So much anguish and annoyance is caused in this world by imagining and anticipating trouble, that half the pleasure of life is denied us. You cannot do your whole duty by a helpless baby if you do not reason and act upon sound judgment. Many babies are lost by mothers being afraid to do what should be done, and what they know should be done. It is not what the doctor does that brings a baby through a dangerous sickness; it is the faithfulness of the nurse in carrying out his instructions that is responsible for the outcome. A timid, halting, doubting nurse can quickly undo all a physician hopes to accomplish; while a prompt, faithful nurse, with initiative, and good judgment, can save a little life in a crisis, even in the absence of the physician. Follow instructions implicitly, even though the carrying out of the instructions seem to cause the baby pain and suffering,--it is for the baby's best interest. [128] BIRTH MARKS.--Much has been written on this subject which a later study of biology and eugenics have shown to be utterly false. Let us consider the actual facts. The baby is already a baby, floating in a fluid of its own manufacture. It has absolutely no connection with its mother except by means of its umbilical cord,--which is composed of blood vessels. The blood in these vessels is the child's blood and never at any time does it even mix with the blood of the mother. It is sent along these vessels into the placenta, or after-birth, in which it circulates in small thin vessels, so close to the mother's blood that their contents can be interchanged. Yet the two streams never actually mix. The carbonic acid and waste products, in the child's blood, are taken up by the mother's blood, and given in exchange oxygen and food, which is returned to nourish the child. There is absolutely no nervous connection between the mother and the child. How then is it possible for the mother to affect her child in any way except insofar as the quality of its nourishment is concerned? Nor can a mother affect her child in any other sense. If the intermingling of blood could affect a child's education we would frequently resort to surgery. In the article on Eugenics, under the heading, "Education and Eugenics," it is explained that the child is "created" at the moment of conception; that absolutely nothing can affect it after it is created; that no influence of the mother or father can in any way affect it for better or worse. A mother cannot create in her child any quality which she may desire no matter how she conducts herself. It was formerly thought that a mother could for example create a musical genius by devoting all her time to the study of music while she carried the unborn child; or that she could make a historian of it if she studied history; or an artist if she studied paintings. We now know this to be wholly wrong and for very excellent reasons.