| Protein | 10%-15% | 207-311 |
| Fats | 25%-35% | 519-539 |
| Carbohydrate | 50%-60% | 1037-1245 |
There is only a fraction of an ounce daily increase in the weight of the baby. A baby weighing 6½ to 7½ pounds at birth is more natural and easier for the mother than a heavy, fat baby, which is produced by overeating, overdrinking, and insufficient exercise.
The toxin-free diet, the quantity at one meal, and the time of meals are matters for careful consideration. During this period there is an increased production of waste, poisonous substances, and gases; at the same time there is often an increased tendency toward constipation. Auto-intoxication consequently results, causing much discomfort from nausea, headaches, dizziness, melancholia, nervousness, irritability. Special care should therefore be taken to select a diet (1)chiefly free from purins, (2)and from stimulants, (3)higher in base-forming than acid-forming elements, (4)with high mineral content, especially lime, and (5)laxative. This is done by omitting, or using very sparingly, meats, coffee, tea, pastry, fried foods, irritating condiments, vinegar; and by including milk, buttermilk made with the Bulgarian tablets, cheese, eggs, nuts, whole-wheat bread, bran bread, green vegetables, salads, fresh and dried fruits, fruit juices, butter, olive oil. Any food that is difficult of digestion, or that produces fermentation or gas, should be omitted.[3]
Enough water should be taken to carry off waste products but not to unduly increase the body fluids or cause flabbiness of tissues. With the diet recommended, less water drinking will be necessary than otherwise, six glasses a day probably being quite ample. This should be taken at intervals, not more than a small glass at one time, and not less than half an hour from meal times; fruit juices or milk may be taken instead of plain water.
Alcohol, even in dilute quantities, is highly injurious to the delicate nerve cells of the body, and should be avoided, particularly during this and the nursing period. Patent medicines usually contain alcohol.
With a well regulated diet, there is less probability of cravings for unusual or abnormal foods; such cravings may be pampered if for wholesome foods; if absurd or abnormal, they should be ignored.
During the last four months, and especially the last two, it is better to take the food in five meals than in three meals. There is less room in the trunk for the stomach to expand in the movements of digestion, and it may easily crowd uncomfortably upon the heart. The heaviest meal should be taken in the middle of the day, and a light supper two or three hours before bedtime, for adequate digestion and comfortable sleep. During the last month, the daily diet may well include one or two pints of milk in some form, because of its ease in digestion.
Bathing. A daily bath is especially important during this period, because there is so much waste and poison to be eliminated. If the pores of the skin are not kept clean and open, the kidneys (the work of which is now much increased) will be overtaxed, or some of the poison will remain in the system, causing headaches, nausea, and other discomforts. Very cold or very hot baths are equally to be avoided. The latter may cause a miscarriage, especially during the first three months. A woman who is accustomed to a daily cold bath may continue this as long as there is a good reaction. Surf bathing is inadvisable because of the low temperature and the muscular strain; bathing in quiet waters is quite safe. The daily bath should be warm enough for cleansing (90°-98° F.), followed by a cool sponge or spray for tonic. A salt bath (one quart of sea or coarse salt dissolved in a tub of water) is a good tonic. Two baths daily are permissible, not remaining in the water more than ten minutes. A vigorous rub with bath mitts, a Turkish towel, or coarse damp salt, is a further aid to skin elimination. Vaginal douches should never be used except on the advice of the physician. For sleeplessness, nervousness, congestion of blood in the head, the neutral (96° F.) sitz bath combined with a hot foot bath will promote the necessary equalizing of the circulation.
Exercise. Exercise now has two important purposes: the elimination of waste, and the strengthening of back and abdominal muscles. The precautions are avoidance of fatigue and of sudden or severe strain upon the abdominal muscles that might produce a miscarriage. During the first three months, the placental attachment is relatively insecure and therefore more easily detached. The certainty of motherhood cannot be established until the third or fourth month, although some presumptive symptoms are manifested earlier. The woman who has left motherhood to chance, and who therefore is not preparing for necessary care during these earlier months, is the more liable to a miscarriage through disregard of due precautions.
The ideal for this period would be complete outdoor living, with two miles of walking each day and plenty of light exercise that could be dropped at the approach of fatigue. Such a gypsy-like experience is often removed from usual living conditions. With a little planning, it could often be approached, however. The investment in such a vacation would yield far richer returns to the baby than an expensive layette, to say nothing of the increased comfort, ease, and happiness of the mother. The extreme antithesis of this ideal would be continuous indoor life with no work to occupy muscles and mind.