprices, whims, feelings, follies, far more than is good for our health. Hysteria gives us a good example of the loss of self-control. Any uncontrolled passion gives an equally vivid example. Men and women often say they can't govern themselves; that is admitting they have defects of character which are their masters. They ought to make effort and see if they are not mistaken. The worst effect of lack of self-control are on the health. It allows every kind of bad habit in eating, drinking, dressing, sleeping, to gain possession of the person, and the result is a weak instead of a strong character."
Considering the effect which the organic disposition of the mother has on the future offspring, it is evident that whether a child shall have the power of self-control depends very largely on the mother herself, and it is all-important, therefore, that she should have and exercise that power herself. As Dr. Chandler remarks, "No matter how much you have been to school, how many college degrees you have, you are not educated till you have a reasonable control of your own nature, and can direct your own lives rather than have them directed for you by your feelings and emotions." This truth obtains fresh significance when we consider that a woman's conduct affects the direction not only of her own life, but the lives of her future children, and possibly of succeeding generations.
Although much has yet to be done to prove the actual effects on offspring of the conduct of its parents, enough is known to establish the fact that both the general disposition and the particular conduct of father or mother may interfere with the orderly action of the law of heredity. This law ensures the inheritance of race and individual characters; but when these are good, a noble life will cause the tendencies towards good to be still further strengthened in offspring, and if they are evil, then the disposition will receive an inclination in the opposite direction, or, at least, the further development of evil will be arrested. On the other hand, a degrading life will produce bad effects on offspring, causing deterioration of the organic disposition and strengthening the tendency to evil it may have inherited, or weakening its tendencies towards the good.
FOOTNOTES:
[57:A] "Heredity." By Th. Ribot (New York: D. Appleton & Co., 1875), p. 201.
[59:A] "The Origin of the Fittest." By E. D. Cope (D. Appleton & Co., New York). Page 408.
[65:A] "Pioneering in New Guinea." By James Chalmers. 1887. Page 165.