Next to morning sickness in point of frequency comes the disposition to be nauseated about meal time. Those who vomit after the meal is finished are frequently inclined to eat soon again; and there is no reason why they should not. Sick stomach after meals may be due to several causes, such as eating hurriedly, eating too much, or selecting food that is difficult to digest. If a meal is bolted the stomach may be overloaded before the appetite is appeased; and consequently those who eat too much are fortunate when the stomach rejects the excess. Eating slowly and masticating the food thoroughly, we know, is the proper way to insure taking no more than is needed. One of the most valuable precautions against persistent nausea consists in taking small amounts of food five or six times during the day. Directions regarding the frequency of meals and the choice of food have been given in Chapter IV, to which the reader may refer. It may be repeated, however, that a prospective mother should naturally avoid anything which she knows is likely not to agree with her. On the other hand, she is almost certain not to be nauseated by any article of food for which she has an appetite. Lying down for a short while after meals frequently serves to prevent an attack of vomiting. It is a good rule, furthermore, at whatever time of day the sensation of nausea may occur, to lie down immediately. An ice bag or cloths wrung out of cold water, if applied to the abdomen, often give relief; warm applications occasionally serve the same purpose better. Some patients prevent nausea by constantly wearing a flannel bandage about the abdomen. Many instances of the vomiting of pregnancy cannot be explained by errors in diet, for the attacks come on repeatedly whether the stomach contains food or not. Under these circumstances mental influences frequently have to be reckoned with. Indeed, in most cases of vomiting of pregnancy dietetic and other hygienic measures are of no avail unless the patient learns to divert her attention from troublesome thoughts. That the brain can exert an influence over the stomach is a fact well substantiated both by physiological experiment and by medical observation. In all probability there is a definite spot in the brain, called the "vomiting center," the irritation of which causes retching and the upheaval of the contents of the stomach. As this nervous mechanism is possessed by everyone, it is not called into existence by the advent of pregnancy. Nevertheless, it seems likely that pregnancy renders it more sensitive, and it is certain that pregnancy establishes new means by which the center may be stimulated. This admission does not imply, however, that the prospective mother must submit to inevitable discomfort, for she can and should muster the strength to resist it.