And that brings us to the question of =corsets=, a much discussed garment. Women who have not been accustomed to wearing corsets will scarcely feel the need of adopting them during pregnancy except, perhaps, during the later weeks when the heavy abdomen needs to be supported for the sake of comfort. This need is felt particularly by women who have had children and whose abdominal walls are somewhat weakened in consequence. If you have been wearing comfortable, well fitting corsets, you probably will not feel the need of making a change until the third or fourth month. But by this time the baby will have pushed up out of the lower pelvis into the abdomen and your corsets then, if you wear any, must be so constructed that they will not compress nor disguise your figure, but will provide support and accommodate themselves to an abdomen that is steadily increasing in size and changing in shape. Such corsets are made of soft material; have elastic inserts and have lacings at the sides as well as in the back. They come well down and fit snugly over the hips. (See Fig. 10.) Some women find comfort in attaching shoulder straps to their corsets thus suspending some of the abdominal weight from the shoulders. But as a rule, the most comfortable arrangement is a short-waisted maternity corset worn with a brassière that supports the breasts and does not compress the nipples. I hope this description will make clear to you why the same style corsets as you ordinarily wear cannot be satisfactory during pregnancy, no matter how large they are, and may even prove harmful. [Illustration: FIG. 10.—Front and side views of a satisfactory maternity corset, adjusted at the fifth month of pregnancy. (By courtesy of Emma E. Goodwin, New York.) ] [Illustration: FIG. 11.—Front, side and back views of home-made binder for supporting a heavy, pendulous abdomen during later weeks of pregnancy. It is adjusted as the expectant mother lies down, the ends being crossed in the back and pinned to the lower margin of the front, thus giving additional support. Also breast-binder made of a straight strip of soft cotton material, 10 or 12 inches wide and 2 yards long. This is crossed in front and held with safety-pins, the ends being carried over the shoulders and pinned to the back of the binder. It should be snug below the breasts but loose over the nipples. The openings over the nipples show how this binder may be used to support the breasts of the nursing mother. (From photographs taken at the Maternity Centre Association, New York.) ]