Getting ready to be a mother : $b a little book of information and advice for the young woman who is looking forward to motherhood — John Shaqi
Getting ready to be a mother : $b a little book of information and advice for the young woman who is looking forward to motherhoodVan Blarcom, Carolyn Conant
Science
Getting ready to be a mother : $b a little book of information and advice for the young woman who is looking forward to motherhood
Van Blarcom, Carolyn Conant
Infants -- Care; Obstetrics; Pregnancy
Even a properly fitting maternity corset may become uncomfortable during
the last few weeks of pregnancy, and have to be replaced by an abdominal
supporter of linen or rubber. And when this stage is reached, even the
woman who has worn no corsets may find that she is more comfortable if
she adopts such a support, particularly at night. There are many
admirable binders on the market, or such an one as is illustrated in
Figs. 11 and 12 may easily be made at home as well as comfortable and
inexpensive stocking supporters, made from tapes or strips of muslin, as
in Fig. 13.
[Illustration:
FIG. 12.—Abdominal binder used in Fig. 11, showing darts at top of
front to fit it over the abdomen.
]
Your =shoes=, also, merit some thought, for your feet will probably be
larger during the latter part of pregnancy, partly because of the
possibility of their being somewhat swollen and partly because the
increased weight of your body tends to spread them. This added weight
also increases the strain put upon the arch and as a result, flat-foot
is fairly common among expectant mothers who have not taken pains to
have their arches well supported. Your shoes would better be an inch
longer than those you ordinarily wear; they should have broad, common
sense heels and fit snugly over the instep, in spite of being full
large. If your shoes are not comfortable you will find yourself tiring
easily and for this reason will tend to take less exercise than you
should.
Another reason for the need of proper shoes is that as pregnancy
advances the expectant mother becomes rather unsteady on her feet, and
broad, firm heels help to make her feel more secure. The heels need not
be flat at first, if you have been accustomed to wearing high ones, for
the sudden lowering of the heels may injure your arches, but as the
weeks wear on you would better adopt moderately low heels. High French
heels should be avoided because they not only increase the difficulty
and discomfort of walking but cause backache, as well, by forcing a
position that adds to the pressure on the lower part of the abdomen.
They increase the risk of turning the ankles, too, and of tripping and
falling, which is a very serious accident for the expectant mother.
[Illustration:
FIG. 13.—Front and back view of home-made stocking supporters made of
webbing or 1–inch strips of muslin and a pair of child’s side
garters. The straps are sewed together in the back, but pinned in
front to permit adjustment as the abdomen enlarges. (By courtesy of
the Maternity Centre Association, New York.)
]
=Fresh Air.= If you realize by this time how important it is to keep
your digestion in good order and promote the activity of all your
excretory organs, you probably suspect how important fresh air and
exercise are to you and your expected baby, because of their effect upon
your entire well-being.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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