The Prospective Mother, a Handbook for Women During PregnancySlemons, J. Morris (Josiah Morris)
Science
The Prospective Mother, a Handbook for Women During Pregnancy
Slemons, J. Morris (Josiah Morris)
Obstetrics; Pregnancy
The variations in the quantity of liquids that healthy persons drink
make it impossible to say just how much anyone should take. It may be
said with confidence, however, that women who are pregnant should
consume at least three quarts of fluid every day, and by far the
greater portion of this should be water. The rest may be taken in the
form of milk, soup, cocoa, and chocolate. Against the moderate use of
tea and coffee no valid objection can be raised; the tradition that
they may cause miscarriage is incorrect. For well-known reasons the
habitual use of strong tea or coffee is always harmful, and it is,
therefore, equally as objectionable during pregnancy as at other
times. Beverages which contain a small percentage of alcohol, such as
malt and beer, may or may not be helpful; they should be regarded as
medicine, not to be taken without consulting a physician.
THE CHOICE OF FOOD.--There is no diet specifically adapted to the
state of pregnancy; the prospective mother may usually exercise the
same freedom as anyone else in the selection of food. She should,
however, choose what will agree with her and avoid that which she
cannot digest and assimilate. Personal experience in the main must
guide everyone as to what to eat, and most women may follow the
dictates of appetite after they become pregnant as safely as they did
before.
It is true, of course, that careful scientific observations have
taught not only what the nutritional requirements of the body are,
but also how the diet may be arranged to satisfy these requirements
most conscientiously and economically. "Caloric Feeding" is the name
given the method which aims to furnish an individual the exact amount
of food, and usually to furnish it at a minimum cost. Its principles
are of great practical importance to the commissary of an army or to
the purveyor of an institution which provides for large numbers of
people; but it is neither necessary nor advisable that the diet of
any healthy individual be regulated solely with a view to satisfying
the actual requirements of his or her body. Food should possess other
qualities than fuel value: first of all it must be appetizing, for
appetizing food receives the most thorough digestion.
We all know how variable are our appetites. What appeals to one will
not appeal to another, and frequently the same person has no appetite
to-day for food that she will eat with relish to-morrow. Precise
rules, therefore, to guide healthy persons in the selection of their
food are not obtainable; neither are they desirable, for the exercise
of individual preference possesses notable advantages. In order,
however, that there may not also be disadvantages, the prospective
mother, like anyone else, must be content to choose food that is
simple, wholesome, and of such a character that it will not throw an
undue burden upon the digestive organs.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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