Is the wife ever incapable of coition?—Very rarely. Excessive sensitiveness of the parts is the most common cause. In such cases, which are very rare, the sexual act would be so painful as to be wholly unbearable. Such cases require medical treatment. The sooner it is begun, the better. A very rigid hymen, or the vagina being partly absent from birth, or grown together from an accident, may make coition impossible. In the first and last case a surgical operation can remove the difficulty. Eighty per cent. of sterile wives, are due to gonorrheal infection received from their husbands who thought themselves cured.
Should husband and wife sleep together or in separate beds?—In many cases, owing to lack of self-control, it would be better for them to sleep in separate beds. If there is no other reason why they should sleep apart, and they have self-control, it would be better to sleep in the same bed.
Are women as passionate as men?—Centuries, of the double standard of morals, have established by heredity, more of passion in man than exists in the average woman. Among the lower animals, except where they have been forced into polygamy by man, the male controls himself fully as easily as does the female. Many women do not feel any sexual excitement whatever, others only to a limited degree. This is doubly true of women during pregnancy, and lactation. Most normal women seek sexual gratification to please their husbands or out of a desire for motherhood. There are some women who have inherited or acquired strong sensual natures.
Should coition take place during the menses?—Absolutely no. For sanitary and hygienic reasons, if no other.
What is the “climacteric” period, or the “change of life” in a woman?—This occurs between forty and forty-nine years of age. It usually covers a period of from two to five years. The menstrual flow often occurs every few days. This is often a critical period in a woman’s life. When this is completed they are sterile, or incapable of reproduction.
Should sexual relations take place during the “change of life”?—For sanitary reasons, it should not. For the hygienic reason, that it would most likely cause flooding, it should not.
Is there a corresponding period in a man’s life?—Yes. It usually occurs some five or ten years later and is more gradual. If he is well preserved he does not become impotent or sterile. The sexual appetite begins to abate and they no longer experience perfect erection. There are also physical changes taking place that make this period a crisis in his life. Certain brain affections, sometimes resulting in unexpected death, is due to sexual indulgence at this time. Many men do not know, that if they are to have a beautiful sunset, they must conserve their sexual life.
Is there any way to determine the sex of a child?—This is evidently governed by some definite law, which has not been discovered. Many theories have been advanced, but none are generally accepted.
What is the best season of the year for conception to take place?—In the spring. A larger per cent. of the children are healthy and long-lived than when the initial of their lives occur at other times.
What is the difference between an abortion and a miscarriage?—- The first is where the expulsion of the fetus is willfully produced; the other where it is purely an accident.