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
The average individual uses up in a minute’s time the oxygen contained
in four bushels of air, and since the pregnant woman takes in through
her lungs the oxygen for both herself and her baby, she must have a
sufficient quantity of air to supply at least this amount.
Accordingly, you should make a point of spending at least two hours of
each day in the open air. If the weather is so stormy or severe as to
make it undesirable for you to go out from under cover, because of the
danger of getting wet or chilled, you can wrap up well and take your
airing on a protected porch or in a room with all the windows wide open.
But this is only a part of it, for the air in your house or rooms must
be kept fresh all day by being constantly changed; this requires a
steady inpouring of fresh air and outpouring of stale air.
A very good way to accomplish this is to have one or more windows open
slightly, top and bottom, all the time. But there must be no sudden
changes of temperature, nor drafts, for fear of chilling your skin. At
night you should sleep in a room with the windows open, taking care to
be well protected by light, warm coverings.
=Exercise.= Each detail of the expectant mother’s daily routine seems to
be more important than the last. And so when we come to the question of
regular out-of-door exercise we are almost persuaded to believe that
whatever else may be neglected, this is indispensable, since it promotes
digestion, stimulates the activity of the skin and lungs, steadies the
nerves, quiets the mind and promotes sleep. And more than that, walking,
which is probably the most satisfactory form of exercise for her to
take, also strengthens some of the muscles that are used during labor.
But exercise is downright injurious if continued to the point of
fatigue, no matter how little has been taken. Each woman must be a law
unto herself in this matter, therefore, and must be impressed with the
importance of stopping before she is tired. It may be a good plan for
you to start by walking only a short distance at a time, increasing this
gradually until you are able to walk possibly as much as an hour in the
morning and an hour in the afternoon without fatigue.
All violent exercise and sports are of course to be avoided,
particularly swimming, horseback riding and tennis. While motoring and
carriage driving are pleasant diversions, they cannot be classed as
exercise. They should be taken only in comfortable vehicles and over
smooth roads, so that there will be no jarring nor jolting, and the
expectant mother should not do the driving herself.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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