In particular, _the condition of the breasts_ towards the close of pregnancy demands attention. Scarcely any pain in the lying-in chamber is greater or more difficult to bear than that which the young mother suffers from excoriated nipples. This troublesome and often very intractable affection is nearly always the consequence of the want of care previous to confinement. During the latter part of pregnancy the nipples sometimes become sunken or flat, being retracted as the breasts increase in size, because of the want of elasticity on the part of the milk tubes. In order to remedy this fault, we have known a breast-pump or puppy to be applied. Such treatment is dangerous, as it may excite premature contraction of the womb, and miscarriage. Nipple-shields, with broad bases and openings, should always be obtained. They are safe, and effectually secure the prominence of the nipples, when worn constantly, day and night, during the last month or so of pregnancy. Wives who have never had children ought to take special care to ascertain before labor whether this depressed condition of the nipples exists, and to correct it in the manner indicated. In the first pregnancy it is also important to _harden the nipples_. This may be done by occasionally gently rubbing them between the thumb and finger, and by bathing them twice a day during the last six weeks with tincture of myrrh, or with a mixture of equal parts of brandy and water, to which a little alum has been added. This procedure will render the surfaces less sensitive to the friction of the child's mouth, and thus avert the distress so often occasioned in the first confinement by tenderness of the nipples. If the nipples be rough or nodulated in appearance, like a strawberry or a raspberry, they are more apt to become excoriated or fissured than if they present a smooth surface. Under such circumstances, make a solution of the sulphate of zinc, of the strength of one grain to the ounce of rose water, in a wide-mouthed bottle, then tilt the bottle upon the nipple, and allow it to remain there for a few minutes several times a day. Simple tenderness of the nipples and slight fissures may be averted by the application either of a lotion of borax (two scruples of borax in three ounces of water, and an ounce of glycerine), of the honey of borax, or of the tincture of catechu, and by protecting the parts from the pressure of the stays and the friction of the flannel vest. It is of the greatest moment to the comfort of the mother, that all affections of the nipples should be prevented or remedied before labor; for the treatment of sore nipples when the child is at the breast is often unsatisfactory, while the suffering they occasion is very great, even sometimes giving rise to mammary abscess. There are certain _articles of clothing_ and _dressings for the bed_ which should be cared for in advance, in order that they may be ready when required.