The First Lunch After Labor.—Lunch will be next in order, and that should consist of a clear soup,—chicken broth, mutton broth, beef broth with a few Graham wafers or biscuits, and a cup of custard or rice pudding. This will be the lunch for the two following days also. The same precautions are to be observed in giving this as were observed with breakfast and as will be observed with all other meals as clearly stated before, and repeated again, so that no mistake may be made. In the middle of the afternoon the patient can take a cup of beef tea or a cup of warm milk.
The First Dinner After Labor.—Dinner will consist of more broth, or a plate of clear consomme with a dropped egg, or a cereal, a little boiled rice with milk, and stewed prunes, or a baked apple.
After the bowels have moved, on the third day, and provided the temperature and pulse have been normal since the confinement, the patient can be put on an ordinary mixed diet, particulars regarding which are given on page [121] under the heading "Diet for the nursing mother."
CHAPTER IX
CONFINEMENT INCIDENTS
Regarding the Dread and Fear of Childbirth—The Woman Who Dreads Childbirth—Regarding the Use of Anesthetics in Confinements—The Presence of Friends and Relatives in the Confinement Chamber—How Long Should a Woman Stay in Bed After a Confinement?—Why Do Physicians Permit Women to Get Out of Bed Before the Womb Is Back in Its Proper Place?—Lacerations, Their Meaning and Their Significance—The Advantage of an Examination Six Weeks After the Confinement—The Physician Who Does Not Tell All of the Truth
Regarding the More or Less Prevalent Dread or Fear of Childbirth.—Much has been written, and much more could be written upon this subject. Inasmuch as this book is largely intended for prospective mothers to read and profit thereby, and is not for physicians and nurses whose actual acquaintance with confinement work would render such comments superfluous, it will not be out of place to consider this phase of the subject briefly, from a medical standpoint. When one considers that "a child is born every minute" as the saying goes, and which is approximately true, and at the same time remembers that statistics prove, as near as can be estimated, that there is only one death of a mother in twenty thousand confinements, it would really seem as though we were "looking for trouble" to even regard the subject as worthy of the smallest consideration. It is much more dangerous to ride five miles on a railroad, or on a street car, or even take a two-mile walk,—the percentage possibility of accident is decidedly in your favor to stay at home and have a baby. Almost any disease you can mention has a higher, a much higher fatality percentage than the risks run by a pregnant
woman. The real justification for actual fear of serious trouble is so small that it barely exists. These are facts that cannot be argued away by any specious if or and. Why, therefore, should there be any real fear?