Thank you Dr. Hollick!

[ivymae]

Thrift store treasure of the week: ($4.25, Volunteers of America)




Finally, a marriage guide that explains the diseases of women familiarly explained! I havn't read it through yet, but the following chapter titles get me all a-twitter :

• "Anomalies in the Size and Apparent Number of the Testes"
• "Generative Organs of the Marsupials"
• "Deformities and Monstrosities"
• "Proper Time for Sexual Indulgence"
• "On the State of Mind in Females at the time of Delivery"
• "Hereditary Decent and Improvement of the Race"(WTF?)
• "Solitary Vices and other Sexual Abuses"
• "Use of Chloroform in Midwifery"

Also, scanning through, I am stuck by the fact that, as of the 1902 publication date, they did not know the "precise term of utero-gestation". Meaning, that they had no idea how long a woman was pregnant. The problem was that they had no idea when conception happened, and without an EPT test, the only way to tell was to cut someone open, which was not such a good idea in the days before penicillin. They did know that the average was around 40 weeks (280 days) but they note many cases of outliers, with an entire section on the "Extreme Limit of Gestation" (thirteen months!?) But on average, human pregnancy tends to follow the rules: "Of 114 pregnancies, calculated by him from the last day of menstruation, and in which the children appeared to be mature, 3 deliveries took place at the end of the 37th week, 13 in the 38th, 14 in the 39th, 33 in the 40th, 22 in the 41st, 15 in the 42nd, 10 in the 43rd, and 4 in the 44th."

It is also very sad that the limit of prematurity expected to survive was the end of the 7th month. Of course there were unusual cases of babies born at 25 weeks (28 oz) and being kept in pots of hot water, and living to 71 years old, but over all, without a NICU, premature babies did not stand a chance. Another gem: To insure a girl:

• practice association only on the last day of the monthly flow, or the first two days that follow it's stoppage.
• Also let the woman avoid all kids of excitement or fatigue, and use the most strengthening food, to insure the greatest vigor; while the man should do the opposite of this.

To insure a boy

• never practice association until the sixth day after the stoppage of the monthly flow.
• Also, let the male live in such a manner and take such food as will insure the greatest bodily vigor; while the female should live low, and exhaust herself to some extent of bodily exertion.

By observing these rules either sex may be procured at will.

There is also a huge section on midwifery and I am excited to read through it. Right now though, I need to pick up the house and get us dressed, since the baby sitter is coming at noon. Today is the first day of the last quarter of my bachelors degree. For Reals.