348. Sometimes, until the whole contents of the stomach be brought up, she does not obtain relief from her sickness. She had better, when such is the case, drink plentifully of warm water, in order to encourage free vomiting. Such a plan, of course, is only advisable when the morning sickness is obstinate, and when the treatment recommended above has failed to afford relief.
349. The morning sickness, during the early months, is caused by sympathy between the stomach and the womb; and during the latter months by pressure of the upper part of the womb against the stomach. As we cannot remove the sympathy and the pressure, we cannot always relieve the sickness; the patient, therefore, is sometimes obliged to bear with the annoyance.
350. The bowels ought to be kept gently opened, either by a Seidlitz powder taken early in the morning, or by one or two compound rhubarb pills at bedtime, or by the following mixture:
Take of—Carbonate of Magnesia, two drachms;
Sulphate of Magnesia, one ounce;
Peppermint water, seven ounces:
A wineglassful of this mixture to be taken early in the morning, occasionally, first shaking the bottle.
351. Great attention ought in such a case to be paid to the diet; it should be moderate in quantity, and simple in quality. Rich dishes, highly-seasoned soups and melted butter must be avoided. Hearty meat suppers ought not on any account to be allowed. There is nothing better, if anything be taken at night, than either a teacupful of nicely-made and well-boiled oatmeal gruel, or of arrow-root, or of Arabica Revalenta. Any of the above may be made either with water, or with new milk, or with cream and water.
352. It is an old saying, and, I believe as a rule, a true one, “that sick pregnancies are safe,” more especially if the sickness leaves, which it generally does, after she has quickened. The above remarks, of course, do not include obstinate, inveterate vomiting, occasionally occurring in the latter period of pregnancy, and which not only takes place in the morning, but during the whole of the day and of the night, and for weeks together, sometimes bringing a patient to the brink of the grave. Such a case, fortunately, is extremely rare. Another old and generally true saying is, “that females who have sick pregnancies seldom miscarry.”
353. Means to harden the nipples.—A mother, especially with her first child, sometimes suffers severely from sore nipples. Such suffering may frequently be prevented, if for six weeks or two months before her confinement, she were to bathe her nipples, every night and morning, for five minutes each time, either with eau de Cologne, or with brandy and water, equal parts of each. The better plan will be to have the brandy and water in a small bottle ready for use, and putting a little each time into a teacup, using it fresh and fresh. A soft piece of fine old linen rag should be used for the purpose of bathing. All pressure ought to be taken from the nipples; if the stays, therefore, unduly press them, either let them be enlarged or let them be entirely removed. The nipples themselves ought to be covered with a soft linen rag, as the friction of a flannel vest would be apt to irritate them. Let me recommend every pregnant lady, more especially in her first pregnancy, to adopt either the one or the other of the above plans to harden the nipples; it might avert much misery, as sore nipples are painful and distressing; and prevention at all times is better than cure.