The Four Epochs of Woman's Life; A Study in HygieneGalbraith, Anna M. (Anna Mary)
Science
The Four Epochs of Woman's Life; A Study in Hygiene
Galbraith, Anna M. (Anna Mary)
Women -- Health and hygiene
Sexual Development.-- Sexual development goes on during all the years
of childhood, but is not complete in the female sex until between the
twenty-second and the twenty-fifth year. If the child has no inherited
taint, and has been properly educated morally, physically, and
intellectually, it must follow that the structural development of the
pelvic organs has been normal; and normal organs always perform their
functions perfectly.
The commencement of the ovarian function does not cause any more
profound change in the system and habits than does dentition. The
various epochs of life are generally spoken of as if they were
paroxysmal-- as though they were separated by some tremendous chasm,
which had to be leapt over or fallen into. Nature makes no such
egregious blunders; preparations for every change in life have been
going on for a very long time before the evidences of such change
become manifest.
In a healthy girl the psychic and physical changes incident to puberty
occur so gradually as to escape the girl's own notice. The first and,
if the girl has not been properly prepared for it, always startling
change is the appearance of the menstrual flow. The mother who has not
told her daughter of this coming change in her life before it is due
has committed a serious error; it is no uncommon occurrence for girls
who know nothing of this function to get into a tub of cold water to
stop the flow; and if they stay in long enough, it generally does
stop, and the girl's health may be ruined for life.
The opinion of Dr. Ely van de Warker is that "if healthy ovulation is
the outcome of healthy childhood, the function will obey the law of
periodicity year by year, and all this time the young woman will be
able to sustain uninterrupted physical and intellectual work as well
as the young man. Not that the laws of health may be violated with
impunity at puberty or any other time of a woman's life; but a law of
health is no more binding upon a young woman than it is upon a young
man; and there really is no such thing as one law for women and
another for men."
Age of Puberty.-- In the temperate regions the age of puberty is
reached between the ages of twelve and fourteen years. The girl is
then said to be nubile; that is, as soon as menstruation appears it is
possible for her to bear children; but she is by no means sufficiently
developed to do so, as she herself will not be completely developed
physically or mentally before the age of twenty-two or twenty-five
years.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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