Sex Knowledge for Women - Forgotten Books

SEX KNQ DWLE GE

FOR WOMEN AND G IRLS

WHAT E V E R Y WOM ANAND GIRL SHOULD KNOW

BY'

WILLIAM J. ROBINSON , M .D.

of the Department ofGen ito—Urin aryDiseases an d Dermatology.Bron xHospitalEditor of the American Jou rn al of Urology an d Serology; Editor of The Criti c an d

°

de;Au thor ofTreatmen t ofSexual Impoten ce an d Other Sexual Disordersgn Men an dWomen ;Treatmen t ofGon orrhea m Men an dWomen ; Limitation of080mm"

by thePrevention of Con ception ; Sex Kn ow ledge for Girls an dWomen ; Sexua Problems ofToday; Never-Told Tales; Eu gen ics an d Marriage, etc. Fellow of theNew York Academy of Medici n e, of theAmerican Medical EditorsAssociation , American Medical Association , New York StateMedical Society. In tern ation ale Gesellschaft for Sexual

forschu ng,American Gen etic Association .AmericanAssociation for the Advan cemen t of Sci en ce.American Urological An notation , etc.. etc.

A w oman may kn ow more than is con tain edthe may n ot know

II JRWQPRAJQHD

SECOND EDITION

1917

CR ITIC AND GUIDE COMPANY12 MT. n orm s max. WEST

IQEWV YI EUK

Fox man y years the au thor has been receivin g re

qu ests to write an elemen tary sex book, presen tin g

the variou s sex problems which are of importan ce to

man an d boy, an d to woman an d girl, from his poin t

of view.

“ You are con demn in g the existin g sex

books. How wou ld you impart sex kn owledge to the

average male an d female 1 This w as the su bstan ce

of man y qu estion s. I have given my an swer in Sex

Kn owledge for Men , pu blished several mon ths

ago, an d in the presen t volume. This con tain s the

min imum of What every woman an d girl shou ld

kn ow ’ regardin g their sex . Those women— an d

men—who wan t more kn owledge on the su bject of

sex may con su lt the au thor’s

‘Woman : Her Sex an d

W. J. B .

Febru ary 1, 1917,

12 Mou n t Morris Park West,

CONTENTS

I . THE PARAIIOUNT NEED OE SEx KNOWLEDGE FOR

WOMEN AN D GIRLS

THE FEMALE SEX'

ORGANS : THEIR ANATOMY

THE PHYSIOLOGY or THE FEIIALE SEx ORGAN S

THE SEx IN STINGI‘

MEN S'IR UATION

ABNORMALITIES OE MENSTRUATION

THE HYGIENE OE MENSTRUATION

FEGUNDATION OE FERTILI"ATION

THE DISORDERS or PREGNANCY

WHEN TO ENGAGE A PHYSICIAN

THE SI"E or THE FETUS

THE Am mTH (PLACENTA)

LAcrATION OR NURSING

ABORTION AND MISGARRIAGE

PEENATAD CARE

XV III . STERILITY

THE MENOPAUSE OR CHANGE or 1m

THE HABIT OE MASTURBATION

vi CONTENTScm PAGE

THE V ENmEAL DISEASES

THE ExTENT or V ENEREAL DISEASE

GONORRHEA

V ULV OV AGIN ITIS IN LITTLE GIRLS

SYPHILIS

THE CUR AB ILITY or V ENEREAL DISEASE

V ENmEAL PROPHYLAxIs

BIRTH CONTR OL OR THE LIMITATION or

SPR ING

ADV ICE TO THE MARR IED AND THOSE ABOUT

10 BE

SEX KNOWLEDGE FOR

WOMEN AND G IR LS

CHAPTER ONE

THE PAR AMOUNT NEED OF SEX KNOWLEDGE FOR GIRLS AND WOMEN

THE first reason why sex in stru ction is even more

importan t for girls than it is for boys is becau se a

misstep in a girl has mu ch more disastrou s con se

qu en ces than it has in a boy. The disastrou s re

su lts Of a misstep in a boy are on ly physical in char

acter ; the resu lts of the same misstep in a girl m y

be physical , moral , social an d econ omic. To speak

more plain ly. If a boy, throu gh ign oran ce, rashlyin du lges in illicit sexu al relation s, the worst cou se

qu en co to him may be in fection with a ven ereal dis

ease. Bu t he is n ot con sidered immoral , he is n ot

despised, he is n ot ostracized, he does n ot lose his

social stan din g in the slightest degree, an d when he

is cu red Of his ven ereal disease he has n o dificu lty

in gettin g married. He does n ot even have to con

cea‘

l his past sexu al history from his w ife. Bu t if a

9

10 SEX KNOWLEDGE FOR WOMEN

girl makes a misstep the con sequ en ces to her are

terrible in deed ; it may n ot on ly cost her her health

an d social stan din g, she may have to pay with her

very life. She ru n s the risk Of ven ereal in fection

the same as the boy does, bu t in addi tion she ru n s the

risk Of becomin g pregn an t, which in ou r presen t so

cial system is a catastrophe in deed. To save herself

from the disgrace Of an illegitimate child she may

have an abortion produ ced ; the abortion may have

n o bad resu lts, bu t it may, if performed bu n glin gly,leave her an in val id for life , or it may kill her ou t

right. If she is so u n fortu n ate as to be‘

u n able to

get an ybody to produ ce an abortion , she gives birth

to an il legitimate child, which she is forced in most

cases to pu t away in an in stitu tion of some sort

w here she hopes an d prays it may die soon— an d,in

gen eral, it does. If it does n ot die, she has for

the rest Of her life a Damocles sword han gin g over

her head , an d she is in con stan t terror lest her sin

be fou n d ou t. She does n ot permit herself to look for

a mate, bu t if she does get married, the specter Of

her an tematrimon ial experien ce is con stan tly before

her eyes. After years an d years Of married life, the

hu sban dmay divorce her if he fin ds ou t that she had“sin n ed ” before She kn ew him. An d u n less the

hu sban d is a broad-min ded man an d loves her tru ly

an d u n less she made a clean breast Of everythin g to

THE PAR AMOUNT NEED 11

him before marriage, her life is con tin u ou s tortu re.

Bu t even if the girl escaped pregn an cy, the mere

fin din g ou t that She had an illicit experien ce deprives

her Of social stan din g, or makes her a social ou tcast

an d en tirely destroys or greatly min imizes her

chan ces Of ever marryin g an d establishin g a home of

her ow n . She mu st remain a lon ely wan derer to the

en d Of her days.

The en ormou s difieren oe in the resu lts Of a mis

step in a boy an d a girl is clearly seen , an d for this

reason alon e, if for n o other, sex in stru ction is Of

more importan ce to the girl than it is to the boy.

Bu t there are other importan t reason s, an d on e

Of them is beau tifu lly an d tru thfu lly expressed byByron in his tw o well-kn own lin es.

Man ’s love is of man ’

s life a thin g apart,"Bis w oman ’

s whole existen ce.

Yes, love is a woman ’s whole life .

Some modern women might Objact to this. They

might say that this w as tru e of the woman Of the

past, w ho w as exclu ded from al l other aven u es of

human activity. The woman of the presen t day has

other in terests besides those of Love . Bu t I claim

that this is tru e Of on ly a small percen tage of

w omen ; an d in even thi s small min ority of women ,


social, scien tific an d artistic activities can n ot take

the place Of love ; n omatter how bu sy an d su ccessfu l

these women may be, they will tell you if you en joy

their con fiden ce that they are u n happy, if their love

life is u n satisfactory. Nothin g, n othin g can fill the

voidmade by the lack Of love. The variou s activities

may help to cover u p the void, to protect it from

stran ge eyes, they can n ot fil l it. For essen tially

w oman is made for love. Not exclu sively, bu t essen

tin lly, an d a woman who has had n o love in her life

has been a failu re. The few exception s that may be

men tion ed on ly emphasize the ru l e.

Bu t n ot on ly psychically is a woman ’s love an d

sex life more importan t than a man ’s, physically she

is also mu ch more cogn izan t Of her sex an d mu ch

more hammred by the man ifestation of her sex

n atu re than man is. TO take bu t on e fu n ction ,men stru ation . From the age 13 or 14 to the

age of forty-five or fifty it is a mon thly re

min der to woman that she is a woman , that she is a

creatu re Of sex ; an d, while to man y women this

periodical ly recu rrin g fu n ction is on ly a sou rce Of

some an n oyan ce or discomfort, to a great n umber

it is a cau se of pain , headache , sn fi erin g, or complete

disability. Man has n o su ch phen omen on to an n oy

him practically his whole life.

Bu t more importan t are the resu l ts Of love-u n ion ,

THE PAR AMOUNT NEED 13

Of sex relation s. A man after a sexu al relation is

ju st as free as he w as before. A woman ,if the rela

tion has resu lted in a pregn an cy, which is gen erally

the case , u n less special pain s are taken it shou ld n ot

so resu l t, has n in e trou blesome mon ths before her ,mon ths of discomfort if n ot of actu al sn fi erin g ; she

then has an extremely tryin g an d pain fu l ordeal, that

Of childbirth, an d then there is an other tryin g pe

riod, the period of lactation or of n u rsin g an d Of

brin gin g u p the baby. The pen al ty seems almost too

great.

An d when the woman is on the poin t of ceasin g to

men stru ate she does n ot do so smoothly an d com

fortably. She has to go through a period called the

men opau se, which may last on e or tw o years an d

which may brin g discomforts an d dan gers of its

ow n . Man does n ot have to go throu gh su ch a dis

tin ct period of demarcation separatin g his sexu al

from his n on -sexu al life . Al together it can n ot be

den ied that woman is mu ch more a slave Of her sex

n atu re than man is Of his. Y es, Natu re has han di

capped woman mu ch more heavily than she has man .

In short, both in view Of the fact that sexu al ign oran ce with its possible missteps has mu ch more

disastrou s con sequ en ces for the girl than it has for

the boy, an d in view Of the fact that the sex in stin ct

an d its physical an d psychic man ifestation s occu py


a mu ch more importan t part in woman ’s life than

they do in the life Of man , w e con sider the n ecessity

Of sex in stru ction mu ch greater in the case Of woman

than in the case Of man . I do n ot wish to be mis

u n derstood as u n derestimatin g the n eed Of sex in

stru ction for the mal e— on ly I con sider the n eed

even greater in the case Of the female.

CHAPTER Tw o

THE FEMALE SEX ORGANS : THEIR

THE organ s which primarily distin gu ish on e sex

from the other are the sex organ s. It is by the aid

Of the sex organ s that children are begotten an d

brou ght in to the world, that the race is reprodu ced

an d perpetu ated. It is for this reason that the sex

organ s are also called the Reprodu ctive Organ s.

The first thin g w e mu st do is to become familiar

with the stru ctu re an d location Of the sex organ s ;in other words, w e mu st get a fair idea of their

An atomy.

The female sex organ s, also called the reprodu c

tive or gen erative organ s, are divided in to in tern al

an d extern al. The in tern al are the most importan t

an d con sist of : the ovaries, Fallopian tu bes, u teru s

or womb, an d vagin a. The extern al sex organ s of

the female are : the vu lva, hymen , an d clitoris.

Amon g the extern al organ s are also gen erally in

clu ded the mon s Ven eris an d the breasts or mammary glan ds.


THE INTERNAL SEX ORGANS

The Ovaries. The ovaries are the essen tial organ s

Of reprodu ction . For it is they that gen erate the

eggs , or ova, or 0011163, which, after becomin g fer

tilized or femmdated by the spermatozoa of the male,

develop in to children . Withou t the ovaries Of the

female, the same as withou t the testicles of the mal e

(to which they correspon d) , n o children cou ld be

begotten , an d the en tire human race wou ld qu ickly

disappear from ou r plan et. The ovaries are two in

n umber ; they are embedded in the broad ligamen ts

which su pport the womb in the pelvis, on e on each

side Of the womb . They are Of a grayish or whitish

pin k color, an d are abou t an in ch an d a hal f lon g,three—qu arters Of an in ch wide, an d on e -third Of an

in ch thick. They weigh from on e-e ighth to on e

qu arter of an Ou n ce . Their su rface is either smooth

or rou gh an d pu ckered. Think Of a large blan ched

THE FEMALE SEx ORGANS 17

almondan d you will have a pretty fair idea of the

The Fallopian Tu bes. The Fallopian tubes (so

called from Fallopiu s, a great an atomist, who dis

covered them ; also called ovidu cts : egg con du ctors,becau se they con du ct the eggs from the ovary in to

the u teru s) are tw o very thi n tu bes, exten din g on e

from each u pper an gle Of the womb to the ovaries ;bu t at their ovarian en d they expan d in to a frin ged

an d trummt-shaped extremity. The frin ges are re

ferred to as fimbria. They are abou t five in ches lon g

an d on ly abou t on e-sixteen th Of an in ch in diameter ;the fu n ction Of the tu bes is to catch the ova as they

bu rst forth from the ovaries an d to con vey them to

the u teru s. Takin g in to con sideration the very n ar

row lxwmen , or cal iber, of the Fallopian tu bes, it is

easy to u n derstan d why even a very slight in flam

mation is apt to clog them u p, to seal their mou ths or

Open in gs, thu s ren derin g the woman sterile, or in ca

pahle Of havin g children . For, if the Fallopian

tu bes are“clogged ”

u p, the eggs, or ova, have n o

w ay Of reachin g the u teru s.

The Greek n ame for the Fallopion tu be is salpin x

(salpin x in Greek mean s tu be ) . An in flammation

Of the Fall opian tube is therefore called salpin gitis.

The Uteru s. The u teru s or womb is the organ in

w hich the fertilized ovum, or egg, grows an d devel

SEX KNOWLEDGE FOR WOMEN

ops in to a child. It is a hollow mu scu lar organ ,

abou t the size of a pear , with thick walls, capable

u n der the in flu en ce of pregn an cy Of great expan sion

an d growth. The broad part Of the pear is called

the body Of the u teru s ; the lower n arrow part is

cal led the n eck Of the u teru s, or cervix. The u teru s

in the adu lt girl or woman is abou t three in ches lon g,two in ches broad in its u pper part an d n early an

in ch thick. It weighs from an Ou n ce to an ou n ce

an d a half. When the u teru s is in a pregn an t con

dition , it in creases en ormou sly, both in size an d in

weight, as w e w i ll see in a fu tu re chapter. The

cavity Of the u teru s is somewhat trian gu lar in shape ;at each u pper an gle is the small open in g commu n i

catin g with the Fallopian tu be ; the u pper portion of

the u teru s is called the fu n du s ; the extern al open in gof the womb, situ ated in the cen ter of the cervix , is

called the mou th of the womb, or the 03, or exter

n al OS .

The u teru s is situ ated in the cen ter Of the pelvis,between the bladder an d the rectum. It is su pported

by certain ligamen ts, the chief”‘

Of which are the

broad ligamen ts ; bu t, on accou n t Of gen eral weak

n ess, too hard physical labor, or liftin g heavy

w eights, the ligamen ts may stretch, an d the u teru s

may sin k down low in the vagin a, an d w e then have

the con dition kn ow n as prolapse of the w omb. Or

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THE FEMALE SEX ORGANS 21

The V agin a [vagin a in Latin —a sheath] . The

vagin a is the tu be or can al which serves as a pas

sage-w ay betw een the u teru s an d the ou tside Of the

body. It exten ds from the extern al gen itals or vu lva

to the n eck of the womb, embracin g the latter for

some di stan ce . It is a stron g, fibromu scu lar can al,lin ed with mu cou s membran e. It is n ot smooth in

side, bu t arran ged in folds, or ru gcc, so that when

n ecessary, as du rin g chi ldbirth, it can stretch en or

mou sly an d permit the passage of a child ’s head.

The len gth of the vagin al can al is between three an d

five in ches, bu t it is in gen eral mu ch more capaciou s

in women that have born e on e or more children than

in those who have n ot born e an y.

Near the vagin al en tran ce are situ ated tw o small

glan ds ; they are abou t the size of a pea, an d secrete

mu cu s. They are called Bartholin ’s glan ds ; occa

sion al ly they become in flamed an d give a good deal

Of trou ble .

The Hyman [hymen in Greek— a membran e] . The

extern al open in g Of the vagin a, in virgin s, that is, in

girls or women w ho have n ot had sexu al in tercou rse,is almost en tirely closed by a membran e called the

hymen . The vu lgar n ame for hymen is “ maiden

head. The hym en may be of variou s shapes, an d Of

difl eren t con sisten cy. In some girls it is a very thi n

membran e, which tears very readily ; in others it is


qu ite tou gh. On the u pper margin or in the cen ter

of the hymen there is an open in g which permits an ysecretion from the vagin a an d the blood from the

u teru s to come throu gh. In rare cases there is n o

open in g in the hymen , that is, the vagin a is en tirely

closed. Su ch a hymen is cal led impcrforate (n ot

perforated) . When the girl begin s to men stru ate,the blood can n ot come ou t an d it accumu lates in the

vagin a. In su ch cases the hymen mu st be Open ed

or slit by a doctor. In some cases the hymen is con

gen itally absen t ; that is, the girl is born withou t an yhymen . While the hymen is u su al ly ru ptu red du r

in g the first in tercou rse, it, in some cases, bein g

elastic an d stretchable, persists u n torn after sexu al

in tercou rse . It will therefore be seen that ju st as

the presen ce of the hymen is n o absolu te proof of

virgin ity, so is the absen ce of the hymen n o absolu te

proof that the girl has had sexu al relation s. She

might have been born withou t an y hymen , or it

might have been ru ptu red by vagin al examin ation ,

by a vagin al dou che, by scratchi n g to relieve itchi n g,or by some acciden t.

THE EXTERNAL GENITALS

The Vu lva. The extern al gen itals of the female

are call ed the vu lva. The vu lva con sists of the labia


majora (mean in g the larger lips) , which are on the

ou tside an d which in the grown -u p girl are covered

w ith hair,an d the labia min ora (the smaller lips) ,

which are on the in side an d which are u su ally on ly

seen when the labia majora are taken apart.

TheMon sVen eris. The elevation above the vu lva,which du rin g pu berty becomes covered w ith hair, is

called by the fan cifu l n ame, mon s V en eris, or V en u s’

mou n tain . It is u su ally well padded with fatty tis

m e.

The Clitoris. The clitoris is a smal l body abou t an

in ch in len gth, situ ated ben eath the mon s Ven eris

an d partly or en tirely covered by the u pper borders

of the labia min ora.

The Urethra. Between the clitoris above an d the

open in g Of the vagin a below is situ ated the open in g

of the u rethra, or the u rin ary meatu s, throu gh which

the u rin e passes. Man y women are so ign oran t, or,let u s say in n ocen t, that they thin k the u rin e passes

ou t throu gh the vagin a. This is n ot so. The vagin a

has n othin g to dowith the process of u rin ation .

Again en umeratin g the female sex organ s, bu t in

the reverse order, from before backward, or from

ou t in ward, w e have : The mon s V en eris an d the

labia majora, or the extern al lips of the vu lva ; these

are the plai n ly visible parts of the female gen ital

organ s. When the labia majora are taken apart w e


see the labia min ora ; when the labia majora an d

min ora are taken apart w e can see or feel the clitoris

an d the hymen ,or the remain s of the hymen . We

then have the vagin a, a large, stretchable mu scu lo

membran ou s can al, in the u pper portion of which

the n eck of the womb, or the cervix, can be seen

(when a specu lum is u sed ) , or felt by the fin ger.

On ly the cervix, or n eck of the womb, can be seen ,

bu t the rest of the womb, the broad er portion , can

be easily felt an d examin ed by on e han d in the va

gin a an d the other han d over the abdomen . Con

tin u ou s with the u teru s are the Fallopian tubes, an d

below the trumpet-shaped en ds of the Fallopian

tu bes are the ovaries, embedded in the broad liga

men ts, on e on each side.

The Breasts. The breasts, also called mammary

glan ds,or mammze [mamma in Latin

,breast] , may

be con sidered as accessory organ s Of reprodu ction .

They are of n o importan ce in the male, in whom

they are u su ally ru dimen tary, bu t they are of great

importan ce in the female. They man u factu re milk,which is n ecessary for the proper n u trition of the

in fan t, an d they add a great deal to the beau ty an d

attractiven ess Of the woman . They are thu s a help

to the woman in gettin g a mate or a hu sban d. The

projectin g elevation of the breast, which the child

takes in hismou th when n u rsin g, is called the n ipple ;


the darker colored area su rrou n din g the n ipple is

called the areola.

The in tern al sex organ s are situ ated in the lower

part of the abdomin al cavity, the part that is called

the pelvis, or pelvic cavity. The mean in g of the

word pelvis in Latin is basin . The pelvis, also re

ferred to as the pelvic girdle or pelvic arch, forms

a bon y basin , an d is composed of three powerfu l

bon es : the sacrum, con sistin g of five vertebrae fu sed

together an d con stitu tin g the solid part of the spin e,or vertebral column ,

in the back, an d the two hipbon es, on e on each Side . The tw o hipbon es meet in

fron t, formin g the pu bic arch.

The hipbon es are called in Latin the ossa in n omi

n ata (n ameless bon es) an d each hipbon e is com

posed Of three bon es : the ilium, the ischium, an d the

OS pu bis. The thighs are attached to the hipbon es,an d to the hipbon es are also attached the large glu

teal mu scles, w hich form the bu ttocks, or the“seat. ”

The pelvis Of the female difiers con siderably from

the pelvis of the mal e. The female pelvis is shal

lower an d wider, less massive, the margin s Of the

bon es are more widely separated, thu s givin g greater

promin en ce to the hips ; the sacrum is"shorter an d

CHAPTER THREE

THE PHYSIOLOGY OF THE FEMALE SEX

ORGANS

THE importan ce of an organ depen ds u pon its

fu n ction , u pon what it does, an d n ot SO mu ch u pon

what it is. It is importan t to kn ow the size, stru c

tu re an d location Of an organ , bu t it is still more im

portan t to kn ow its fu n ction ; in other words, for ou r

pu rpose it is more importan t tokn ow the physiologythan the an atomy of the sex organ s.

FUNCTION OF THE OV AR IES

Like the testicles in man , SO the ovaries in woman

are the essen tial sexu al organ s. They are the fu n da

men tal organ s,withou t which the other sexu al or

gan s are u seless. Also like the testicles in man,the

ovaries have tw o distin ct fu n ction s, man u factu rin g

tw o distin ct su bstan ces. On e fu n ction is to man u

factu re eggs ; this, called the OOgen etic or egg-pro

du cin g fu n ction , is its racial fu n ction ; withou t it

the race cou1d n ot perpetu ate itself. B u t the ovary

has also an in dividu al fu n ction . Besides the ova,

28

the ovary man u factu res w hat w e call an in tern al

secretion w hich is absorbed by the blood, an d w hich

is of the greatest importan ce to the w oman her

self. While the man u factu re Of ova begin s on lyat pu berty, w ith men stru ation , an d closes at the

men opau se , the man u factu re Of the in tern al secre

tion lasts throu ghou t the woman’s en tire life. This

secretion , which con sists of variou s chemical su b

stan ces, has a tremen dou s in flu en ce n ot on ly on

the developmen t of the woman ’S body, bu t also on

her feelin gs.

First of all it is n ecessary for the developmen t

Of the woman ’s special characteristics, or secon dary

sem al characters. Withou t that in tern al secretion

of the ovaries, a woman wou ld look more or less

like a man ; She wou ld n ot develop her beau tifu l

rou n ded form, her pretty lon g hair, her breasts, her

broad pelvis, her femin in e voice, etc. S econ d, the

secretion is n ecessary to the proper developmen t

of her other sexu al organ s ; if the ovaries are cu t

ou t, then the u teru s an d the vagin a an d even the

vu lva shr ivel u p. Third, it is that in tern al secretion

that excites in woman sexu al desire an d makes her

en joy relation s with the male sex. If the ovaries

are cu t away, particu larly if it is don e early in

life, the woman has n o sexu al desire an d n o on

joymou t. Fou rth, it con tribu tes to the gen eral


health, wellbein g, en ergy, an d men tal alertn ess of

the woman .

You see the importan ce of the in tern al ovarian

secretion , an d you will readily u n derstan d why,when the ovaries are removed by operation , the

woman , particu larly if she is you n g, u n dergoes su ch

marked chan ges. It is becau se w e recogn ize n ow

the great importan ce of the ovaries that w e al

ways, when operatin g ou diseased ovaries leave at

least a small piece Of ovary, if at all possible.

Number of Ova. When the female in fan t is born ,her ovaries con tai n as man y ova or eggs as they

ever will con tain . In fact, they con tain more than

they will at pu berty. For it is estimated that at

birth each ovary con tain s abou t ova ; the

majority Of these, however, disappear SO that at the

age of pu berty each ovary con tai n s on ly abou t 30,000ova. As on ly on e ovum ripen s each mon th from

the time of pu berty to the time of the men opau se

(i. e., abou t 300 to 400ova at the u tmost du rin g

a lifetime ) , an d as on ly a dozen or two ova wou ld

be n ecessary for the propagation of the race , it

seems a su perabu n dan ce of ova, an u n n ecessary

lavishn ess. Bu t n atu re is lavish where the propa

gation Of the species is con cern ed. A portion of

an ovary or of both ovaries might become di seased,an d thou san ds Of ova might become u n fit for fer

PHYSIOLOGY OF THE SEX ORGANS 31

tilization ; n atu re therefore pu ts in an extra reserve

su pply. We see a still more strikin g example Of

this extreme extravagan t lavishn ess in man ; on ly

on e spermatozoOn is n ecessary to impregn ate the

ovum, an d on ly on e spermatozoOn can pen etrate the

ovum ; n evertheless each n ormal ejacu lation of se

men con tain s betw een a qu arter an d half a million

Spermatozoa.

The Graafian Follicles. Each primitive or primor

dial ovum is imbedded in a little vesicle or fol

licle, which is gen erally kn own as Graafian follicle,an

‘

d there are as man y Graafian follicles as there

are ova. (The Graafian follicles were first de

scribed abou t 250years ago— in 1672— by a Delft

physician n amed De Graaf, hen ce the n ame. ) Un til

pu berty, that is the commen cemen t of men stru ation ,

the Graafian follicles with the OOcytes or primitive

ova are in a more or less dorman t con dition . Bu t

with the on set Of pu berty there comm en ces a period

Of in ten se activity in the ovaries. This period of

activity is repeated regu larly on ce a mon th, an d

it con stitu tes the process of ovu lation an d men

stru ation . The tw o processes are closely thou gh

n ot cau sally con n ected. Ovu lation con sists in the

mon thly matu ration an d extru sion Of a ripe ovum ;

men stru ation , which will be fu rther di scu ssed in a

separate chapter, con sists in the mon thly discharge

° 32 SEX KNOWLEDGE FOR WOMEN

of blood, mixed with mu cu s from the in side lin in g

of the u teru s. Every twen ty-eight days, from the

time of pu berty to the time Of the men opau se, a

Graafian follicle bu rsts an d an ovum is extru ded

from the ovary. Before the follicle bu rsts,it swells

an d en larges an d reaches the su rface of the ovary ;the whole follicle is con gested with blood

, bu t at

on e poin t n ear the su rface of the ovary it is pale

an d thin , an d here the ru ptu re takes place .

FUNCTION OF THE OTHER GENITAL ORGANS

Fu n ction of the Fallopian Tu bes. The fu n ction Off

the Fallopian tu bes or ovidu cts as they are some

times called is to catch the ovum as it bu rsts throu gh

the ovary an d to con du ct it from the ovary in to the

u teru s. It is while the ovum is in the n arrow lumen

Of the tu be that the spermatozoon which has trav

elled u p from the u teru s u su ally fin ds it, an d it is

in the tu be, n ear its en tran ce to the womb, that

impregn ation u su ally takes place. After the ovum

is impregn ated or fecu n dated, it slowly moves down

to the u teru s, where it attaches itself an d remain s

an d grows for n in e mon ths , u n til it is ready to

come ou t an d start an in depen den t life .

The u teru s or womb is the hou se of the embryo

almost from the momen t of con ception to the mo

PHYSIOLOGY OF THE SEX ORGANS 33

men t Of birth. Withi n the thickwarm sheltered

walls Of the u teru s the child grows, develops, eats

an d breathes, u n til all its organ s an d fu n ction s have

reached su ch a stage of perfection that it can live

by itself an d for itself. An d this may be said to

be the sole fu n ction of the u teru s, or at least its sole

u sefu l fu n ction . For the other fu n ction of the

u teru s, men stru ation , can n ot be said to be a n eces

sary or a u sefu l fu n ction . It is a n ormal fu n ction

becau se it occu rs regu larly in every healthy woman

du rin g her child-bearin g period,bu t n ot every n or

mal fu n ction is a n ecessary or u sefu l fu n ction . Not

everythin g that is is right or u sefu l.

Fu n ction of the V agin a. The vagin a is the can al

in which sexu al in tercou rse takes place. It receives

the mal e organ (pen is) du rin g the sexu al act, an d

serves as a temporary repository for the male se

men . After the spermatozoa have reached the

u teru s, the vagin a has n o fu rther fu n ction to per

form.

THE SECONDARY SEX CHARACTERS

The sex organ s con stitu te the primary sex charac

ters. It is they that distin gu i sh primarily on e sex

from an other. B u t there are n umerou s other sex

characters or sex differen ces which while n ot so im


portan t serve to difieren tiate the sexes, at the same

time formin g poin ts Of attraction betw een on e sex

an d an other. For in stan ce, the beard an d mu stache

are a di stin ct male characteristic an d con stitu te on e

of the secon dary male sex characters. The sec

on dary sex characters are very n umerou s ; on e might

say that each on e of the billion s of cells in the body

bears the impress of the sex to which it belon gs.

First, the skeleton . The en tire female Skeleton

differs from the male skeleton ; all the bon es are

smaller an d more gracile ; the pelvis, as w e have

seen before, is shallower an d wider. Then the mu s

cles are smaller an d more rou n ded . The en tire

con tou r of the body is rou n ded rather than an gu lar

as in man . The Skin is fin er, softer, more delicate.

The hair on the head is lon ger an d Of a fin er textu re,whil e over the body the hair is also fin er an d less

abu n dan t. The voice is fin er, more pleasan t, an d Of

a higher pitch (sopran o ) . The breasts are well

developed, an d serve an importan t pu rpose, whi le

in men they are ru dimen tary. The breathin g is al so

difi eren t ; woman breathes prin cipally with the u p

per part Of the chest, man with the lower. The

brain is smaller an d its con volu tion s somewhat less

complex in woman .

Woman difi ers con siderably from man n ot on ly '

physically, as w e have seen , bu t also men tally an d

CHAPTER FOUR

THE SEX INSTINCT

THE sex in stin ct, which ru n s all throu gh n atu re

from the lowest an imal to the highest, is the in born

impu lse, cravin g or desire which on e sex has for

the other : the male for the female an d the female

for the male. This in stin ct, this desire for the oppo

site sex, which is born with u s an d which man ifests

itself at a very early age, is n ot an ythin g to be

ashamed Of. There is n othin g disgracefu l, n othin g

sin fu l in it. It is a n ormal,n atu ral, healthy in stin ct,

implan ted in u s by n atu re for variou s reason s, an d

absolu tely in dispen sable for the perpetu ation of the

race. If there were an ythin g to be ashamed of, it

w ou ld be the lack Of this sex in stin ct, for withou t it

the race w ou ld qu ickly die ou t.

Not Respon sible for Thoughts an d Feelings. It

is n ecessary to impress this poin t, becau se man y

girls an d women , whose min ds have been perverted

by a viciou s so-called moral ity, worry themselves to

illn ess, brood an d become hypochon driac becau se

they thin k they have committed a grievou s sin in

so

THE SEX INSTINCT 37

experien cin g a desire for sexu al relation s or for the

embrace of a certain man . Al together it is n eces

sary to impress u pon the growin g girl,when the

occasion presen ts itself,that a thou ght or a feelin g

can n ever be Sin fu l. An action may be, bu t a thou ght

or a feelin g can n ot. Why" Becau se w e are n ot

respon sible for ou r thou ghts an d feelin gs ; they are

n ot u n der ou r con trol. Thou gh it does n ot mean

that when they do arise w e are to give them fu ll

sway. We shou ld attempt to combat them an d drive

them away, bu t there is n othin g to be ashamed of,becau se for their origin w e are n ot respon sible.

R espon sible for Action s. Ou r action s are u n der

ou r con trol, to a certain exten t at least, an d if w e

do a bad or in ju riou s act, w e have committed a sin

an d are morally respon sible. The desire for the sex

u al act is n omore sin fu l than the desire for food is

when on e is hu n gry. Bu t the performan ce of the

act may, u n der certain circumstan ces, be as sin fu l

as the eatin g of food which the hu n gry man Obtain ed

by robbin g an other fellow-bein g, ju st as poor as

I am n ot preachin g to you . Bu t I am n ot an ex

tremi st n or a hypocrite . I am advocatin g n either

asceticism n or licen tiou sn ess. On e is as bad, or

almost as bad, as the other.

What I am tryin g to do is to in cu lcate in you r


min ds, if possible, a san e, well-balan ced view of al l

thin gs sexu al.

For I believe that wron g, perverted views Of the

physiology an d hygien e of the sex act an d of sex

morality, that is, the proper relation ship Of the

sexes, are respon sible for u n told misery, for mealcu lable su fierin g. Both sexes su fier , bu t the female

sex su fiers more. The woman alw ays pays more.

This is du e to her n atu ral disabilities (men stru a

tion , pregn an cy, lactation ) , to her age-lon g repros

sion , to the fact that She mu st be sou ght bu t n ever

seek, an d to her econ omic depen den ce.

For the above reason s,sex in stru ction is a mat

ter Of dou ble importan ce to woman — this fact has

been emphas ized in the first chapter. Bu t woman ’s

disabilities impose u pon u s an other du ty : becau se

she carries the heaviest bu rden , becau se she always

pays more dearly than the man , it becomes in cum

ben t u pon man to treat her with special con sidera

tion , with gen u in e kin dn ess an d chivalry.

CHAPTER FIvl

PUBERTY

PUBERTY is the most won derfu l, the most sign ifi

can t period in a girl’s life. Importan t as it is in

a boy ’s life an d developmen t, it is still more so in

a girl ’s. At this period there are Often laid the

fou n dation s which either make or mar the girl’s

The mean in g of the word pu berty is matu rity. It

is the period at which the girl an d the boy reach

sexu al matu rity ; in other words, the period at which

the sex glan ds Of the boy begin to gen erate sperma

tozoa, an d the sex glan ds Of the girl begin to ma

tu re an d expel eggs or ova ; with the girl pu berty

is marked by an addition al phen omen on , which has

n o an alogu e in the boy, n am ely,men stru ation .

Physical Chan ges. The word pu berty is derived

from the word pu ber, which in Latin mean s ma

tu re, ripe. Bu t the word pu ber is itself derived

from the word pu bes, which in Latin mean s fin e hair

or down . For at this period Of matu rity all mam

mals (that is an imals which have breasts an d n u rse

their you n g) begin to develop a grow th of hair. You39


kn ow that ou r en tire body, with the exception of

the palms of the han ds an d the soles of the feet,is covered with in n umerable hair follicles, an d from

ou r birth ou r en tire body, with the exception n amed,is covered with fin e hair. The hair may be too deli

cate to be seen , bu t it is there, an d w ith a magn i

fyi n g glass you can see it withou t an y trou ble. Bu t

at pu berty the hair in creases in thickn ess an d in

qu an tity, an d becomes abu n dan t in places where it

w as hardly n oticeable before— the u pper lip an d

face in boys, an d the armpits an d lower part of

the abdomen in both boys an d girls.

An d so the first apparen t physical Sign of pu

berty in a girl is the gradu al appearan ce of hair

in the armpits, on the mon s V en eris an d the labia

majora. Bu t all the gen ital organ s are u n dergoin g

rapid developmen t ; the vu lva, the vagin a, the u teru s

an d the ovaries become larger, an d the ovaries

which u p to that time were elaboratin g an in tern al

secretion on ly, n ow also begin to man u factu re ova ;in other words, the mon thly process of ovu lation is

begu n . Syn chron ou sly with the process of ovu la

tion , there commen ces the mon thly fu n ction of men

stru ation . The breasts also in crease in size, assume

the characteristic con tou r, develop their glan du lar

su bstan ce, an d become capable of secretin g milk for

the u se Of an y possible Ofisprin g. Du rin g this period

PUBERTY 41

of developmen t they are Often very sen sitive to the

tou ch or feel pai n fu l withou t bein g tou ched.

Bu t n ot on ly the gen ital organ s u n dergo grow th

an d developmen t— the en tire body participates in

the process. The growth in height is the most rapid

at this period ; the greatest growth takes place in

the limbs— legs an d arms. The pelvis becomes

broader, an d the chest or thorax also becomes

broader an d larger. The mu scles become larger

an d rou n der an d fin ally give the girl the beau tifu l

woman ly form.

Psychic Chan ges. Bu t the chan ges are n ot on lyphysical ; the chan ges that take place in the girl

’s

psychic sphere du rin g the pu bertal years are also

highly importan t. That is the period of the de

velopmen t Of the emotion s ; she is overflowin g with

emotion ; she becomes sen sitive ; in her relation s with

boys an d men she becomes self-con sciou s. Distin ct

sexu al desire fortu n ately does n ot make its appear

an ce in the girl at this period, as it does in the boy,bu t she becomes filled with vagu e u n defin ed an d

u n defin able lon gin gs. It is the period of “ cru shes ”

when the girl is apt to bestow her overflowin g emo

tion on a girl frien d. There is n othin g reprehen si

ble in these cru shes— they act as a safety valve

an d on ly in rare cases are they apt to lead to ab

n ormal developmen t. This is also the period of


day-dreamin g an d of roman cin g ; the girl likes to

read love-stories an d n ovels in which She iden tifies

herself with the heroin e. An d it makes qu ite some

differen ce as to what the girl reads du rin g thi s

period, for literatu re has a stron g in flu en ce on the

you n g in the most plastic period of their lives ; an d

it'

is importan t that Older person s see to it that those

in their care spen d their time on books of n oble

ideals an d high artistic valu e.

Girls of a highly sen sitive or so-cal led “n ervou s

temperamen t, especially if there is‘n ervou sn ess

in the family, mu st be particu larly looked after.

For it is du rin g the years of pu berty an d ado

lescen ce that an y n eu rotic traits are apt to develop

an d become emphasized. It is also the period when

bad sexu al habits (mastu rbation ) are apt to de

velop, an d the carefu l mother will devote special

atten tion to her girls in their years of pu berty, an d

gu ard them as mu ch as possible again st physical

an d emotion al Shocks.

The age of pu berty in girls is by man y writers

con sidered as syn on ymou s or syn chron ou s with the

on set Of men stru ation , which in this cou n try in the

majority of cases occu rs between the ages of thi r

teen an d fou rteen . The year Of gradu al develop

men t before the on set Of men stru ation is by some

referred to as the pro-pu bertal year ; an d the first

CHAPTER SIX

MENSTRUATION

THE first fu n ction with which the gi rl will be con

fron ted, which will impress u pon her that She is a

creatu re of sex,that She is decidedly differen t from

the boy, is men stru ation . An d thi s fu n ction w e will

n ow proceed to stu dy.

What ismen stru ation "Men stru ation is amon thly

discharge of blood. The word is derived from the

Latin word men sis, which mean s a mon th ; an d men

stru ation is al so frequ en tly Spoken Of as the men

ses. It is also called the catamen ia or catamen ial

flow (Greek, kata— by, men — amon th) Other terms

are : the periods, cou rses, mon thlies, tu rn s, mon thly

chan ges, mon thly sickn ess, Sickn ess, flowers, to be

u nwell, to be regu lar.“ Not to see an ythin g is a

common term for havin g missed the men ses. Thi s

flow of blood recu rs in most cases with remarkable

regu larity on ce a mon th ; n ot a calen dar mon th, bu t

on ce a lu n ar mon th, i . e ., on ce every tw en ty-eight

days. An d as there are thirteen lu n ar mon ths a

year, a woman men stru ates n ot twelve bu t thirteen

times a year.

MENSTRUATION 45

Where does the men stru al blood come from" The

men stru al blood comes from the in side of the womb.

Every mon th, for a few days prior to men stru a

tion , the in side lin in g of the w omb (what w e call

the mu cou s membran e or en dometrium) becomes

con gested an d its bloodvessels become disten ded

with blood. If the woman has sexu al in tercou rse

an d pregn an cy happen s to take place , then this

extra blood is u sed to n ou rish an d develop the n ew

child ; bu t if n o pregn an cy takes place, that extra

blood exu des from the bloodvessels (some Of the

bloodvessels ru ptu re ) an d is discharged from the

u teru s in to the vagin a, an d from there to the ou t

side , where it is cau ght on cotton , san itary n ap

kin s or some other pad .

At w hat age does men stru ation begi n" The u su al

age at which men stru ation begin s in this cou n try is

thirteen or fou rteen ; in some it may occu r as early

as twelve, in others as late as fifteen , sixteen or

even seven teen . For men stru ation to begin earlier

than twelve or later than seven teen is in this cou n

try a rare exception . Bu t in cold n orthern climates

the age of eighteen is n ot rare, an d in the hot sou th

ern climates men stru ation Often starts at the ages

Of ten or eleven . Chan ge of climate or of cou n try

will Often have an in flu en ce on the men ses. In the

early years of his medical practice, the au thor had


man y Fin n ish girls as patien ts. It w as a very

common occu rren ce for them to stop men stru atin g

for the first few mon ths or even for the first year

of their residen ce in this cou n try.

At w hat age does men stru ation cease" The age

at which men stru ation ceases is called the men o

pau se or climacteric. It u su ally takes place at the

age of forty-eight or fifty. In some cases it does

n ot take place u n til the age of fifty-tw o, in others

it takes place as early as forty-five or forty-fou r.

In gen eral, it may be said that the woman ’s men

stru atin g period,’ du rin g which She is able to have

children , lasts abou t thirty-five years. An d if n o

restrain t be taken , an d if n o precau tion s be taken

again st con ception , a woman cou ld have twen ty or

thirty children du rin g her childbearin g period.

How many days does a w oman men stru ate" The

u su al n umber of days is from three to five ; in some

case s men stru ation lasts on ly tw o days, in others

as lon g as seven . As a ru le,the greatest amou n t

of blood passed isO

du rin g the first tw o days.

The amou n t of blood . It is hard to estimate the

exact amou n t of blood passed by a woman du rin g

her men ses, bu t it reaches abou t an ou n ce an d a

half to three ou n ces. In some women the amou n t

may reach as mu ch as fou r or five ou n ces an d in

exception al cases as mu ch as eight ou n ces. Where

MENSTRUATION 47

it exceeds this m ou n t, it is an abn ormal con dition ,requ irin g treatmen t. The u su al statemen t that a

n ormally men stru atin g woman shou ld n ot have to

u se more than three n apkin s du rin g the

fou r hou rs is correct.

CHAPTER SEV EN

ABNORMAL ITIES OF MENSTRUATION

IN man y girls an d women men stru ation is a per

fectly n ormal, physiological process. They su fier

n o discomfort whatever from it. They su ffer n o

pain s, n o headache, n o irritability, they have n o ad

mon i tion of its on set, u n til they feel the blood oozin g

or tricklin g ou t. Bu t, u n fortu n ately, this is tru e

on ly Of a small percen tage. The majority of womenhave some u n pleasan t symptoms. Some have a

headache for a day or two, some complain of a drag

gin g down sen sation , some are irritable, feel de

pressed or qu arrelsome ; some have n o appetite, n o

ambition , n o desire for work or compan y, while

some girls have su ch severe pain s an d cramps that

they are obliged to go to bed for a day or tw o an d

cal l in medical aid .

When the men stru ation is very profu se, resem

blin g more a hemorrhage than n ormal men stru ation ,it is called men orrhagia ; if the hemorrhage from

the u teru s occu rs ou t Of the regu lar men stru al

periods, it is called metrorrhagia. When the men

ses are skipped, or when they are so scan ty that48

ABNORMALITIES OF MENSTRUATION 49

you can hardly n otice an y blood, w e u se the term

am en orrhea. In a few rare cases the men stru ation

in stead of comin g n ormally from the u teru s, comes

from some other part Of the body, for in stan ce, the

n ose. Some women have a hemorrhage from the

n ose every mon th. In some a bloody discharge maycome from the breasts. To su ch a su bstitu te men

stru ation w e apply the term vicariou s men stru ation .

Su ch cases, however, are rare, an d are mere cu ri

osities.

Dysmen orrhea. I men tion ed before that in some

girls an d women the men ses are accompan i ed by

pain s an d cramps. Thi s affliction , which is the lot

of million s of women , an d from which men are

en tirely free, is called dysmen orrhea. Dysmen or

rhea mean s pain fu l an d diflicu l t men stru ation . A

slight pain or at least a feelin g of di scomfort is

presen t in most cases Of men stru ation . Bu t in man y

cases the pain is so severe, so excru ciatin g, that the

su fl erer , girl or woman , is in capacitated for an y

w ork, an d mu st go to bed for a day or tw o. In

some cases the pain is so severe as to n ecessitate

the u se of morphin e, an d as it is a very bad thin g

to have to give morphin e every three or fou r weeks,every en deavor shou ld be made to fin d ou t the cau se

of the trou ble an d to remove it. It is a mistake,however, to think that all or even most cases of


dysmen orrhea are du e to some local trou ble , that

is, to an in flammation of the ovaries, or a displace

men t of the w on fb. Man y cases of dysmen orrhea

are of n ervou s origin ; the cau se resides in the cen

tral n ervou s system, an d n ot in the gen ital organ s

themselves. It is, therefore, n ot advisable to u n

dertake an y local treatmen t, u n less a competen t

physician has mad e a thorou gh examin ation an d

has decided that local treatmen t is advisable.


n oticed at some distan ce an d to which some men

an d women are very su sceptible . There are some

women who n ever take a vagin al dou che . Some con

sider it a u seless an d u n n ecessary luxu ry ; while

some orthodox pu ritan ical women con sider it an u n

godly procedu re (forgettin g that clean lin ess is n ext

to godlin ess) fit on ly for women of gay an d qu es

tion able character. If these orthodox women kn ew

what w as good for them— an d for their heal th

they wou ld take a dou che at least du rin g men stru a

tion , if at n o other time.

Clean lin ess. When the girl reaches the age of

twelve or thirteen the mother Shou ld explain to her

the phen omen on of men stru ation an d the likelihood

of its makin g its appearan ce in a Short time. Of

cou rse she shou ld be told that there is n othin g

shamefu l in it, that when it makes its appearan ce

she shou l d at on ce tell her mother, w howill in stru ct

her what to do. She shou ld be shown the u se of

san itary n apkin s. Rags,u n less recen tly washed an d

kept wrapped u p an d protected from du st, shou ld

n ot be u sed. Un clean rags may lead to in fection .

I have n o dou bt that man y cases of leu corrhea date

back their origin to u n washed rags. Every morn

in g an d every even in g the girl Shou ld wash the

extern al gen ital s with warm water, or plain soap

an d water. Married women shou ld also take a

THE HYGIENE OF MENSTRUATION 53

dou che on ce a day— the dou che may con sist of tw o

qu arts Of water in which has been dissolved a tea

spoon fu l Of common table sal t, or a tablespoon fu l

of borax or boric acid. Su ch thin gs like al um,

potassium perman gan ate, carbolic acid, lactic acid,or tin ctu re of iodin e shou ld on ly be u sed when there

is leu corrhea presen t an d gen erally on ly u n der a

physician ’s direction s. Bathin g is permissible, bu t

it is safe to u se on ly a lukewarm bath. Cold tub

baths, cold shower baths, as well as ocean an d river

bathin g are best avoided du rin g the period ; at least

du rin g the first tw o days. I do n ot give this as an

absolu te ru le ; I kn ow women w ho bathe an d swim in

the ocean du rin g their men stru al periods withou t

an y in ju ry to themselves, bu t they are exception al ly

robu st women ; advice in books is for the average

person , an d it is always best to be on the safe side .

R est. Rest is ju st as importan t du rin g men stru a

tion as clean lin ess, if n ot more so. Some women

as men tion ed before feel du rin g their men ses ju st

as well as they do at other times, an d do n ot n eed

an y special hygien e. Bu t these are in the min ority.

Most girls an d women do feel somewhat below par

du rin g that period, an d it is very importan t that

they take it easy, particu larly du rin g the first tw o

days. It is an ou trage that man y delicate, weak

girls an d women mu st stay on their feet all day or


w ork '

on a machin e when they shou ld be at home

in bed or lyin g down on a cou ch.

The w omb is con gested du rin g the period, is

larger an d heavier than n ormal , an d it Is then that

there is often laid the fou n dation for some fu tu re

u terin e disease, the well-kn own“ womb trou ble,

”

or “ female disease .

” It is n ot n ecessary that work

be given u p altogether, bu t there certain ly shou ld

be less of it an d there shou ld be as mu ch rest as

possible . For delicate an d sen sitive girls it is al

w ays best to stay away from school du rin g the first

an d secon d days. Speakin g again of the average

an d n ot the exception , it is best that dan cin g, bicycle

ridin g, horseback ridin g, rowin g, an d other athl etic

exercises be given u p al together du rin g the men

ses. Au tomobile ridin g an d railroad an d carriage

travellin g prove in ju riou s in some in stan ces, greatlyin creasin g the flow of blood. Bu t these are the ex

ception s at the other extreme.

FECUNDATION OR FERTILI"ATION

Fecu n dation or fertilization is the process of u n ion

of the female germ cell with the male germ cell ;speakin g of an imals, it is the process of u n ion of

the egg or ovum of the female with the sperma

tozoOn Of the mal e. When a su ccessfu l u n ion of

these tw o cells takes place a n ew bein g is started.

The process of fertilization or f ecu n dation is also

kn own as impregn ation an d con ception . We say, to

fertilize (chiefly, however, when speakin g Of plan ts)or to fecu n date an ovum,

or to impregn ate a fe

male Or woman , an d to con ceive a child. We say

the woman has become impregn ated or has con

ceived.

The P rocess. The process of fecu n dation is

briefly as follows. An ovu m becomesmatu re, breaks

throu gh its Graafian follicle in the ovary an d is set

free . It is cau ght by the fimbriated or trumpet

Shaped extremity Of the Fallopian tu be an d, moved

by the w ave-like motion of the cilia Of the lin in g of

the tu be, it begin s its travel towards the u teru s. If


n o sexu al in tercou rse has taken place n othin g happen s. The ovum dries u p, or

“ dies,”

an d either

remain s somewhere in the tu be or womb or is re

moved from the latter with the men stru ation , or

mu cou s di scharge . Bu t if in tercou rse has taken

place, thou san ds an d thou san ds of the mal e germ

cells or spermatozoa en ter the u teru s throu gh its

open in g or extern al os, an d begin to travel u pward

in search of the ovum. The spermatozoa are capa

ble of in depen den t motion , an d they travel prettyfast. It is claimed that they can travel an in ch

in seven min u tes, which is pretty fast when you

take in to con sideration that a spermatozoiin is on ly

of an in ch lon g. Man y of the spermatozoa,weaker than the others, perish on the w ay, an d

on ly a few con tin u e the jou rn ey u p throu gh the

u teru s to the tu be. When n ear the little ovum,

which remain s passive, their movemen ts become

more an d more rapid, they seem to be attracted to

it as if by a magn et, an d fin ally on e spermatozoiin

—ju st on e—the on e that happen s to be the stron gest

or the n earest, makes a mad ru sh at it with its head,perforates it, an d is completely swal lowed u p by

it. As soon as the spermatozoiin has been absorbed

by the ovum, the open in g throu gh which it got in

becomes tightly sealed u p—a coagu lation takes place

n ear it— so that n o other spermatozoa can en ter

FECUNDATION OR FERTILI"ATION 57

the ovum. For if two or more spermatozoa got

in to the same ovum a mon strosity wou ld be apt to

be the resu lt.

What becomes Of all the

other spermatozoa" They

perish. On ly on e is n eed

ed. B u t in the ovum that

has been impregn ated, an d

which is n ow called an em

bryo, a feverish activity

commen ces. First of al l it

looks for a fixed place of Srmm rozoon Pm m e

abode . If the ovum hap

pen ed to be in the u teru s when the spermatozoon

met an d en tered it, it remain s there. It becomes

attached to some spot in the lin in g of the womb an d

there it grows an d develops,u n til at the en d of n in e

mon ths it has reached its fu l l growth, an d the womb

open s an d it comes ou t in to the ou tside world. If

the ovum is in the Fallopian tu be when the sper

matozoOn meets it, as is u su al ly the case, it travels

down to the u teru s, an d fixes itself there.

Extra-Uterin e Pregn an cy. The tu be is a bad place

for the ovum to grow an d develop, becau se the tu be

can n ot stretch to su ch an exten t as the u teru s can ,

n or can it fu rn ish the embryo su ch good n ou rish


men t as the u teru s can . Occasion ally, how ever, it

the tube an d develops there ; w e then have a case

of w hat w e call extra u terin e (ou tside-of-the-u teru s)or tubal pregn an cy. Extra-u terin e pregn an cy is

also called ectopic pregn an cy, or ectopic gestation .

Un less diagn osed early an d operated u pon , the

w oman may be in great dan ger, for after a few

w eeks or mon ths the tube gen erally r uptures.

From them omen t the spermatozoOn has en tered

the ovum, a process of division or segmen tation

commen ces. The ovum, w hich con sists of on e cell,

divides in to tw o, the tw o in to fou r, the fou r in to

eight, the eight in to sixteen , these in to thir ty-tw o,these in to Sixy-fou r, 128, 256, 512, u n til theycan n o lon ger be cou n ted . This mu lberry mass of

cells arran ges itself in to tw o layers, with a cavity

in betw een . An d from these layers of cells there

develop gradu ally all organ s an d tissu es, u n til a

fu lly formed an d perfect child is the resu lt. If

tw o ova are impregn ated at the same time by tw o

spermatozoa, the resu lt is tw in s.


gives you September 3oth ; add seven days an d you

get October 6th, the probable date of delivery. The

presen ce Of a short mon th like Febru ary may be

disregarded,as the calcu lation is n ot absolu tely,

bu t on ly approximately correct.

The period at which the child ’s movemen ts begin

to be felt by the mother is termed Qu icken in g. It

u su ally occu rs at the middle of the pregn an cy, be

tween the l 6th an d 18th week.

Pregn an cy is a n ormal physiological process ; bu t

every active physiologi cal process is apt to be ao

compan ied by distu rban ces, an d there is certain ly

n o process in the an imal body in which greater ao

tivity, greater chan ges, go on than du rin g the

process of pregn an cy. Ju st see what occu rs in n in e

mOn ths. The u teru s, at first the size Of a small pear,reaches a size larger than that Of the head Of a bigman ; it does n ot merely stretch, as some thin k

, bu t

it actu ally grows en ormou sly in Size, the mu scu lar

walls of a pregn an t u teru s bein g man y times thicker

than those Of a n on -pregn an t on e . They have to

be or they wou ld n ot have the stren gth to expel the

child, when the proper time comes. It is to be born e

in min d that the child does n ot Slip ou t by itself ;it is the powerfu l mu scu lar con traction s of the

u teru s that pu sh it ou t. If the u teru s shou ld refu se

to work,if its walls were too thin or too weak

, the

PREGNAN CY 61

child cou ld n ot come ou t, bu t wou ld have to be taken

ou t with forceps. Still greater chan ges than in the

u teru s take place in the child itself. At the mo

men t Of con ception it is the size of the head of a pin ;at the momen t Of birth it weighs from seven to ten

pou n ds ; at the momen t Of con ception it is a min u te,u n difi eren tiated mass Of protoplasm, ju st a sin gle

fertilized cell ; at the momen t Of birth it con sists

of mi llion s an d mi llion s Of cells, which have become

difl’eren tiated in to n umerou s harmon iou sly workin g

organ s, an d differen t tissu es, su ch as brain an d

n erve tissu e,mu scu lar tissu e, con n ective tissu e,

bon e, cartilage, etc , etc. A tru ly won derfu l pro

cess. An d in the mean time this child,which is bio

logically a parasite (thou gh it is n ot a n ice n ame

to call it by) draws its su sten an ce from the mother’s

blood, an d the mother has to provide n ou rishmen t

for tw o. An d, besides providin g n ou rishmen t, her

excretin g organ s, her kidn eys, mu st work for two,becau se her system has also to get rid Of the child

’s

excretion s. NO won der that the pregn an t woman ,particu larly u n der an artificial u n healthy mode of

livin g, is su bject to man y trou bles an d distu rban ces.

CHAPTER ELEV EN

THE DISORDERS OF PREGNANCY

WE saw that in some women men stru ation ru n s

a perfectly smooth cou rse, free from an y disagree

able symptoms. The same is tru e of pregn an cy. It

is remarkable how smooth an d easy the en tire cou rse

is w ith some women . Man y women kn ow that they

are pregn an t on ly becau se Of the n on -appearan ce

of the mon thly periods ; an d even in the later mon ths

they feel n o discomfort, atten din g to al l their work

an d pleasu res as u su al ; an d even childbirth is a

triflin g matter with them. Un fortu n ately the n um

ber of su ch women is n ot very large, an d, becau se

Of ou r con fin ed, u n n atu ral, often exhau stin g w ay

of livin g, is becomin g smaller an d smaller. There

is n o qu estion that the civilized, refin ed woman has

a harder ordeal in pregn an cy an d childbirth than

has her primitive Sister. We con fiden tly hope that

this w ill n ot be so in the fu tu re ; w e expect the time

to come when tru e hygien e will be an in tegral part

Of the edu cation an d the life of every girl , an d then

pregn an cy an d partu rition may become even easier

processes than they are in the primitive races. Bu tas

THE DISORDERS OF PREGNANCY 63

the time is n ot yet ; an d in the mean time ou r you n gw omen have a good deal to go throu gh.

Morn ing Sickn ess. On e Of the common est aisor

ders of pregn an cy is the SO-called'

morn i n g sickn ess.

Thi s con sists in a feelin g Of n au sea an d vomitin g,w hich comes on soon after gettin g u p. The morn in gsickn ess makes its first appearan ce in the third,fou rth or fifth week Of pregn an cy an d lasts u su ally

u n til the en d of the third or fou rth mon th . In some

women , however, the morn in g sickn ess comes on in

a few days after impregn ation has taken place, an d

those women diagn ose their con dition u nmistakablyby the feelin g of slight n au sea which they experi

en ce on gettin g u p. Medicin es are as a ru le of little

u se in treatin g morn in g Sickn ess. The “ disease ”

can ‘be relieved bu t n ot cu red. The patien t shou ld

stay in bed later than u su al, shou ld have her break

fast in bed, an d then n ot get u p for abou t half an

hou r afterward. If the patien t is an emic, a good

iron preparation may prove u sefu l.

sometimes becomes so severe an d u n con trollable that

it has been given the n ame pern iciou s. The pa

tien t is u n able to retain an y kin d Of food, n ot even

liqu ids, vomi ts almost in cessan tly, an d may become

very mu ch ru n dow n an d exhau sted. The vomited

matter may con tain blood. For this con dition a


competen t physician mu st be con su lted, for in some

cases the patien t ’s life may be in dan ger an d an

abortion has to be performed.

Capriciou s Appetite. A capriciou s appetite is verycomm on in pregn an cy. The capriciou sn ess may ex

press itself in fou r differen t direction s : 1 ) The pa

tien t may lose her appetite, almost altogether, par

takin g on ly of very little food, an d that with ef

fort. This con dition Of loss of appetite is cal led

an orexia. (2) The patien t may develop an en or

mou s appetite—what w e call bu limia—eatin g sev

eral times as mu ch as she does ordin arily. (3)She may develop an aversion towards certain ar

ticles Of food. Thu s man y women develop an aver

sion towards meat, the mere sight Of or talk abou t

meat cau sin g in them a sen sation Of n au sea. (4)She may Show a cravin g for the most pecu l iar ar

ticles Of food an d for articles which are n ot food at

all . The cravin g for sou r pickles or sou r cabbage

is we ll-kn own ; bu t some women w ill eat chalk, san d,an d even more pecu liar thin gs (for the chalk there

may be a reason : the system n eeds an extra amou n t

of lime an d chalk is carbon ate of lime ) .

Con stipation . Con stipation is very commonamon g women in the n on -pregn an t con dition ; bu tin the pregn an t it is mu ch more common an d mu ch

more aggravated. Con stipation mu st be gu arded


again st, bu t the measu res mu st be of a mild n atu re.

If w e can relieve the con stipation by dietary meas

u res alon e, so mu ch the better. The dietary meas

u res shou ld con sist in eatin g plen ty Of fru it— pru n es,apples, figs, dates, etc., an d coarse bread an d bran .

Con stipatin g articles, su ch as cheese or cofiee,

Shou ld be elimi n ated. Where dietary measu res

alon e are in su fficien t, the patien t shou ld take an

en ema— a rectal in jection — twice or three times a

week. The en ema shou ld con sist Of abou t 8 ou n ces

(half a pin t) of cold or lu kewarm water con tai n in g

a pin ch of salt, an d shou ld be retain ed abou t ten

min u tes. In stead of water, We may advise an oc

casion al en ema Of tw o to fou r drams of glycerin .

Or in stead of a glycerin en ema, a glycerin su pposi

tory may be u sed. If in tern al laxatives are to be

u sed, on ly the mildest an d n on -gripin g prepara

tion s Shou ld be employed. The best are : a good

min eral oil— on e or tw o tablespoon fu ls on goin g to

bed , or flu id extract Of cascara sagrada, on e-half

to on e teaspoon fu l on goin g to bed . It is very im

portan t, whatever w e u se,n ot to u se the same thin g

for a lon g time. If the sam e dru g or measu re isu sed withou t an y chan ge, the bowels get u sed to it

an d cease to respon d an d w e have to u se larger an d

larger doses. In fightin g con stipation w e mu st

therefore con stan tly chan ge ou r weapon s : on e n ight

SEX KNOWLEDGE FOR WOMEN .

w e u se min eral oil, the n ext n ight cascara sagrada,

the third n ight an en ema, the fou rth n ight a gly

cerin in jection or su ppository, the fifth n ight per

haps n othin g at all , the sixth n ight a blu e mass pill,the seven th morn in g a Seidlitz powder, then a rest

for a day or tw o, then a repetition Of the same meas

u res. Bu t always remember : first try to get alon g

w ithou t an y dru gs at al l. Man y cases can get re

lieved of their con stipation by a proper chan ge in

diet alon e. An d where this is impossible, then u se

mild laxatives an d u se them in terchan geably.

Toothache is n ot u n common in pregn an cy, an d a

pregn an t woman shou ld have her teeth pu t in first

class con dition .

Difl cu lty in Urin ation . Pregn an t women often

sn fi er with frequ en cy an d u rgen cy Of u rin ation .

Some have to u rin ate, while they are on their feet,

every few min u tes. This is du e to the fact that

du rin g the first tw o or three mon ths Of pregn an cy

the u teru s is n ot on ly en larged bu t is also an te

verted, that is tu rn ed forw ard an d presses dow n

u pon the bladder. When the woman is lyin g dow n

the pressu re on the bladder is relieved, an d she

does n ot have to u rin ate frequ en tly. This pres

su re lasts on ly the first tw o Or three mon ths, be

cau se after that the growin g womb lifts itself ou t

of the pelvis, risin g in to the abdomin al cavity ; it


piles (the hemorrhoids) are to be well clean sed w ith

hot water,an d this Oin tmen t is to be well smeared

over ; a little is pu shed in to the rectum,an d a piece of

cotton is pu t over the an u s. This protects the clothes

from soilin g an d keeps the medicin e in place for

a lon ger time . In stead of Oin tmen t a cocoa bu tter

su ppository may be u sed. A su ppository of the fol

lowin g composition is good : powdered n u tgalls, 3

grai n s ; Oil of cade, 3 drops ; resorcin , 1 grain ; bis

mu th su bn i trate, 5 grain s ; cocoa bu tter, 20grain s.

On e su ch su ppository to be in serted three times a

day. The Oin tmen t an d the su ppository given above,if u sed in con ju n ction with the proper regu lation of

the bowels, will n ot on ly relieve bu t will cu re most

cases Of hemorrhoids cau sed by pregn an cy.

Itchin g of the V u lva. Pru ritu s V u lva . Itchin g

of the extern al gen itals du rin g pregn an cy is n ot u n

common . This may be du e to the fact that the vu lva

is gen erally con gested an d swollen du rin g pregn an cy

or it may be cau sed by an in creased leu corrhea]

discharge. The itchin g is sometimes very severe,an d if the patien t scratches with her n ails an d pro

du ces bleedin g, she may cau se an in fection Of the

parts. The patien t shou ld be cau tion ed again st

scratchin g ; she shou ld try Simple measu res to re

lieve the itchin g. A small towel or gau ze compress

wru n g ou t of boilin g water an d applied to the vu lva


several times a day, followed by a free application of

stearate of zin c powder is Often efi cien t. If it is

not, the followin g salve may be tried : carbolic acid,10grain s ; men thol, 5 grain s ; resorcin , 15 grain s ;zin c oxide, 1 dram ; an d w hite vaselin e, on e ou n ce.

In very severe cases the vu lva shou l d be pain ted

w ith a solu tion of silver n itrate, 25grain s to 1 ou n ce

of distilled water.

Varicose V ein s. In most women du rin g pregn an cythe vein s in the legs become somewhat e n larged.

This is du e to the pressu re of the womb, which in

terferes with the circu lation . If the vein s become

very promin en t, swollen an d tortu ou s, they are

called varicose. This con dition shou ld be pre

ven ted, becau se it Often an d to some degree always

persists perman en tly even after the pregn an cy is

over. The best precau tion ary measu re is for the

woman to wear a well -fittin g abdomin al belt or ma

tern ity corset, which su pports the womb an d does

n ot permit it to sink too low in to the pelvis. If

varicose vein s have been permitted to develop, the

woman shou ld wear well-fittin g rubber stockin gs, or

at least have the legs ban daged with woven elastic

ban dages. The ban dage mu st be applied by a com

peten t person , u n iformly an d n ot too tightly. Con

stipation has al so a bad cfiect in makin g varicose

vein s worse ; the bow els shou ld therefore also be


looked after. In some severe cases all measu res are

of little valu e u n less the patien t at the same tim e

stays in bed or on a cou ch for a few days, with the

legs elevated.

Swellin g of the feet shou ld be at on ce atten ded

to. It may be a triflin g matter du e on ly to pressu re

of the womb ; then again it may be du e to some

kidn ey trou ble . The physician w ill determin e the

tru e cau se an d prescribe the appropriate treatmen t.

Liver Spots. Chloasma. In some cases irregu lar

brown ish patches or splotches develop on the skin

arou n d the breasts, on the sides, or on the face.

These patches are kn own popu larly as liver spots or

in medical lan gu age as chloasma . Nothin g can be

don e for them,bu t they gen erally di sappear after

the pregn an cy is over. A few patches here an d

there may remain perman en tly.

WHEN TO ENGAGE A PHYSICIAN

THE disorders an d di stu rban ces described above

ar e, with the exception Of pern iciou s vomitin g, Of a

min or n atu re. They are an n oyin g, may cau se con

siderable discomfort an d sn fierin g, bu t they do n ot

en dan ger the life of the woman or Of the child. Cc

casion ally, however, fortu n ately n ot very Often , the

kidn eys become affected,‘

an d for this con di tion

treatmen t by a physician is absolu tely n ecessary.

In fact, the correct an d safe thin g for a woman to

do is to con su lt a physician as soon as she kn ow s

She is pregn an t, an d have him take care Of her du r

in g the en tire pregn an cy. Some women en gage a

physician du rin g the eighth or n in th mon th an d

this is decidedly wron g, becau se it may then be too

late to correct certain trou bles which if taken at

the ou tset cou ld have been easily cu red ; while man y

trou bles in the han ds of a competen t physician can

be preven ted altogether. I mu st therefore reiterate :

every woman shou ld en gage a physician from the

begin n in g of her pregn an cy, or at least du rin g the71


third or fou rth an d certain ly n ot later than the fifth

mon th. He will examin e the u rin e every mon th an d

make su re that the kidn eys are in

order, he will make su re that the

chi ld is in a n ormal position , an d

w ill preven t a host Of other ills.

This is n ot a special treatise on

the man agemen t of pregn an cy, an d

therefore mi n u te details are ou t of

place. Besides, to the detai ls the

physician will atten d. Bu t some hin ts

pom-n on o, m regardin g diet an d gen eral hygien ecm

fi ogm will prove u sefu l .

If everythin g is satisfactory,if

there is n o severe vomitin g, kidn ey trou ble, etc , the

u su al mixed diet may con tin u e . The on ly chan ges I

wou ld make are the followin g : Drin k plen ty of hot

water du rin g en tire cou rse of pregn an cy : a glass or

tw o in the morn in g, two or thr ee glasses in the after

n oon , the sam e at n ight. From six to tw elve glasses

may be con sumed. Also plen ty of milk, bu ttermilk

an d fermen ted mi lk . Plen tyof fru it an d vegetables.

Meat on ly on ce a day. For the ten den cy to con sti

pation , whole wheat bread, rye bread, bread baked

of bran or bran with cream .

As to exercise, either extreme mu st be avoided.

Some w omen thin k that as soon as they become

WHEN TO ENGAGE A PHYSICIAN 73

pregn an t, they mu st n ot move a mu scle ; they are to

be pu t in a glass case, an d kept there to the day of

delivery. Other women , on the other han d, Of the

u ltramodern type, in du lge in stren u ou s exercise an d

go ou t on lon g fatigu in g walks u p to the last day.

Either extreme is in ju riou s. The right w ay is

moderate exercise, an d short, n on -fatigu in g walks.

Bathin g may be kept u p to the day of delivery.

Bu t warm baths, particu larly du rin g the last tw o

or three mon ths, are preferable to cold baths.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

THE SI"E OF THE FETUS

MEN an d women are always In terested to kn ow

how large the fetu s is an d how far it is developed

du rin g the variou smon ths of pregn an cy. Absolu telyexact measu remen ts can n ot be given , bu t the fol

lowin g approximate measu remen ts are correct

At the en d of the fi rst mon th (lu n ar ) it is abou t

the size of a hazeln u t. Weighs abou t 15 grain s.

At the en d of the secon d mon th it is the size of a

small hen ’s egg. The in tern al organ s are partially

formed, it begin s to assume a human shape, bu t the

sex can n ot yet be differen tiated. Up to the fifth or

sixth week it does n ot difi er mu ch in appearan ce

from the embryos of other an imals.

At the en d of the third mon th it is the size of a

large goose egg ; it is abou t tw o to three an d a half

in ches lon g. Weighs abou t on e ou n ce.

At the en d of‘

the fou rth mon th the fetu s is be

tween six an d seven in ches lon g an d weighs abou t

five ou n ces.

At the en d of the fifth mon th the fetu s is between74

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

THE AFTERBIRTH (PLACENTA ) AND CORD

WHATEV ER part of the womb the ovum attaches

itself to is stimu lated to in ten se activity in growth.

Numerou s bloodvessels begin to grow an d that part

Of the lin in g membran e with its n umerou s blood

vessels con stitu te the placen ta, or as it is common ly

called afterbirth, becau se it comes ou t after the birth

of the chi ld. From the placen ta there is also re

flected a membran e over the ovum, so as to give it

addition al protection . That membran e forms a

complete bag over the fetu s ; this bag becomes fil led

with liqu id, so that the fetu s floats freely in a bag

Of waters ; this bag bu rsts on ly du rin g childbirth.

The fetu s is n ot attached close to the placen ta, bu t

is, so to say, su spen ded from it by a cord,which

is called the u mbilical cord . When the child is born ,

the umbilical cord is cu t, an d the scar or depres

sion in the abdomen where the umbilical cord w as

attached con stitu tes the n avel or umbilicu s (in slan g

lan gu age—bu tton or belly bu tton ) . The umbilical

cord con sists Of two arteries an d on e vein embedded76

THE AFTERBIRTH AND CORD 77

in a ge latin like su bstan ce an d en veloped by a mem

bran e, an d it is throu gh the umbilical cord that the

blood from the placen ta is brou ght to an d carried

from the fetu s. The blood of the fetu s an d the blood

of the mother do n ot mix ; the bloodvessels are sep

arated by thi n walls, an d it is throu gh these thin .

walls that the fetal blood receives the in gredien ts

it n eeds from the mother ’s blood. In other words,it receives its n ou rishmen t from the mother by

absorption or osmosis. The blood from the pla

cen ta also fu rn ishes the fetal blood with oxygen , so

that the fetu s breathes by the aid of the placen ta,an d n ot throu gh its ow n lu n gs.

It is well to remember that there is absolu tely

n o n ervou s con n ection between mother an d child.

There are n o n erves whatever in the umbilical cord,so that the n ervou s systems of the fetu s an d Of the

mother are en tirely di stin ct an d separate. An d this

w ill explain why certain n ervou s impression s an d

Shocks received by the mother are n ot readily tran s

m itted to the child. It is on ly throu gh chan ges in

the mother ’s blood that the fetu s can be in flu en ced.

As w ill be seen in a later chapter w e are Skeptical

abou t “ matern al impression s.

”

CHAPTER FIE-TEEN

LACTATION OR NUR SING

EV ERY mother shou ld n u rse her child— if she can .

There is n o perfect su bstitu te for mother ’s mi lk.

There is on ly on e excu se for a mother n ot n u rsin g

that is when she has n omilk, or when the qu alityof the milk is so poor that the child does n ot thrive

on it, or w hen the mother is ru n dow n , is threat

en ed with or is su fferin g with tu bercu losis, etc. In

su ch cases the n u rsin g wou ld prove in ju riou s to

both mother an d child.

When the mother can n ot n u rse the child, it shou ld

be brou ght u p artificially on modified cow ’s milk.

Formu las for modified milk have been worked ou t

for everymon th Of the child’s life, an d if the formu

las are carefu lly foll owed, an d the bottle an d n ip

ples are properly sterilized,the chi ld shou ld have

n o trou ble, bu t shou ld thrive an d grow like on good

mother ’s milk . If the chi ld is sickly or delicate an d

does n ot thrive on modified cow ’s mi lk or on other

artificial foods, then a w et n u rse may become n ec

essary. Bu t before en gagin g a w et n u rse great care

shou ld be taken to make su re that she is healthy,78

LACTATION OR NURSING 79

that the age of her chi ld is approximately the same

as the age of the child which She is abou t to n u rse,an d particu larly that She is free from an y syphil itic

tain t. On e, tw o or more Wasserman n tests shou ld

be made to settle the qu estion defin itely.

Mothers Shou ld bear in mi n d that su cklin g the

child is good n ot on ly for the child,bu t for the

mother as well. Lactation helps the in volu tion of

the u teru s : the u teru s of a n u rsin g mother retu rn smore qu ickly an d more perfectly to its n ormal an te

pregn an t con dition than the u teru s of the mother

w ho can n ot or will n ot n u rse her child.

That the mother w ho n u rses her child shou ld

partake of su flicien t n ou rishmen t goes withou t sayin g. Bu t the advice Often given to n u rsin g mothers

to partake Of beer, al e or win e is a bad on e . It is

a qu estion if a mother partakin g of con siderable

qu an tities of alcoholic beverages may n ot tran smit

the taste for alcohol to her children . No, alcoholics

shou ld be left alon e, bu t milk, eggs, meat, fru i t

an d vegetables shou ld be partaken of in abu n dan ce.

Preparing the Nipples. For the in fan t to be able

to n u rse properly the n ipples of the breast mu st

be in good con dition . If the n ipples are su n ken ,

depressed, it is tortu re for the child to n u rse. It

u ses u p a lot of en ergy u selessly, becomes exhau sted,an d gets very little milk ; while if the n ipples be


ten der or cracked the process of n u rsin g is a tor

tu re for the mother.

It is therefore n ecessary to atten d to the n ipples

in du e time— to begin at the fifth or Sixth mon th is

n ot too early. If the n ipples are su flicien tly promi

n en t,little n eed be don e for them except to wash

them with a little boric acid solu tion (on e teaspoon

fu l of boric acid to a glass Of water) occasion ally,an d n ow an d then to ru b in a little petrolatum, plain

or borated. Bu t if the n ipples are su n ken so that

they are below the su rface of the breast, or if theyare on ly slightly above the su rface of the breast,they mu st be treated. Gen tle traction mu st be made

on them with the fin gers three or fou r times a day.

There are on ly a few cases where persisten t man ipu

lation will n ot develop the n ipple an d make it stan d

ou t promin en tly.

If the n ipple is ten der it shou ld be washed two or

three times a day with a mixtu re of alcohol an d

water ; on e part of al cohol to three parts of water

is su flicien t. In washin g the n ipple with this dilu ted

alcohol it shou ld be dried an d a little petrolatum

or vaselin e ru bbed in . Thi s don e tw o or three times

a day du rin g the last mon th or tw o of the pregn an cyw ill gen erally produ ce a good healthy n ipple.

The Treatmen t of Cracked Nipples. If the care of

the n ipple has been n eglected, an d it develops cracks

LACTATION OR NURSING 81

or fissu res so that the n u rsin g of the chi ld cau ses

the mother severe pai n , the n u rsin g Shou ld be don e

throu gh a n ipple Shield, an d in the mean time be

tween the n u rsin gs the n ipple shou ld be ru bbed with

the followin g preparation , which is excellen t an d

which I can fu lly recommen d : thymol iodide,dram ; Olive oil, ou n ce . This shou ld be applied

every hou r to the n ipple an d covered with a little

cotton ; before each n u rsin g, however, it mu st be

well washed Off with warm water or warm boric acid

solu tion . When the n ipples are cracked, the in

fau t ’s lips shou ld al so before n u rsin g be carefu lly

wiped ou t with boric acid solu tion . For the baby ’s

mou th con tain s bacteria which whi le harmless in

themselves may if they get in to the cracks of the

n ipple set u p an in flammation Of the breast or “ mas

titis ” an d cau se an abscess. If the cracks are ex

cru ciatin gly pai n fu l, as they sometimes are, it is

n ecessary to give the on e breast a rest for twen ty

fou r hou rs an d have the child n u rse at the other

u n til the cracks have partially healed.

When It Is Necessary toDry Up the Breasts. In

case of the death Of the child,or if the mother for

some other reason fin ds herself u n able to n u rse.

su ch as in cases w here there is absolu tely n o n ipple,in stead of the promin en ce of the n ipple there bein ga deep depression , it becomes n ecessary to stop the


secretion of the milk, or as it is said in common

parlan ce,“to dry u p the breasts.

” In former days,

n ot so very lon g ago, an d the practice is still com

mon en ou gh to call atten tion to it an d to con demn

it, the breasts u sed to be tightly ban daged, or theyu sed to be pumped every few hou rs. The first

cau ses u n n ecessary pain an d trou ble, w hile the sec

on d procedu re, the pumpin g, does exactly the re

verse to w hat it is in ten ded to do. In stead of dryin g u p the breasts it keeps u p the secretion . The

best thin g to do in a case like that is to leave the

breasts alon e, n ot to pump them,bu t ju st gen tly

su pport them w ith a ban dage an d then in three or

fou r days the secretion Of the milk will gradu al ly

disappear. There is some discomfort the first

tw en ty-fou r or forty-eight hou rs, bu t if left alon e

the discomfort is less than if the breasts are man ipu

lated, ban daged or pumped.

Men struation or Pregn an cyWhile Nu rsin g. Man y

w omen do n ot men stru ate an d do n ot become preg

n an t while they are n u rsin g. Some women will n ot

con ceive, n o matter how lon g they may n u rse the

child— a year or tw o or lon ger. An d some women

take advan tage of this fact, an d in order to avoid

an other child they will keep u p the n u rsin g as lon g

as possible . In Egypt an d other Orien tal cou n tries

where ou r mean s for the preven tion Of con ception

CHAPTER SIxTEEN

ABORTION AND MISCARR IAGE

THE word abortion , u sed somewhat loosely, sign ifies the prematu re expu lsion of the fetu s ; the ex

pu lsion of the fetu s from the womb before it is via

ble, i. e ., before it is capable of livin g in depen den tly.

Used in a stricter sen se, the word abortion is ap

plied to the expu lsion Of the fetu s u p to the en d Of

the l 6th week ; to the expu lsion of the fetu s be

tween the l 6th an d the 28th week the term mis

carriage is applied ; an d when the expu lsion of the

fetu s takes place after the 28th week, bu t before

fu l l term, w e u se the term prematu re labor. The

laity does n ot like the term abortion, as it is u n der

the impression that the term always sign ifies crimi

n al abortion ; it therefore prefers to u se the term

miscarriage regardl ess of the time at

which the expu l sion of the fetu s takes place.

When an abortion (or miscarriage ) takes place

by itself, withou t an y ou tside aid, w e call it spon

tan eou s abortion . When it is brou ght on by arti

ficial mean s, whether by the woman herself or by

somebody e lse, w e call it in du ced abortion . When84

AB ORTION AND MISCARRIAGE 85

an abortion is in du ced for the pu rpose of savin g'

the woman ’s life, w e call it therapeu tic abortion ;

this is con sidered perfectly legal an d proper. Bu t

where an abortion is in du ced merely to save an n u

married mother ’s repu tation , or becau se the married

mother is too poor or too weak to have an y more

children , or is relu ctan t to have an y (or an y more )for an y other reason , it is called crimin al or illegal

abortion , an d, if discovered, su bjects the mother an d

the person w ho produ ced the abortion to severe

pu n ishmen t.

When the fetu s for some reason dies in its

mother ’s womb, it is gen erally expelled withi n a

few hou rs or days. Sometimes this is n ot the case,

an d the dead fetu s is retai n ed for several weeks,or mon ths or even years ; to su ch a phen omen on w e

apply the term missed abortion . Some women su f

fer from what mIght be cal led the abortion habit ;they can hardly ever carry a child to fu ll term

, bu t

lose it in the same mon th or even in the same week

of gestation du rin g each pregn an cy ; w e call this ha

bitu al abortion . An d this habitu al abortion may

be in depen den t of disease, su ch, for in stan ce, as

syphil is. The terms threaten ed, immin en t an d ih

evitable abortion requ ire n o fu rther explan ation .

The Cau ses of Abortion . Ou tside of the abortion

habit, which may be du e partly to heredity or be


cau sed by a diseased con dition of the lin in g mem

bran e of the u teru s, the prin cipal cau se of abortion

an d mi scarriage is syphilis. An d when a w oman has

had tw o or three or fou r or more miscarriages in

su ccession w e gen erally assume the cau se to be

syphilis, an d in most cases the assumption w ill be

correct.

CHAPTER SEV ENTEEN

PRENATAL CAR E

BY pren atal care w e u n derstan d the care taken

du rin g pregn an cy before the child is born . Used in

a wider sen se the term in clu des the care which both

paren ts Shou ld take of themselves even before the

child is con ceived.

Of cou rse the father an d the mother shou ld be in

the best possible physical an d men tal con dition du r

in g the time of con ception an d even before con cep

tion , an d the mother Shou ld take the very best care

of herself— she Shou ld be in good health an d as calm

a spirit as possible du rin g the en tire period of ges

tation . For the gen eral health an d con dition of the

mother does in flu en ce the child.

I have seen somu ch misery cau sed by wron g pre

n atal care teachin g an d by the fooli sh, exaggerated

ideas on the su bject, that I con sider it my du ty to

say somethin g in order to cou n teract those erro

n eou s n otion s. I con sider it my special mission to

destroy error,mysticism an d su perstition . An d the

pren atal care teachin g as imparted by some u n for

tu n ately partakes of all three of the above .

871


Of cou rse, I repeat, the mother Shou ld try to be

in the best possible con dition while she is carryin g

the child. Nevertheless, it is foolish to imagin e if

the mother is n ot qu ite well, or is worried abou t

somethi n g, or has a fit of an ger, that it is in var iably

goin g to be reflected on the child. The child, as w e

kn ow, has n o n ervou s con n ection whatever with the

mother,an d it is on ly very violen t or prolon ged

shocks that are apt to have an in ju riou s in flu en ce .

I kn ow of chi ldren that were carried by their

mothers in an ger an d in an gu i sh from the day of

con ception to the day of delivery. An d still they

were born perfectly n ormal. I kn ow of a chi ld whose

mother w as su fferin g the most hellish tortu res of

jeal ou sy du rin g the en tire period of pregn an cy, an d

still the child w as born perfectly healthy, perfectly

n ormal,an d is n ow a splen did specimen of man hood.

I kn ow children w hose mothers wen t throu gh severe

attacks of pn eumon ia, typhoid fever, etc , an d still

they were born perfectly healthy an d perfectly n or

mal . I kn ow children whose mothers were u sin g

every mean s to abort them,took all kin ds of in ter

n al medicin es u n til they were deathly Sick, an d still

they were born perfectly healthy an d n ormal . I

kn ow children whose mothers tried to abort them

by mechan ical mean s,who wen t to abortion ists w ho

made on e or more attempts to in du ce the abortion

PRENATAL CARE 89

I kn ow even cases where the mothers bled as a resu lt

of su ch attempts— an d n evertheless,the children

were born perfectly healthy,developed n ormally

physically an d men tally.

Of cou rse these are n ot thin gs that I wou ld advise

w omen to do or to u n dergo. I wou ld n ot advise

pregn an t women toworry, to be sick, to take poison

ou s medicin es or to make attempts at abortion , bu t

I merely brin g u p these poin ts to emphasize to my

readers n ot to take the n ecessity of pren atal care in

too absolu te a sen se, an d n ot to worry themselves

u n n ecessarily if the con dition s du rin g their preg

n an cy are n ot all that cou ld be desired. The child

is n ot n ecessarily goin g to be affected. The con di

tion Of the germ-plasms, i . e .

,the con di tion of the

ovum an d the spermatozoa at the time Of con cep

tion is more importan t than al l su bsequ en t care du r

in g gestation .

As there are foolish people who possess a pecu

liar kn ack Of misin terpretin g an d misu n derstan din g

everythin g, I wish to emphasize that hygien e du rin g

pregn an cy shou ld n ot be n eglected. Everythin g pos

sible shou ld be don e to pu t the mother in the best

possible physical an d men tal con dition . All I wan t

to say is that it is bad to be in san e on the su bject,that it is bad to take thin gs in an absolu te sen se, an d

that it is bad to exaggerate.

CHAPTER E IGHTEEN

STERILITY

STERILITY or barren n ess is a con dition of in abilityto have children . In former years the opin ion pre

vailed gen erally, when ever a cou ple w as childless,that the fau lt w as exclu sively the woman ’

s. It

w asn’t even thou ght that the man cou ld be to blame.

We n ow kn ow that in at least fifty per cen t. Of cases

of sterility, or childless marriages, the fau lt is n ot

the woman ’s bu t the man ’

s. It is therefore very n u

w ise in con di tion s Of sterility to su bject the w ife to

treatmen t withou t first examin in g the hu sban d.

Nevertheless,thi s is still Often the case, particu larly

amon g the lower classes or amon g the ign oran t.

There are cases where the woman goes from on e

doctor to an other for years an d is su bjected to all

kin ds Of treatmen t,when a simple examin ation Of

the hu sban d wou ld show that the fau lt lies with him.

Some women have on e child an d are u n able after

wards to give birth to an y more. Su ch a con dition

is called on e-child-sterili ty. It is gen eral ly du e to

an inflammation Of the Fallopian tu bes which closes90


to the spermatozoa. An other cau se is a severe ben d

in g or tu rn in g Of the u teru s either forw ards or

backw ards. The Open in g Of the n eck Of the womb,the os, may also be closed, or practically so

,f rom

u lceration , from stron g application s, etc. In some

cases sterility may be du e to severe con stitu tion al

disease, when the person is very mu ch ru n down an d

so an emic that men struation stops. Un fortu n atelythis is n ot always the case, for women even in the

last stages Of con sumption may, an d Often do, be

come pregn an t. Syphil is u n fortu n ately does n ot

cau se sterility ; it on ly cau ses miscarriages u n til

con trolled by treatmen t.

The treatmen t Of sterility can be su ccessfu lly car

ried ou t on ly by a competen t physician , particu larly

by on e w ho is devotin g himself special ly to this kin d

Of w ork. Bu t I wan t on ce more to immess u pon

every woman w ho is sterile, an d w ho w an ts to have

a child, n ot to have herself treated or even examin ed

u n til her hu sban d has been su bjcoted to an examin a

CHAPTER NIN ETEEN

THE MENOPAUSE OR CHANGE OF LIFE

IN the chapter on men stru ation I referred brieflyto the men opau se. I will con sider it here somewhat

more in detail.

The men opau se , also called the climacteric, an d

in common lan gu age “chan ge of life,

” is the period

at which woman ceases to men stru ate . The average

age at which this occu rs is abou t forty-eight. Bu t

whil e some w omen con tin u e to men stru ate u p to

the age Of fifty, fifty-two, an d even fifty-five, others

cease to men stru ate at the age Of forty-five or even

forty-tw o. Between forty-fou r an d fifty-tw o are the

n ormal limits. An ythin g before or beyon d that is

exception al.

Ju st as the begin n in g of men stru ation may set in

w ithou t an y trou ble Of an y kin d, an d ju st as some

w omen have n ot the slightest u n pleasan t symptoms

du rin g the en tire period of their men stru al life, so

the men opau se occu rs in some women withou t an ytrou ble, physical or psychic The periods between

the men ses become perhaps a little lon ger, or a little98


irregu lar, the men stru al flow becomes more an d

more scan ty, then on e or several periods may be

skipped altogether, an d the men opau se is pem

u en tly established. Man y women,however

, the ma

jority probably, su fl er con siderably du rin g the tran

sition al year or years of the men opau se. Symptoms

are both of a physical an d Of a psychic character,bu t the psychic symptoms predomin ate. There maybe headache, capriciou s appetite, or complete loss of

appetite, con siderable loss of flesh, or on the con

trary very su dden an d rapid pu ttin g on of fat, great

irritability, in somn ia, profu se perspiration ; hot

flashes throu ghou t the body, an d particu larly in the

face, which make the face “ blu shin g ” an d con

gested, are particu larly frequ en t. Then the woman’s

character may be completely chan ged. From gen tle

qu arrelsome. Jealou sy withou t an y grou n ds for it

may be on e of the disagreeable symptoms, makin g

both the wife an d the hu sban d very u n happy. In

some exception al cases a gen u in e n eu rosis or psy

chosis may develop.

Cau se of Sufferi ng Dmi ng Men opau se. It is my

con viction , an d I have had this con viction for man y

years, that man y, if n ot most,of the distressin g

symptoms of the men opau se are du e, n ot to the

men opau se itself, bu t to the wron g ideas abou t this

THE MENOPAUSE 95

period that have prevail ed for so man y cen tu ries.

We kn ow the in flu en ce of the min d over the body,an d the pern iciou s cfiect which wron g ideas mayexercise over ou r feelin gs. The gen erally prevalen t

opin ion amon g women , an d men for that matter,an d n ot on ly Of the laity bu t u n fortu n ately of the

medical profession as well , is that the men opau se

is the en d of w oman ’s sexu al life. Every woman is

laborin g u n der the erron eou s impression that with

the establishmen t of the men opau se,w ith the ces

sation of the men ses, she ceases to be a woman , an d

as she does n ot become a man , she becomes some

thin g Of a n eu ter bein g , n either woman n or man .

An d she has the idea that after the men opau se she

can have n o fu rther attraction for her hu sban d or

for other men . Natu ral ly su ch an idea has a very

depressin g efiect on an y human bein g. An y human

bein g fights to the last to retain all its human fu n c

tion s, especially the fu n ction which is con sidered as

importan t as is the sexu al fu n ction .

R eprodu ctive Fu n ction an d Sexu al Fu n ction Not

Syn on ymou s. Of cou rse with the perman en t cessa

tion of the men ses the woman ’s reprodu ctive fu n c

tion is at an en d. Bu t the reprodu ctive fu n ction is

n ot syn onymou s with the sexu al fu n ction , I mu st

in sist again an d again , an d n atu ral ly u n til this erro

n eou s idea is dispelled mu ch u n n ecessarymisery w ill


be the lot of ou r w omen . If women in gen eral will

learn that w ith the establishmen t of the men opau se

they do n ot cease to be women , if they w ill learn

that the sexu al desire in women lasts lon g beyon d

the cessation of the men opau se, man y women bein g

as passion ate at six ty as at thirty, if they w ill learn

that their attractiven ess or n on -attractiven ess to

the mal e sex does n ot depen d u pon the men opau se,bu t u pon their gen eral con di tion , if they will learn

that man y women at fifty an d sixty are mu ch more

attractive than some women at half that age, they

w i ll not take the on set of the men opau se so tragi

cally an d they will thereby avoid the greater part

Of their men tal an d emotion al sufl erin g.

The actu al atrophy of the ovaries, u teru s, exter

n al gen ital s an d the breasts can , of cou rse, n ot be

preven ted,bu t that atrophy is a slow an d gradu al

process, an d is n ot in itself the cau se of the variou s

distressin g symptoms that w e have en umerated.

The treatmen t of the men opau se, if the symptoms

are at al l disagreeable, or distressin g, shou ld be in

the han ds Of a competen t physician . A little whole

some advice may be more efficien t than gallon s of

medicin e an d bu shels of pil ls. In gen eral the w oman

shou ld try to lead as calm an d peacefu l a life as pos

sible. Warm baths daily are ben eficial, con stipation

shou ld be gu arded agai n st, hot vagin al dou ches are

THE MENOPAUSE 97

often eflicien t again st the disagreeable flu shes, an d

last, bu t n ot least, the hu sban d shou ld du rin g this

critical period be dou bly kin d an d dou bly con sider

ate Of his w ife . It is du rin g the years between forty

five an d fifty-five that the wife is most in n eed of

her hu sban d ’s sympathy an d su pport.

CHAPTER Tw ENTY

THE HABIT OF MASTURBATION

MASTURBATION or self-abu se is a term applied to

a bad habit which con sists in han dlin g an d ru bbin g

the gen itals. It is a bad habit becau se it is apt to

in ju re the health an d fu ture developmen t of the

girl. The more frequ en tly it is practiced, the more

in ju riou s it is. It is more in ju riou s than when prac

ticed by boys, becau se the efiects are u su ally more

perman en t. Girls who in du lge in the habit of mas

tu rbation to excess n ot on ly weaken themselves, be

come an emic an d get a din gy, pimply complexion,

bu t they lose their desire for n ormal sexu al rela

tion s when they grow u p, an d are u n able to derive

an y pleasu re from the sexu al act when they get

married. In fact, man y girls who mastu rbated ex

cessively get a stron g aversion to the n ormal sexu al

act, an d their married life is an u n happy on e. Their

hu sban ds Often have to ask for a divorce. Fortu

n ately, the habit is mu ch less widespread amon g

girls than it is amon g boys. Whil e abou t n in ety

per cen t. of all boys— n in e ou t Of every ten—mas

tu rbate more or less, on ly abou t ten or at most98


somethin g terrible, that it has disgraced them an d

itself ; an d they try to persu ade it that, u n less it

stops immediately, the most direfu l con sequ en ces

are awaitin g it. The resu lts of thi s mode of pro

cedu re are disastrou s—mu ch more SO than is the

mastu rbation itself.

Often the scoldin g an d the exposu re of the child

are don e in the presen ce of others. This implan ts

in the poor girl a su llen resen tmen t that on ly makes

it more diflicu lt for it to break the habit. When

the child is brou ght to the physician , you can see

by its behavior, by its down cast looks, by its su‘

lki

n ess, by its attempt to refrain from tears, an d other

sign s, that it regards the physician in exactly the

same light as a you thfu l crimin al regards the ju dge

before whom he has been brou ght for trial.

It is time, high time, that this silly an d in ju riou s

attitu de toward a practice, which is very common ,be radically chan ged. It is time that paren ts an d

physician s learn that the in ju riou sn ess Of the habit

has been greatly, grossly exaggerated. It is time'

that they kn ow that the vast majority of boy‘s an d

girls get over the habit withou t bein g mu ch , or

an y, the worse for it. The kn owledge Of this‘

fact

w ill n ot on ly save them an d the children mu ch n eed

less an gu ish an d sn fierin g, bu t w ill make it mu ch

THE HABIT OF MASTURBATION 101

easier to deal with the latter, make it mu ch easier

to get them divorced from the habit.

If w e look at the matter in a sen sible, common

sen se w ay, an d do n ot tell the child cau ght in the

practice that it has don e somethin g disgracefu lly

viciou s an d crimin al, bu t speak to it kin dly an d tell

it that it is doin g somethin g that may in ju re it

greatly, that may in terfere with its fu tu re men tal

an d physical health an d developmen t, then w eshall

have far greater su ccess in ou r en deavors to break

the boy or the girl of the habit of mastu rbation . As

I have said in an other place“ In my opin ion , stigmatizin g even the most mod

crate in du lgen ce in mastu rbation as a vice has a

deleteriou s effect u pon the people who so in du lge

an d makes it harder for them to break of the habit.

Every thinkin g physician an d sexologist can tell you

that pictu rin g the mastu rbatory habit in too lu rid

colors an d stigmatizin g it with too stron g epithets

has, as a ru le, the con trary efiect to the on e ex

pected . The victims Of the habit con sider them

selves degraded, irretrievably lost. They lose their

self-respect, an d it is, on accou n t of that, harder for

them to break themselves of the habit. ”

I am n ot tryin g to min imize the dan ger of mas

tu rbation , for, if in du lged in from an early age

an d to great excess, the resu lts may be disastrou s.


Bu t, even if I were to min imize the evil con se

qu en ces, that wou ld be less of a sin.

than to exag

gerate them the w ay it has been don e for so man y

years, by so man y people in the profession an d ou t

of it. The evil resu lts of exaggeratin g the in flu

en ce of mastu rbation have been so great in the past

that, if n ow the pen du lum were to swin g to the

other extreme, I am su re it wou ld n ot be a bad thin gat all .

To deal w ith the su bject of the treatmen t Of mas

tu rbation belon gs to a medical treatise. Bu t, a few

remarks on how to preven t children from acqu ir

in g the habit of mastu rbation will n ot be ou t of

place.

Preven tion of the Habit of Mastu rbation The

keyn ote of preven tin g the habit is, carefu lly to watch

the child from its earliest in fan cy. We kn ow that

n ot in frequ en tly stu pid or viciou s n u rsemaids, w et

n u rses, an d even govern esses ign oran tly or deliber

ately in du ce the habit in children u n der their charge .

This, Of cou rse, mu st be preven ted . Even children

of the age of n in e, ten , eleven years shou ld n ot be

left alon e, bu t always be u n der su pervision . TOO

close frien dship between boys or girls, particu larly

of difieren t ages, shou ld be looked u pon w ith su spi

cion .


are as developed as are others Of thirteen ) , w e mu st

tell them that it is bad an d in ju riou s to han dle on e ’s

gen ital s, an d w e mu st warn them to Shu n an y com

pan ion s who wish to in itiate them in to an y man ipu

lation s Of these parts or who show an in clin ation to

talk abou t the sexu al organ s an d sex matters.

Hot baths are very in ju riou s for you n g chi ldren

in their in flu en ce in this direction . There is n o qu es

tIon that a hot bath has a very decided stimu latin g

cfi ect u pon the sexu al desire of adu lts as well as of

chi ldren , both mal e an d femal e ; in fact, I have had

several patien ts Of either sex tell me that their first

mastu rbatory act w as committed while they were in

a hot bath. Of cou rse, the sen sation havin g been

pleasu rable, they kept on repeatin g the experien ce

Every factor liable to give rise to the habit shou ld

be removed. Thu s, for in stan ce, e czema abou t the

gen itals, stron gly acid u rin e, seatworms, an d the

like, Shou ld be treated u n til cu red. That an ythin g

havin g a ten den cy prematu rely to awaken the sexu al

in stin ct shou ld be rigorou sly avoided, goes w ithou t

Men tal or PsychicMastu rbation . Some girls an d

women will abstain from han dlin g themselves w ith

their han ds (man u al mastu rbation ) , bu t will prac

tice what w e call men tal mastu rbation . That is, they

w il l con cen trate their mi n ds on the opposi te sex,

THE HABIT OF MASTURBATION 105

w ill pictu re to themselves variou s lasciviou s scen es,u n til they feel satisfied. This method is ex

treme ly in ju riou s an d exhau stin g an d is very likely

to lead to n eu rasthen ia an d a n ervou s breakdown .

You shou ld break you rself of it, by all mean s, if you

can . For it is even more in ju riou s than the regu lar

habit.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

LEUCORRHEA— THE WHITES

LEUCORRHEA mean s literal ly a whi te ru n n in g,an d is applied by the laity to an y whitish discharge

comin g from the vagin a. This is wron g, becau se

some whi te discharges may be Of little importan ce ;others may be of a seriou s character, an d n ot be

leu corrhea at al l .

Leu corrhea is on e Of the bon es Of the modern girl

an d woman . It is very frequ en t. Probably at least

twen ty-five per cen t. (some say fif tyr or seven tyifive

per cen t. ) of all women su ff er with it in a greater or

lesser degree . In some cases it is on ly an an n oy

an ce, n ecessitatin g the frequ en t chan gin g Of n ap

kin s, bu t in others it cau ses a great deal of weakn ess,backache, erosion s, itchin g an d bu rn in g. It is veryresistan t to treatmen t

,particu larly in girls. The

reason it is so resistan t to treatmen t is becau se the

discharge, while comin g from the vag in a, does n ot

u su ally origin ate in the vagin a ; it origin ates in the

n eck Of the womb, an d the hu n dreds an d hu n dreds

of in jection s that w omen take for their leu corrhea

on ly reach the vagi n a ; they can n ot pen etrate in to106


a resu l tan t leu corrhea. A gen eral ru n down con di

tion , worry, overwork, too hard stu dy, lack of fresh

air , an d a gen eral scrofu lou s con di tion also favor the

developmen t of catarrh of the womb an d leu corrhea.

It will therefore be seen that the treatmen t Of leu

corrhea to be su ccessfu l mu st be gen eral an d local .

Gen eral Treatmen t. The gen eral treatmen t con

sists in gen eral hygien ic measu res an d in common

sen se. The patien t shou ld n ot be on her feet more

than she can help, an d she shou ld n ot walk u n til ex

hau sted or fatigu ed. It is better to take several

shortwalks than on e lon g on e. The corset She wears,if she wears an y at all, shou ld be of the modern

kin d : n ot on e that presses the womb an d the other

abdomin al organ s down , bu t on e that su pports the

abdomin al walls, an d rather raises the abdomin al

organ s u p. The lacin g or bu tton in g mu st be from

below u p, an d n ot from above down . That it shou ld

n ot in an y w ay in terfere with the freedom Of respi

ration goes withou t sayin g. Con stipation , if an y, to

be treated, mu st be treated in telligen tly, by mild

measu res (see Con stipation , in the chapter on Preg

n an cy) , an d care mu st be taken that the bowelsmove

at regu lar hou rs. Where the leu corrhea is du e to or

is aggravated by an emia an d gen eral weakn ess, a

good iron preparation , su ch as on e Blau d ’s five

grain pill three times a day, or a ton ic of iron , qu i

LEUCORRHEA— THE WHITES 109

n in e an d strychn in e, will do good. A daily cold bath

or cold spon ge, followed by a brisk dry ru b n g with

a rou gh towel, is also u sefu l.

Local Treatmen t. Local measu res con sist of pain t

in g or swabbin g the vagin a an d cervix with variou s

solu tion s, of tampon s, su ppositories an d dou ches.

Local application to the vagin a an d u teru s can be

don e satisfactorily by the physician or n u rse on ly.

The in sertion of a su ppository or dou chin g can be

easily don e by the patien t herself.

While it is always best an d safest to con su lt a

physician , an d, while self-medication is gen erally in

advi sable, there are occasion s when a physician is

n ot availab le ; in some small places a woman may,

for variou s reason s, have a stron g objection to gyn e

oological examin ation an d treatmen t ; an d some

w omen may be too poor to pay the doctor. In su ch

circumstan ces self-treatmen t is ju stified an d there

can be n o Objection to it if the remedies are harm

less an d are su r e to do some good ; that is, to im

prove the con dition where they do n ot efiect a com

plete cu re .

On e of the simplest thin gs is an alum tampon .

You take a piece of absorben t cotton , abou t the size

of a fist, spread it ou t, pu t abou t a tablespoon fu l Of

powdered alum on it, fold it u p, tie a strin g arou n d

the cen ter, in sert it in the vagin a as far as it w ill go,


an d leave it in for twen ty-fou r hou rs. Then pu ll it

gen tly by the strin g an d syrin ge you rself with a

qu art or tw o qu arts Of warm water. Su ch a tampon

may be in serted every other day or every third day,an d I have kn own man y cases where this Simple

treatmen t alon e produ ced a cu re. In some cases,

however, dou cheswork better an d the tw obest thin gs

for dou chin g are : tin ctu re Of iodin e an d lactic acid .

Bu y, say, fou r ou n ces Of tin ctu re of iodin e, an d u se

two teaspoon fu ls in tw o qu arts of hot water in a

dou che bag . This in jection shou ld be u sed twice a

day, morn in g an d n ight. Of the lactic acid you bu y,say, a pin t, an d u se two tablespoon fu ls to two qu arts

Of water. The lactic acid has the advan tage over the

tin ctu re of iodin e that it is colorless, whi le the iodin e

is dark an d stain s whatever it comes in con tact with.

Sometimes I order the u se of the tin ctu r e of iodin e

an d the lactic acid al tern ately : for on e dou che the

tin ctu re Of iodin e, for the n ext the lactic acid,an d

so on . When the con dition improves, it is su fficien t

to u se on e teaspoon fu l of the tin ctu re Of iodin e an d

on e tablespoon fu l Of the lactic acid to two qu arts

Of water. These in jection s are qu ite efficien t an d

have the advan tage of bein g perfectly harml ess.

On e poin t abou t the in jection s : they shou ld be taken

n ot in the stan din g or squ attin g position ( in which

position the flu id comes right ou t) , bu t while lyin g

THE V ENEREAL DISEASES

THE word ven ereal ” mean s pertain in g to sexu al

in tercou rse : ven ereal excess— excess in sexu al in

tercou rse ; ven ereal disease— a disease acqu ired from

sexu al in tercou rse with an in fected person . The

word is derived from V en u s (gen itive—ven eris) ,the Roman goddess Of sprin g, flowers an d Love.

There are three ven ereal diseases : gon orrhea,syphi lis an d chan croid. Of these, gon orrhea is the

most widespread, syphi lis the most seriou s. Chan

croid is of comparatively little importan ce .

While by far the greatest amou n t Of ven ereal dis

eases—probably n in ety per cen t. of the total— is

con tracted from illicit in tercou rse, it is well to

bear in min d that some of it is con tracted in n ocen tly,either from a kiss

,or from u sin g a spon ge or a towel

which has been u sed by an in fected person , etc.

While the gon orrheal germ is gen erally tran smitted

directly, the syphilitic poison may be tran smitted

throu gh variou s objects. Syphilis con tracted n ot

du rin g in tercou rse, bu t in an in n ocen t man n er, from

Illicit—illegal, n on -

permissible, ou tside of marriage.

112

THE V ENEREAL DISEASES 113

a kiss, a. towel, a toothbru sh, a razor, etc , is called

syphilis of the in n ocen t, or syphilis in son tium. In

former years doctors wou ld n ot very rarely con tract

syphilis from exam in i n g syphilitic women with their

bare fin gers. Now Sin ce gloves have come in to u se

for examin in g pu rposes, the n umber of in fection s

has con siderably dim in ished. An d n o dou bt that as

the people become more familiar with the dan ger

of ven ereal in fection from n on -ven ereal sou rces,the

n umber Of in n ocen t in fection s will greatly dimin ish.

The dan gerou s roller towel an d the n o less dan ger

ou s common drin kin g cu p are bein g gradu ally elimi

n ated as factors of n on -ven ereal in fection ; an d w e

may con fiden tly expect that in a decade or two the

amou n t of ven ereal disease from ven ereal in fection

will be greatly lessen ed in all civilized cou n tries.

The gen eral in crease in clean lin ess in al l strata of

society an d the u n iversal u se Of an tiseptics after

su spiciou s sexu al relation s will con stitu te the chief

factors in this dimin u tion of ven ereal disease.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

THE EXTENT OF V ENEREAL DISEASE

Former Silen ce. On ly a very few years ago re

spectable women , by which I mean all women ou tside

Of the women called ‘ fallen ,

’ did n ot kn ow Of the

existen ce of ven ereal disease. It w as con sidered a

prohibited, disgracefu l su bject, n ot to be men tion ed

or even hin ted at in con versation , in books or maga

zin es, in lectu res, or on the stage. When I say that

they did n ot kn ow of the existen ce of su ch a thin g as

ven ereal disease, that the very words gon orrhea an d

syphi lis were u n kn own to them,I u se these expres

sion s n ot as figu res Of speech, bu t in their literal

mean in g. All aven u es of acqu irin g su ch kn owledge

bein g closed to them— lay people don

’t u su ally n ow

an d they su rely didn ’t then pu rchase an d read

strictly medical works—where cou ld they Obtain

the in formation " The resu lt w as that when a

woman w as so u n fortu n ate as to con tract a ven ereal

di sease from her hu sban d,she did n ot u n derstan d

its character an d did n ot su spect its sou rce . Which

w as a rather good thin g— for the hu sban d. Family

peace w as more secu re.


man y reformers,” he permitted his zeal to run

aw ay with him occasion ally,an d he made statemen ts

which cau sed an d are still cau sin g the ju diciou s to

grieve. The statemen t, for in stan ce, that there is

more ven ereal disease amon g in n ocen t, virtu ou s

w ives than am on g prostitu tes is on e to cau se the real

hon est in vestigator to weep (over the human ten

den ey to exaggeration ) , or tobu rst ou t in u proariou s

lau ghter. The ridicu lou sn ess Of this statemen t be

comes especially eviden t when w e recollect that the

same gen tleman made the statemen t that every pros

titu te, w ithou t exception , w as diseased at on e time or

an other. If ven ereal disease exists amon g prosti

tu tes to the exten t of 100per cen t., then how can it

exist to a greater exten t amon g in n ocen t, virtu ou s

w ives" An d to still fu rther emphasize the absu rdity

of the above statemen t, I will tell you that the ex

ten t Of ven ereal disease am on g married women is

believed by carefu l n on -sen sation al ven ereologists

n ot to exceed five per cen t "

Y es, the Silen ce Of former years has given place

to the lu rid exaggeration of the presen t day. While

on the whole the former w as worse than the latter,the latter is bad en ou gh, becau se itmakesman y girls

u nhappy, sowin g in them the seeds Of su spicion an d

cyn icism, ten ds to make them an tagon istic to the en

tire male sex , an d in ocu lates them with a sen seless

EXTENT OF VENEREAL DISEASE 117

fear of marriage. A stu dy made by Miriam C .

Gou ld, of the departmen t of psychology an d philos

Ophy in the U n iversity of P ittsbu rg (Social Hy

gien e, April, corroborates ou r remarks in a

strikin g man n er.

She has had con fiden tial chats with 50you n g girls,with whom she has had some acqu ain tan ce ; of these

50,25 were college stu den ts an d 25 were n ot. She

asked them a n umber of qu estion s, the pu rpose of

which w as tofin d ou t what psychologic efi ect, if an y,their kn owledge of prostitu tion an d of ven ereal di s

ease has had on them. She states in her con clu sion s

that “the histories reveal a large percen tage of

harmfu l resu lts, su ch as con dition s borderin g u pon

n eu rasthen ia, melan cholia, pessimism an d sex cu

tagon ism (italics min e ) , directly traceable to this

kn owledge . Eleven of the girls in terviewed devel

oped a pron ou n ced repu lsion for men , althou gh prior

to their ‘kn owledge ’ they had en joyed men ’s com

pan y. They n ow avoid association w ith them, an d

six have declared that they have totally lost faith

in the moral clean n ess Of men . Eight have already

refu sed to marry, or in ten d to do so, becau se of their

belief that the risk of in fection w as too great. If it

were n ot for the existen ce of these diseases, they saythey wou ld be glad to marry. A ll of these say their

decision has ren dered them more or less u n happy.

”


In the lau dable desire to keep ou r you n g women

pu re an d to protect them from in fection , in the en

deavor to make them deman d on e moral stan dard

for both sexes, ou r exaggeratin g reformers are con

demn in g them to lifelon g celibacy, which in the case

of women Often mean s lifelon g n eu rasthen ia an d

hypochon dria.

The Tru th of the Matter . Here is the Tru th abou t

ven ereal disease— the tru th as I kn ow it, withou t

con cealmen t on the on e han d an d withou t exaggera

tion on the other. Exact figu res are, of cou rse, n u

obtain able an ywhere ; bu t resu lts Obtain ed from u n

biased in vestigation s Of differen t classes of society,from hospital reports, from qu estion n aires amon g

stu den ts, etc , tell u s that probably abou t twen ty

per cen t. of the adu lt male popu lation are the victims

Of gon orrhea at on e time or an other ; that probably

eight or ten per cen t. are n ot en tirely cu red when

they en ter matrimon y ; an d fou r or five per cen t.

(some wou ld say tw o per cen t. ) of wives become in

fected with gon orrhea. This, I say, is terrible

en ou gh, an d makes the greatest care an d cau tion im

perative ; for , if you shou ld be on e Of the victims Of

the two or five per cen t , it wou ld be little con sola

tion to you that the other n i n ety-eight or n in ety-five

per cen t. of wives have escaped.

Of cou rse the percen tage of ven ereal disease


percen tage difiers con siderable from the 75, 50or 25

per cen t. given u s by some sex lectu rers, bu t w hich

is terrible en ou gh as it is, withou t an y exaggera

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

GONORRHEA

THE su bject of gon orrhea an d syphi lis is treated

pretty fu lly, from a layman ’s poin t of view, in the

au thor ’s Sea: K n ow ledge for Men . I do n ot in ten d

to devote mu ch space to a discu ssion of the detail s

of these tw o diseases here, becau se the su bject is

n ot of su ch direct in terest to women . Respectable

girls an d women do n ot in du lge in illicit relation s

the same as respectable men an d boys do, an d their

dan ger of con tractin g a ven ereal disease is in sign ifi

can t as compared with men ’s liability. I wil l, there

fore, tou ch u pon on ly a few poin ts, particu larly in

sofar as the diseases difier in their cou rse from the

cou rse pu rsu ed in men .

Gon orrhea is an in flammation cau sed by a germ

called the gon ococcu s, discovered by Dr. A . Neisser,of Breslau , German y, in 1879. An y mu cou s mem

bran e may be the seat of gon orrhea, bu t it attacks

by preferen ce the mu cou s membran e of the gen ital

organ s, an d of on e other organ — the eye. Its prin

cipal symptoms are : in flammation , pain , bu rn in g121


an d discharge . In men , it attacks the u rethra ; in

women it attacks the cervix— the n eck of the womb

the u rethra, an d the vu lva. The vagin a is seldom

attacked in adu lt women , becau se the mu cou s mem

bran e of the adu lt vagin a is rather tou gh an d does

n ot off er a good soil for the developmen t of the

gon ococcu s germ. The discharge that a woman has

when she has gon orrhea comes prin cipally or ex

clu sively from the n eck of the

womb. In little girls, however,in whom the lin in g of the va

gin a is ten der,gon orrhea of

the vagin a an d the vu lva is

common . (See chapter V u l

vovagin itis in Little Girls. )Gon on n n m n Gm s. Gon orrhea is a local disease .

While in some cases, after the disease has lasted for

some time, a certain poison is gen erated by the

germs which circu lates in the blood, an d while the

germs may occasion ally wan der in to distan t organ s,

still in 98 per cen t. of all cases gon orrhea is a local

disease, an d if taken in time is cu red withou t leav

in g an y traces on the gen eral organ ism .

Gon orrhea Not Hereditary. Then , gon orrhea. is

n ot a hereditary disease . Nobody ever in herits gon

orrhea. A chi ld may be born with a gon orrheal in

flammation of the eyes (ophthalmi a n eon atorumh


pain fu l disease in woman , an d thi s is a bad thin g,

becau se she thu s n eglects treatmen t an d loses valu

able time, permittin g the disease to develop. Even

when the u rethra is affected in women , it does n ot

give as severe symptoms as in flammation of the u re

thra in men . If the woman does have pain s she

often pays n o atten tion to them, becau se woman is

u sed to pain s ; as w e have seen before, fifty per cen t.

of all women su ffer more or less with dysmen orrhea.

Man y of them have a leu corrhea] discharge of

greater or lesser degree,an d therefore if there is

an in crease in the pain s, or an in crease in the di s

charge, little atten tion is paid to the matter. In

fact, a woman may have a chron ic gon orrhea for

mon ths or years withou t bein g aware that there is

an ythin g the matter with her . It is importan t to

teach women to seek medical aid as soon as they

n otice an y in crease in the amou n t of the discharge,or chan ge in color, particu larly if it becomes green

ish , or if the odor becomes offen sive, or if there is

chafin g, bu rn in g, or irritation arou n d the gen itals,an d particu larly if there is an in crease in the fre

qu en oy or u rgen cy of u rin ation , or if there is a bum

in g, scaldin g, or cu ttin g sen sation du rin g the act of

u rin ation . Also when ever the sexu al act becomes

pain fu l. If women con su lted a physician as soon

as they n oticed an y of the symptoms referred to

GONORRHEA 125

above, they wou ld save mon ths an d years of sn fier

in g an d expen se, becau se the disease wou ld often

be taken in han d whi le still limited to the cervix, an d

n ot, as is n ow often the case, after the in flammation

has exten ded in to the u teru s an d Fal lopian tu bes.

Self-treatmen t. I do n ot believe in self-treatmen t

becau se it is gen erally u n satisfactory an d may often

even become dan gerou s, an d I decidedly advise every

woman w ho su spects that she has con tracted gon or

rhea to apply at on ce to a competen t physician . Bu t

it happen s n ot in frequ en tly that a woman is so situ

ated that she can n ot con su lt a physician . An d in

the mean time there is dan ger of the gon orrhea

spreadin g fu rther an d fu rther. In su ch cases it is

advisable for the woman to u se an in jection u n til

su ch time when she can con su lt a physician . The

in jection I am goin g to advise may in itself produ ce

a cu re ; an d, if it does n ot produ ce a complete cu re,it at an y rate improves the con dition , preven ts the

exten sion of the disease, makes su bsequ en t treat

men t easier, an d besides is perfectly harmless. The

best in jection for self u se in gon orrhea is tin ctu re of

iodin e ; the proportion is two teaspoon fu ls to a qu art

or two qu arts of water. If the case is very bad, su ch

an in jection may be taken twice a day. If the case is

n ot very bad, on ce a day i s su fficien t. After u sin g

the tin ctu re of iodin e for five days to a week, it is


good to chan ge ofi to lactic acid. B u y a pin t or so

of lactic acid in a dru g store, an d u se on e tablespoon

fu l to a qu art of water. It is preferable to have the

water hot, abou t 100dog , bu t where this is in con

ven ien t it may be u sed lu kewarm. The lactic acid

in jection is u sed for three days, then the iodin e in

jection is resumed, then again the lactic acid, an d

so on . I kn ow of man y cases that were cu red by this

treatmen t alon e. An d I might men tion that these

in jection s are gen erally also very eflicien t in leu cor

rhea, as stated in the chapter on Leu corrhea.


is the prin cipal symptom in little girls thu s afllicted

the discharge . This discharge may be very pro

fu se, coverin g the vu lva, vagin a, an d cervix .

In severe cases, there is also an in fection of the

u rethra, an d the child may complain of bu rn in g at

u rin ation , itchin g an d pain arou n d the vu lva an d

an u s, an d slight pain in the abdomen . There maybe a moderate rise in temperatu re

,u p to 101 deg. F.,

an d in some in stan ces the attack is su flicien tly acu te

to give rise to a chi ll an d fever. A mi ld in flamma

tion of the join ts may set in within the first weeks

of the in fection , al thou gh as a u su al thin g it comes

later on .

Evil Sequ elae of V u lvovagin itis. While, as

stated, vu lvovagin itis is a comparatively mild in fec

tion as far as its symptoms are con cern ed, it n ever

theless has a very bad efi ect on the child who is n u

fortu n ate en ou gh to become a victim of the disease .

First of all , it is an extremely lon g drawn,persisten t

disease . It u su ally takes mon ths, an d these mon ths

may ru n in to years, before a complete cu re is ef

fected . Secon d,relapses are qu ite common . Third,

the treatmen t is a disagreeable on e for the child, an d

is occasion ally pai n fu l. Fou rth, it has a disastrou s

effect on the child ’s morale ; most paren ts, thou gh

they may love the chi ld most affection ately, look

somewhat askan ce at it ; an d con tin u ou s vagin al

V ULV OV AGINITIS IN LITTLE GIRLS 129

treatmen t somehow or other has a humiliatin g cfiect

on the child, which begin s to con sider itself as an

ou tcast, as somethin g apart from other children .

Fifth, the child ’s edu cation is very frequ en tly seri

ou sly an d perman en tly in terfered with, becau se it

mu st often be taken ou t of school, whether pu blic or

private, an d private tu torin g is of cou rse feasible

on ly for the few . Sixth, an d this is a poin t n ot su f

ficien tly appreciated by the profession an d the laity,bu t it isan importan t poin t, n evertheless : vu lvovagin itis in children has u n fortu n ately a disastrou s ef

fect in hasten in g the sexu al matu rity of the child.

Whether thi s is du e to the con gestion of the organ s

produ ced by the in flammation , or to the specu lum

examin ation s, pain tin gs, dou ches, application s, tam

pon s, su ppositories, etc.,the fact remain s that girls

who su ff er from vu lvovagin itis in childhood become

sexu ally matu re con siderably earlier than n ormal

girls of the same class, stratum an d climate, an d

their deman d for sexu al satisfaction is mu ch more

in sisten t. Seven th, a mild vu lvovagin itis may be

the cau se of perman en t sterility.

It will therefore be seen that vu lvovagin itis is a

calamity, an d everythin g possible shou ld be don e to

gu ard female children from con tractin g it. All chil

dren shou ld alw ays sleep al on e. Un der n o circum

stan ces shou ld a child sleep with an ybody else, be it


a sister, amother, a frien d, a govern ess, or a servan t

girl. People shou ld be very carefu l in sen din g their

children to spen d a n ight or two with some frien ds.

The frien ds may be all right, bu t still a frien d of

the frien ds or a relative of the frien ds may n ot be.

I have kn own several cases where the origin of the

vu lvovagin itis cou ld be traced to little girls spen d

in g a week at the hou se of some frien ds where a

boarder or relative w as in fected with gon orrhea.

That children shou ld be kept away from associatin g

or playin g with adu lts or other children who are

kn ow n to have gon orrheal in fection goes withou t

sayin g. The child ’s gen itals shou ld be frequ en tly

in spected by the mother, an d scru pu lou s clean lin ess

by frequ en t bathin g, spon gin g with warm solu tion s

an d powderin g, shou ld be main tain ed. The toilet

seats in school shou ld receive special atten tion .

The wooden seat is a men ace becau se it often har

bors gon orrheal pu s from either the female or mal e

gen itals, while the on ly proper seat is on e of the

so-called U -shaped style, that is, on e in which the

fron t is en tirely open , like the letter U.


develops a sore (at the spot where the germs got in ) .

This sore is called chan cre or primary lesion . B u t

when this sore makes its appearan ce the spirocheta

an d the poison which they elaborate are already cir

cu latin g in the blood, all over the system. The dis

ease is already systemic, or con stitu tion al, an d the

chan cre is the local expression of a con stitu tion al

disease. Cu ttin g ou t the chan cre will n ot cu re the

disease, becau se, as stated, the germs are already in

the system. The time between the con traction of the

disease (the in fectiou s in tercou rse ) an d the appear

an ce of the chan cre is called the In cu bation P eriod .

The time between the appearan ce of the chan cre an d

the appearan ce of the rash on the body (the rash

looks like a measles rash an d is call ed roseola, which

mean s a rose-colored rash) is called the P rimaryS tage. It lasts abou t six weeks. With the appear

an ce of the rash comm en ces the S econ dary S tage.

This stage is characterized by all sorts of eru ption s,mild an d severe, by whi te little patches (cal led mu

cou s patches) in the throat, mou th, ton sils, vag in a,by fallin g ou t of the hair, etc. The len gth of thi s

secon dary stage depen ds a good deal u pon the sort

of treatmen t the patien t gets. Improperly treated,or n ot treated at all, it may last tw o or three years

or more. Properly treated, it may be cu t short at

on ce, in a few days, so that the patien t may n ever

SYPHILIS 133

again in his or her life get an eru ption . The thi rd

or Tertiary S tage is characterized by u lceration s in

variou s parts of the body an d by sw elli n gs or tu

mors. The n ame of a syphi litic swellin g or tumor is

gumma (plu ral , gummata) . The tertiary stage is

the most terrible stage an d it u sed to be the terror

of syphilitic patien ts. Bu t at the presen t time, u n

der ou r modern methods of treatmen t, patien ts, if

properly treated, n ever have a tertiary stage. We

have seen man y patien ts who con sidered syphilis a

triflin g disease, becau se all they kn ew of their dis

ease w as the chan cre an d the first eru ption , i . e ., the

roseola, an d perhaps a slight fallin g ou t of the hair.

They then pu t themselves u n der en ergetic treatmen t,the activity of the disease w as checked, an d they

n ever had an other symptom afterwards,thou gh a

Wasserman n test showed that the disease w as n ot

en tirely eradicated. It w as merely held in check

which is the secon d best thin g.

As stated before, syphilis is the most hereditary

of all diseases. Fortu n ately, if the disease is still

very active in the paren ts, particu larly in the

mother, the child is gen eral ly aborted. Some syphi

liticmothers will have half a dozen or more miscar

riages in su ccession . When the disease has become

atten u ated, either by treatmen t or by itself

man y diseases lose their viru len ce in time—the child


may be carried to term. It then may be born dead,or it may be born stron gly syphilitic, an d die in a

few days or weeks, or it may be born w ithou t an ysign s of syphili s an d be apparen tly healthy an d then

develop the disease at the age of ten , twelve, fou r

teen , or later, or it may be born healthy an d remain

healthy. Bu t n o w oman who had syphilis, or whose

hu sban d had syphilis, shou ld dare to con ceive or to

give birth to a child u n less she has been given per

mission by a competen t physician . I mean ju st what

I say. It is n ot a person al matter. A woman has

a right to marry a syphi litic hu sban d if she wan ts

to an d ru n the risk of con tractin g syphilis. Her

body is her ow n , an d if she does it with her eyes open

it is her afiair. Bu t a woman has n o right to brin g

in to the world syphili tic or syphilitically tain ted chil

dren . Here society has a right to in terfere.

Syphilis ru n s a mil der cou rse in women than it

does in men . Bu t this milder cou rse is n ot an u n

mixed blessin g ; it may be con sidered a misfortu n e,becau se , the same as gon orrhea in women , syphilis

is often presen t for mon ths an d years u n til it has

made su ch in roads that it is bu t little amen able to

treatmen t. In man y women the disease ru n s su ch

a mild cou rse, as far as defin ite symptoms are con

cern ed, that they are,

su re they n ever had an ythin g

the matter with them, an d they are perfectly sin cere

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEV EN

THE CURAB ILITY OF V ENEREAL DISEASE

Ju sr as the u su al statemen ts in regard to the ex

ten t of ven ereal disease have been fou n d u n tru e or

greatly exaggerated, so do the statemen ts regardin g

the cu rability or rather in cu rability of ven ereal dis

ease n eed carefu l revision . The pictu re u su ally

pai n ted of the hopelessn ess of gon orrhea an d syphi

lis is too sombre, too black, an d , con trary to the as

sertion s made by laym en an d laywomen an d physi

cian s who do n ot specialize in the treatmen t of

ven ereal disease, I wish to make the statemen t that

every case of gon orrhea in man , withou t an y excep

tion , if properly treated, can be perfectly cu red, as

far as practical pu rposes are con cern ed . I add the

last phrase becau se the cu re may n ot be perfect in

the scien tific sen se of the word ; that is, the man may

n ot be brou ght back in to the con dition in which he

w as before he got the disease. Bu t, for all practical

pu rposes, as far as he himself is con cern ed, as far

as his wife is con cern ed, an d as far as the fu tu re

children are con cern ed, every case may be cu red,w ithou t an y dou bt. An d I say this, basin g myself

136

CURABILITY OF V ENEREAL DISEASE 137

u pon a varied profession al experien ce exten din g

over n early a qu arter of a cen tu ry.

As togon orrhea in women , that depen ds to a great

exten t u pon the viru len ce of the disease an d the

promptn ess with which treatmen t is in stitu ted. If

the gon orrhea is limited on ly to the cervix , the vu lva

an d the u rethra, then prompt treatmen t w ill u su ally

brin g abou t a cu re in a comparatively short time.

Bu t if the gon orrheal in flammation has exten ded to

the body of the u teru s, or still worse, to the tu bes,then the treatmen t may become a very tediou s on e ,an d some casesmay n ot be cu rable withou t an opera

tion .

With syphi lis the matter is difl'

eren t. Sin ce the

in trodu ction by Ehrlich of the variou s arsen ic prep

aration s, w e have mu ch better su ccess in the treat

men t of syphilis, an d w e can positively ren der every

case n on -in fectiou s to the partn er. Bu t, as to gu ar

an teein g a positive cu re, that is, gu aran teein g that

the patien t will n ever have an ou tbreak or relapse

of his disease in the fu tu re , an d that the children

will be perfectly free from an y tain t, this w e can do

n omore n ow than w e cou ld before the modern treat

men t of syphilis w as in trodu ced. The decision ,therefore, as to whether w e may or may n ot permit

a on ce syphi liticpatien t tomarry w ill depen d a great

deal u pon whether or n o the hu sban d or the wife or


both desire to have children . If this is the case, w e

mu st often withhold ou r permi ssion ; bu t if the man

an d woman agree to get married an d to get al on g

withou t children , w e will gran t permission to the

marriage in the vast majority of cases. The su bject

of ven ereal disease an d marriage w ill be fu rther

discu ssed in separate chapters.

V en ereal disease, I have to repeat, is terrible

en ou gh in itself, withou t an y exaggeration , withou t

pictu rin g it in too black colors. An d it is n ecessarythat people shou ld n ot have too black an idea of it.

It is n ecessary that they kn ow that there are thou

san ds an d ten s of thou san ds of patien ts who su fiered

with gon orrhea or syphi lis an d w ho were perfectlycu red, who married, an d whose wives remain ed perfectly w ell, an d who gave birth to perfectly healthy,u n tain ted children .


In stead of the dou che an an tiseptic jelly in a col

lapsible tin tu be with a lon g n ozzle may be u sed.

Bu t besides the ven ereal sou rces of in fection the

w oman mu st gu ard again st the n on -ven ereal sou rces.

Do n ot ever, if you can avoid it, u se a pu blic toilet.

If you are forced to u se it, protect you rself by pu t

tin g some paper over the seat.

Do n ot u se a pu blic drin kin g cu p. If you have to

u se on e, keep you r lips away from the rim . On e

can learn to drin k withou t tou chin g the rim of the

glass or cu p with the lips.

Do n ot u n der an y circumstan ces u se a pu blic

towel. The roller towel is a men ace to health an d

shou ld be forbidden in every part of the cou n try.

If you have to sleep in a hotel or in a stran ge bed,make su re that the lin en is clean an d fresh. Never

sleep on bed lin en which has been u sed by 9. atm

ger .

Never u se a pu blic bru sh or comb.

Be su re that you r den tist is a carefu l, u p-to-date

man , an d sterilizes his in strumen ts carefu lly. Man y

a case of syphi lis has been tran smitted by a den tist ’s

in strumen t. A syphilitic who goes to a den tist to

be treated gen erally con ceals his di sease, an d if the

den tist is n ot in the habit of sterilizin g his in stru

men ts after each patien t, disaster may resu lt.

Be su re that you r man icu rist is n ot syphi litic, or

V ENEREAL PROPHYLAXIS 141

at least that her han ds are healthy, clean an d free

from an y eru ption .

An d,last bu t n ot least, do n ot in du lge in promis

cu cu s kissin g. Thi s is a particu larly importan t in

ju n ction for you n g girls. This is a real peril an d

there are thou san ds of cases of syphilis that are

kn own to have been con tracted directly from kissin g.

People su fferin g with syphi lis often have little white

sores (mu cou s patches) on their lips, ton gu e an d

in side of cheeks. These sores are very in fectiou s,an d by kissin g the disease is readily tran smitted.

Kissin g games have been respon sible in more than

on e case for the spread of syphilis to man y person s.

I have n ow u n der treatmen t a girl of n in eteen who

con tracted syphili s on her summer vacation from

havin g kissed a man on ce. Avoid promiscu ou s kiss

in g" It is a bad practice for more than on e reason .

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

BIR TH CONTROL OR THE LIMITATION OF

OFFSPRING

No girl,an d n oman for that matter

,shou ld en ter

the bon ds of matrimon y withou t learn in g the latest

mean s of preven tin g con ception,of regu latin g the

n umber of offsprin g. With people who con sider an yattempt at regu latin g the n umber of children a sin ,

w e have n othin g to argu e,thou gh w e believe that

there are very few people except amon g the lowest

dregs of society who do n ot u se some measu res of

regu lation . Otherw ise w e wou ld see most families

with ten to twen ty children in stead of tw o or three .

Nor do I in ten d to devote this chapter to a detailed

presen tation of the argumen ts in favor of the ra

tion al regu lation of ofisprin g. It w ou ld have to be

merely a repetition of the argumen ts that I have pre

sen ted elsewhere.

“ Bu t a few poin ts may well be

tou ched u pon here.

In spite of the fact that the su bject of birth con

trol is mu ch better kn ow n n ow than it w as w hen

w e first started to propagate it, still it can n ot be

men tion ed too often , for the misapprehen sion s conThe Limitation of Ofl sprin g by the Preven tion of Con ception .

IQ


both,may be cu rtly dismissed. It is n ot tru e of

an y of the modern con traceptives. Bu t even if it

were tru e, the amou n t of in ju ry that can be don e by

con traceptives wou ld be like a drop of water in com

parison with the in ju ries resu ltin g from excessive

pregn an cies an d childbirths. Some of the con tra

ceptive measu res requ ire some trou ble to u se,some

are u n esthetic, bu t these are trifles an d con stitu te a

small price to pay for the privilege of bein g able

to regu late the n umber of on e ’s ofisprin g accordin g

to on e ’s in telligen t desires.

The common est argumen t n ow made again st con

traceptives is that they are n ot absolu tely safe, that

is, absolu tely to be relied u pon , that they will n ot

preven t in absolu tely every case. This is tru e ; bu t

there are three an swers which ren der thi s objection

in valid. First,man y of the cases of failu re are to

be ascribed n ot to the con traceptives themselves, bu t

to their improper,careless an d u n in telligen t u se .

The best methods in the world will fai l if u sed im

properly. Secon d, if the measu res are eflicien t in

98 or 99 per cen t. an d fail in on e or tw o per cen t.,

then they are a blessin g. Some women wou ld be the

happiest women in the world if they cou ld ren der

98 per cen t. of their con ju gal relation s u n fru itfu l .

Third, the imperfection s of ou r con traceptive meas

u res are du e to the secrecy w i th which the en tire

BIRTH CONTROL 145

su bject mu st n ecessarily be su rrou n ded. If the su b

ject of birth con trol cou ld be fu lly discu ssed in med

ical books there is n o dou bt that in a short time w e

w ou ld have measu res that wou ld be absolu tely cer

tain an d wou ld leave n othin g to be desired. Bu t

even su ch as they are, the measu res are better than

n on e,an d as said in the begin n in g of this chapter,

it is the du ty of every you n g w oman to acqu ire as

on e of the items of her sex edu cation the kn owledge

of how to avoid too frequ en t pregn an cies. In fact,I con sider this the most importan t item in a woman ’

s

sex edu cation , an d if she has learn ed n othin g else

she shou ld learn thi s. For this in formation is

absolu tely n ecessary to her fu tu re health an d happi

n ess.

In my tw en ty years work for the cau se of ration al

birth con trol I have come in con tact w ith thou san ds

an d thou san ds of cases which demon strate in the

most con vin cin g man n er possible the tragic resu lts

of forced or u n desired motherhood,an d of the fear

of forced or u n desired motherhood.

Some of the cases w ere in my ow n practice , some

were related to me by brother physician s, some were

described tome by the victims livin g in all parts of


this vast cou n try. Were I to collect an d report all

the cases that came tomy n otice du rin g those tw en ty

years,they wou ld withou t exaggeration make a

volume the size of the latest edition of the Stan dard

Diction ary, prin ted in the same smal l type. Some

of them are positively heartbreakin g. They make

you sick at the stu pidi ty of the human race, at the

stu pidity an d bru tali ty of the lawgivers. Bu t I do

n ot w ish to appeal to you r emotion s. I do n ot wish

to take extreme an d u n iqu e cases. I w ill therefore

briefly relate a few everyday cases,which will dem

on strate to you the ben eficen ce of con traceptive

kn owledge an d the tragedy an d misery cau sed by

the lack of su ch kn owledge.

Case 1 . This class of case is so common that I al

most feel like apologizin g for referrin g to it. She,

whom I will call by the forbearin g n ame of Mrs.

Smi th,had been married a little over n in e years,

an d had given birth to five children . She w as an ex

cellen t mother, n u rsed them herself, took good care

of them,an d all the five were livin g an d healthy.

B u t in carin g for them an d for the hou sehold all

alon e, for they cou ld n ot afford a servan t or a n u rse

girl, all her vitality had been sapped, all her orig

in ally su perb en ergy had dwin dled down to n othin g ;her n erves were worn to a frazzle an d she became

bu t a shadow of her former self. An d the fear of


come terribly in su lted when a poor woman who can

on ly pay ten or fifteen dollars asks to be relieved of

the fru it of her womb, will u su ally di scover that thewoman who can afford to pay on e hu n dred dollars

is badly in n eed of a cu rettemen t. Oh, n o. He does

n ot perform an abortion . He merely cu rets the

u teru s.

Bu t to come back to Mrs. Smith. She w en t away

from the in dign an t adaman t doctor. Bu t she w as

determin ed n ot to give birth to an other child. She

con fided her trou ble to a n eighbor, w ho sen t her to

a midwife . The midwife w as n either very expert

n or very clean . Mrs. Smith had to go to her tw o

or three times. After bleedin g for abou t ten days

she developed blood poison in g, from which she died

a few days later, at the early age of twen ty-n in e ,leavin g a discon solate father, who in time to come

w ill probably fin d con solation with an other woman ,an d five motherless children , who will n ever fin d con

solation . On e may fin d a su bstitu te for a w ife, there

is n o su bstitu te for a mother.

An d su ch tragedi es are of daily occu rren ce. May

the Lord have mercy on the sou ls of those who are

respon sible for them.

Before I proceed fu rther I wish to say that it is

the terrible prevalen ce of the abortion evil, with its

con comitan t evils of in fection , ill health, chron ic in

BIRTH CONTROL 149

validism an d death, that more than an y other sin gle

factor u rges u s in ou r birth con trol propagan da.

An d those w ho wan t to forbid the dissemin ation ofan y in formation abou t the preven tion of con ception

are playin g directly in to the han ds of the profes

sion al abortion i sts. They cou ld n ot act an y more

zealou sly if they were in leagu e with the latter an d

were paid by them. An d havin g men tion ed the su b

ject of abortion , I wish to u tter a n ote of warn in g.

In ou r birth con trol propagan da,w e mu st be very

carefu l to keep the qu estion of the preven tion of

con ception an d of abortion separate an d apart. The

stu pid law pu ts the tw o in the same paragraph, some

ign oran t laymen an d equ ally ign oran t physician s

treat the tw o as if they were the same thin g, bu t w e,in ou r speeches an d ou r writin gs, mu st keep the tw o

separate, w e mu st show the people the essen tial dif

feren ce between preven tion an d abortion,between

refrain in g from creatin g life an d destroyin g life al

ready created ; w e mu st show the viciou sn ess of met

in g ou t the sam e pu n ishmen t for tw o thin gs which

are fu n damen tally difieren t, difi eren t n ot on ly in de

gree bu t in kin d— an d it is on ly by thu s keepin g the

tw o thi n gs apart, by showin g that w e stan d for on e

thin g— preven tion — an d n ot for the other— abortion ,that w e can ever gain the gen eral sympathy of the

pu blic an d the cc-operation of the legislators. I do


n ot say that there are n ot man y cases in w hich the

in du ction of abortion is n ot on ly ju stifiable,bu t im

perative ; bu t that is a difieren t qu estion, an d the

two issu esmu st n ot be con fu sed. An d w e w ou ld an d

shou ld resen t an y attempt on the part of either

en emy or fri en d to so con fu se them.

Case 2. Mr. A . an d Miss B . are in love w ith each

other. B u t they can n ot get married, for his salary

is too smal l . They might risk gettin g married, if

the specter of an in defin i te n umber of children did

n ot stretch ou t its restrain in g han d. She comesfrom a good family, she w as brou ght u p, if n ot in the

lap of lu xu ry, in the lap of comfort an d cozin ess,an d it is the ambition of every good Am erican to

fu rn ish his wife at least as good a home as her

father gave her. Her father, by the w ay, died pre

matu rely from overw ork in tryin g to give all pos

sible comforts an d advan tage s to a bevy of six n u

married an d marriageable dau ghters.

As I said, the fear of chil dren kept them back.

Each year the hope revived that in an other year

their u n ion in matrimon y wou ld be con summated.

Bu t the years passed. Mr. A.

’s hai r became thin an d

grayish, Miss B began to look haggard an d pin ched—an d still the marriage cou ld n ot take place. Miss

B w as very religiou s an d very proper, an d w ou ld

n ot do an ythin g that w as improper. A w as n ot


periodic fits of in san i ty. Every year or tw o he wou ld

be taken to the lu n atic asylum for a few weeks or

mon ths, an d then discharged. An d every time on

his di scharge he wou ld celebrate hi s liberty by im

pregn atin g his wife . She hated an d loathed him ,

bu t cou ld n ot protect herself again st his “em

braces.

” An d she had to see herself givin g birth to

on e abn ormal child after an other. She begged her

doctor to give her some mean s of preven tion , bu t

that boob claimed ign oran ce, an d the il legality of

the thin g. The woman fin ally committed su icide,bu t n ot before she had given birth to six abn ormal

children , who will probably grow u p dru n kards,crimin als or in san e.

An d becau se w e object to su ch kin d of breedin g,w e are accu sed of bein g en emies of the human race,of advocatin g race su icide, of violatin g the laws of

God an d man . Oh, for a mighty Sampson to strike

the imbeciles with the jaw of an ass, for a men tal

Hercu les to loosen the fon tan elles of their petrified

sku lls an d pu t some sen se in to them"

Case 4. This observation con cern s a cou ple both

of whom had a very bad heredity. The blood of each

w as badly tain ted . The doctor who had treated the

hu sban d cau tion ed them an d told them that they had

n o right to have children . B u t here the tables were

tu rn ed. The doctor wan ted to give them the mean s

BIRTH CONTROL 153

for preven tion , bu t the hu sban d an d wife, piou s

R oman Catholics, wou ld n ot go again st their reli

gion an d God (as if God wan ted a world fu ll of im

beciles) , an d refu sed to employ an y precau tion s.

They have had fou r children so far . On e of them

seems fai rly n ormal, except that he is silly, in which

respect he is merely like his paren ts ; tw o are deaf

an d blin d in on e eye ; the fou rth is a cretin, prac

tically an idiot.

This case brin gs u s face to face with an other

phase of the problem. What shou ld w e do when the

paren ts, stu pid an d ign oran t, refu se to stop breed

in g worthless material" E u gen io agi tation , edu ca

tion , will brin g abou t su ch a stron g pu blic Opin ion

that n on e bu t idiots, w ho will be vasectomized or

segregated, w ill dare to brin g in to the world children

that are physically an d men tally han dicapped.

Case 5. This cou ple had been married eight years,an d had five children . An d the wife said she cou ld

n ot stan d it an y more . An other child— n o, she pre

ferred death. They practiced coitu s in terru ptu s for

a whi le, with mu tu al di sgu st, bu t when the wife w as

cau ght again,she said : “ No more"” An d she

wou ld n ot let her hu sban d come n ear her . He cou ld

do what he pleased— she did n ot care. Af ter a few

mon ths he began to go elsewhere— con tracted syph

ilis, had to give u p his position , the home w as broken


u p, the wife wen t ou t to work, the children are sen t

tered— in short, a home, which w e are told is the

fou n dation of ou r society, is broken u p, an d there is

misery an d wretchedn ess all arou n d— an d all for

the lack of a little timely in formation .

Case 6 . Mr. A an d Miss B,tw en ty-eight an d

twen ty-five years old respectively, have kn own on e

an other for several years, an d in spite of their oc

cu pation , which is su pposed to make people blas"

an d cyn ical— he bein g a reporter an d she a special

story writer— are qu ite in love with each other.

B u t their occu pation an d in come '

are su ch that they

can n ot possibly afford to have an d to brin g u p an y

chi ldren . They wou ld love to get married, bu t the

specter of a chi ld—or rather of children— frighten s

them ; an d they remain sin gle,to the great physical

an d men tal in ju ry of both. Acciden tally they learn

of appropriate mean s of regu latin g con ception , get

married an d live happily— ever after, that is, u n til

they fin d themselves in a position to have children

an d to brin g them u p properly.

In what w ay w as society in ju red by this you n g

cou ple acqu i rin g con traceptive in formation "

Case 7. Mr. C an d Miss D are in love with each

other. Un fortu n ately there is a stron g hereditarytain t of in san ity on both sides. They are too high

min ded to thin k of givin g birth to chil dren . They


cide to separate, an d a tragedy is in sight. For

tu n ately they learn that con ception can be preven ted,an d they con tin u e to live together with ben efit to

themselves an d harm to n on e.

In what w ay has society been in ju red by those

people acqu irin g con traceptive in formation "

Case 9 . Mr . an d Mrs. F have been married six

years,an d in these six

_years they have been blessed

with fou r children . When he married he w as get

tin g tw en ty-tw o dollars a week,an d that is exactly

what he is gettin g n ow . In the mean tim e the cost of

livin g has gon e u p tw en ty-five per cen t., an d there

are fou r extra mou ths to feed an d fou r extra bodies

to clothe. What difieren ce thi s has made in that

little hou sehold can better be imagin ed than stated.

The little“

mother has aged sixteen years in those

six years, an d there is n ot a trace left of her gir lish

n ess an d you thfu ln ess. She loves her chi ldren , an d

does n ot wan t to get rid of them. She wou ld n ot

take a mi llion dollars for on e of them,bu t she wou ld

n ot give five cen ts for an other. Bu t this is ju st what

terrifies them ; the possibility of an other. An d that

possibility makes her irritable,makes her repel her

hu sban d ’s slightest advan ces, makes her move hi s

bed to an other room. She even tells him to satisfy

his sexu al desires elsew hereb an d at the same time

she is in fear an d tremblin g that he might follow

BIRTH CONTROL 157

her advice . In short, a n ice you n g home is abou t

to be disru pted. Fortu n ately he reads somewhere

an article on the su bject of volu n tary limitation of

ofisprin g, he begin s to in vestigate ; hi s physician

pleads ign oran ce, bu t he is persisten t, the physician

in vestigates an d obtain s the desired in formation ,

which he shares with the patien t. Harmon y is re

stored an d a happy home is re-established.

Who w as in ju red by the cou ple obtain in g this in

formation " An d if n obody w as in ju red, an d every

body con cern ed w as ben efited, then why shou ld the

impartin g of su ch in formation be con sidered a fel

on y, pu n ishable like the most atrociou s of crimes"

Case 10. Mr. an d Mrs. G have been married fif

teen years. They were the paren ts of seven chil

dren, a large en ou gh n umber for an y fam ily. Those

seven children were born du rin g the first eleven

years of their married life. Du rin g the past five

years, afraid of havin g an y more, they first ah

stain ed an d then adopted a method which every

modern sexologist kn ows is in ju riou s to the n ervou s

system of both the man an d the woman . The man

became a wreck ; first n eu rasthen ic, then impoten t,

cran ky an d grou chy, u n able to get alon g in the of

fice , con stan tly squ abblin g with hi s w ife, who be

came ju st as bad a wreck. Their econ omic con dition

plu s too man y small children preven ted the paren ts


separation . They remain ed livin g together, bu t

they lived like a cat an d a dog tied in a bag. Each

silen tly prayed to be rid of the other. Bu t a con

versation overheard at a Tu rkish baths establish

men t pu t him on the right trail , an d on e year later

w e fin d the cou ple recon ciled,both in good health an d

livin g a peacefu l an d fairly harmon iou s life . An d

those who have ben efited most by the chan ge are the

chi ldren . In what w ay w as society in ju red" An d

still if the doctor w ho gave Mr. G the in formation

shou ld have been cau ght an d con victed, he wou ld

have been sen t to prison for a year or tw o or five .

Wou ld he have deserved it" Here w e have several

plai n , simple, u n varn ished an d u n embellished cases

which are typical of million s of similar cases an d

w hich prove con clu sively that the law again st im

partin g in formation abou t preven tin g con ception is

bru tal , viciou s, an tisocial. Shou ld n ot su ch a law be

repealed, wiped ofi the statu te books"

Of cou rse, it shou ld.


low in g pages I w ill en deavor, as stated before,to

poin t ou t some of the rocks an d shoals on which the

matrimon ial bark is so often shattered, an d to ofi er

the w ives some su ggestion s which w ill help them to

retain their hu sban ds afiection s an d perhaps even

also their fidelity.

While the advice is in ten ded primarily for w ives,there w ill be fou n d here an d there a salu tary piece

of advice for hu sban ds. Some of the advice is ap

plicable to both partn ers, an d as to those su gges

tion s which con cern the hu sban d on ly— it will be a

good thin g for the wives to call their hu sban ds ’

atten tion to them.

The first few weeks or the first few mon ths are

the most importan t in the life of a married cou ple .

The stability of the marri age , the fu ture happin ess,often depen d u pon the thin gs which are don e or left

u n don e du r in g the in itial weeks of married life . A

certain u n derstan di n g mu st be reached from the

very begin n in g. If you r hu sban d does certain

thin gs w hich displease you an d which you kn ow

shou ld n ot be don e, it is best to say so at the very

start. It is eas ier to preven t the establishmen t of

a habit than to break a habit after it has been

Retain You r In dividu ality. The first piece of ad

vice I have to give you is : R etain you r in dividu al

ADV ICE To THE MARRIED 161

ity. It is a trite bu t perfectly tru e observation that

altogether tooman y men w ho du rin g cou rtship were

chivalry person ified assume a dictatorial ton e as

soon as the kn ot has been tied. They thin k that the

wife has actu ally ceased to exist as a separate human

bein g, that she has been absorbed, an d with the loss

of her n am e she has lost all right to have her ow n

opin ion s,her ow n tastes, an d, of cou rse, her ow n

frien ds. Frien ds w ho are obn oxiou s to on e of the

marital partn ers on e mu st give u p sometimes ; bu t

do n ot permit you r en tire person ality tobe obscu red.

Explain to you r hu sban d that you are still an in de

pen den t livin g human bein g. I do n ot say, you

shou ld at on ce start a fight. Nothin g is more offen

sive to me than the militan t, pu gn aciou s woman ,w ho wears a chip on the shou lder an d is con tin u ally

ready to in sist on her “ rights.

” Bu t with gen tle

n ess an d firmn ess mu ch can be accomplished. An d

you wan t to remember that man y hu sban ds act the

w ay they do, n ot becau se they are viciou s, bu t be

cau se they are stu pid or childish. Sometimes it is

mere thou ghtlessn ess. They have been brou ght u pw ron gly, an d some of them sin cerely imagin e that

by repressin g the wife ’s person ality, by blottin g it

ou t, they are actin g in her in terest. It is for her

ow n good.

” A seriou s talk with a hu sban d will

sometimes,have a w on derfu l effect. It may some


times chan ge en tirely the cu rren t of his thou ghts.

Of cou rse if the hu sban d is a cad,a con ceited fool,

or a bru te, you can do n othin g with him ; bu t fortu

n ataly n ot all hu sban ds belon g to those categories.

Wife ’s Behavior Tow ard Sexual R elation s. I am

n ow comin g to a delicate su bject. Bu t, delicate

thou gh it is, it mu st be deal t w ith u n flin chin gly,

becau se it is probably respon sible for more male

infidelity than al l other cau ses combin ed. I speak

of the relation of the wife to her marital du ties,in

other words, to sexu al relation s. Too man y women

regard the sexu al act as a n u isan ce, as an ordeal,as somethin g disagreeable to get throu gh with as

qu ickly as possible ; they regard the hu sban d’s de

man ds in this lin e as an imposition , as u n fair or

even as bru tal ; an d their behavior prelimin ary to

an d du rin g the act is su ch as to cool the ardor of

an y refin ed an d sen sitive man . The reason s for this

behavior on the part of man y wives are man ifold ;

this is n ot the place to con sider them in detail. I

will allu de to them briefly. On e great cau se is con

gen ital frigidity. The woman is cold, frigid, has n o

desire for sex relation s an d experien ces n o pleasu re ,

n o sen sation from them. Su ch women are n ot to

blame ; they are to be pitied. B u t even they can

behave so as n ot to repel their hu sban ds.


remedy is simple : give her fu ll in stru ction in the

u se of con traceptive measu res. Other cau ses are :

excessive mastu rbation,vagin ismu s, local malfor

mation , in flammation , etc. Bu t whatever the cau ses

of the wife ’s “ bad behavior ” may be, they are all

amen able to treatmen t. Some n eed medical treat

men t, some psychic treatmen t, an d some n othin g bu t

ju st a common -sen se, heart-to-heart talk.

An d I wou ld emphasize : Do n ot repel you r hu s

ban ds when they ask for sexu al favors— at least do

n ot repel them too often . Hou seholds in which re

ln ticu a are had rather frequ en tly an d in which the

w ives len d their fu l l an d eager participation are

happier hou seholds than those in which the sexu al

act is in du lged in rarely, an d with grumblin g an d

side -remarks on the part of the wife .

Bu t of cou rse you shou ld n ot go to the other ex

treme either. You shou ld n ot make too frequ en t

deman ds u pon you r hu sban d. With a man the act

mean s a good deal more than it does with a woman ;it en tail s a great deal more of physical an d men tal

exhau stion , an d a wife who is u n reason able in this

respect is sowin g the seeds of discord an d u n happi

n ess. She is sacrificin g the fu tu re to the presen t.

The hu sban d is apt to become afflicted w i th satietyor impoten ce—an d the wife may have to lead a life

of con tin en ce for mu ch lon ger than she wou ld have

ADV ICE TO THE MARRIED 165

had to if she had been moderate. In n o departmen t

of life is moderation so importan t as in sex life .

Nou -u se,in su fficien t u se an d excessive u se are all

bad . A mu tu al ly joyfu l, eager an d moderately fre

qu en t participation in the sex u al act will con tribu te

most to a happy an d lon g life .

Dain ty Un derw ear. This may be con sidered too

delicate or too triflin g a su bject to discu ss in an

importan t sex book. Bu t n othi n g is too delicate or

too triflin g that con cern s human happin ess, an d you

will believe me if I tell you that n ice u n derw ear or

dai n ty lin gerie plays a very importan t role in mari

tal life. An d every married woman shou ld have as

fin e an d as dai n ty u n derwear as she can possibly

afiord . A fin e or elaborate n ightgown may be more

importan t than an expen sive skirt or hat. Un fortu

n ately too man y women ign ore this fact. Extern ally

they will be well dressed, while their petticoats,drawers an d u n dershi rts wil l be of the common est

qu ality an d of qu estion able freshn ess an d immacu

laten ess. An d if an ythin g in a woman ’s toilet shou ld

be immacu lately fresh an d clean it is, I emphasize,her u n derwear.

Do Not Ofl'

en d Against Esthetics. Some women

thin k that becau se they are married to their hu s

ban ds they ow e the latter n o esthetic con sideration .

Things that they w ou ld be horrified to let a stran ger


see they do before their hu sban d ’s eyes w ithou t

hesitation . For in stan ce, n ot to beat abou t the bu sh,thou gh the su bject is n ot a pleasan t on e

,they w ill

u rin ate in their hu sban ds ’ presen ce, or they w i ll let

him see their soiled men stru al n apkin s,etc. Some

hu sban ds may n ot min d it ; bu t some men are very

sen sitive—men on the whole are more esthetic than

women— an d an in difieren ce towards the wife mayhave its origin in some vu lgar or u n esthetic pro

cedu re on the wife ’s part. The sexu al act, as men

tion ed before, is a very delicate mechan ism,an d it

is very easy to disarran ge it. The act of mictu rition

before the man is kn own in man y in stan ces to have

in stan tly abolished the man ’s sexu al desire which

w as presen t before. An d a man told me that be

cau se he n oticed in a closet a lot of rags soiled w ith

men stru al blood he w as u n able to en joy relation s

with hi s wife for several mon ths. Y ou may thin k

that these are all small thin gs, bu t life is made u p

of little thin gs, an d man y a married life w en t smash

on accou n t of disregardin g the little thin gs.

Bad Odor from the Mon th . I kn ow of n o otherphysical ai lmen t which is so dan gerou s, so fatal to

the pregn an cy of the love relation as is a stron g,ofien sive odor from the mou th. As a n oxiou s gas

blights a delicate plan t, so w ill a stron g bad odor

blight the delicate plan t of love. Y es, a stron g mal


well the followin g powder. It is simple, cheap an d

eflicien t :

on e dramBoric acid on e ou n ceDried alum two ou n ces

fou r ou n ces

A li ttle of the powder shou ld be shaken in to the

stockin gs every morn in g, an d the stockin gs shou ld

be chan ged very frequ en tly,on ce or twice a day.

Thi s powder is also eflicien t again st perspiration

an d bad odor from the armpits.

I am n ot givin g an y treatmen t for bad odor from

the mou th, for thi s con dition may be du e to a great

variety of cau ses. The cau se may reside in the

n ose ; it may reside in the mou th, decayin g teeth,throat, ton sils. It may be du e to a bad stomach, to

some disease of the lu n gs, etc. Sometimes it is du e

to overeatin g. What wou ld be of valu e in on e con

dition might be u seless in an other. The right thin g,therefore, is to go to a competen t physician

,have

him fin d the cau se of you r trou ble an d ou tlin e the

proper treatmen t.

Leu corrhea. Some men fin d themselves en tirely

u n able to have sexu al relation s with a woman whom

they kn ow is su fferin g with leu corrhea. The mere

ADVICE TO THE MARRIED 169

kn owledge of the fact takes away their ability to

perform the act. It ren ders them impoten t. It dis

gu sts them, an d disgu st is fatal to sexu al power.

On ly to-day I saw in my office a woman w ho au x

iou sly begged for advice an d treatmen t. She had

been married five years. She has always had leu

corrhea, from her fifteen th year as far as she re

members. Otherwise she did n ot su ffer . For the

first three years or so her married life has been a

happy on e. Then in an u n fortu n ate momen t she

told her hu sban d abou t her profu se leu corrhea, an d

in stan tly she n oticed a chan ge in him . He cou ld n ot

fu l ly hide the expression on hi s face. An d sin ce

then he ceased to have in tercou rse with her . He

made a few attempts, bu t they tu rn ed ou t u n satis

factory to both, an d she n oticed that he w as forcin g

himself, doin g it again st his will. She took some

paten t medicin es an d wen t to on e doctor, bu t with

ou t an y resu lts. Now,u n l ess she cou ld be cu red,

she feared her hu sban d wou ld deman d a separation

or a divorce . If you have leu corrhea treat it. An d

remember you n eed n ot in i tiate you r hu sban d in all

you r u n esthetic ailm en ts.

Flirting . Do n ot flirt. Men are apt to m isu n der

stan d you , an d you are apt to get the repu tation of

a loose woman withou t in an y w ay havin g deserved

it. I do n ot say that you shou ld always wear a for


biddin g expression , an d shou ld scowl at people w ho

dare to smile at you or otherw ise pay homage to

you r femin in e charms. Bu t there is a difl eren ce

betw een a frien dly expression an d flirtin g. How

ever, when you r hu sban d begin s to n eglect you , then

a mild flirtation may be ju stifiable. It will alw ays

do you r h u sban d good to kn ow that there are other

mal es in the world besides him, an d that some of

these males fin d in terest in the female whom he con

siders his perman en t an d exclu sive property.

Sloven ly Husban ds. Don’t let you r hu sban d be

come a slob. That is ju st what I mean . It is n o

u se min cin g words. Some hu sban ds n ever acqu ire

the habit—or if they have acqu ired it they qu ickly

lose it—of regardin g their wives as ladies. She

is n ot a lady, she is on ly my w ife,” is a w ell

kn ow n joke,bu t some men take it n ot as a jest.

Some men thin k that before their w ives they can be

as sloven ly an d u n clean as they please. Give you r

hu sban d to u n derstan d that cl ean lin ess an d fresh

n ess is n ot a“sex-limited ” attribu te, an d ju st as a

hu sban d wan ts his wife to be clean an d dain ty an d

w ell -groomed, so a w ife may en joy the sam e qu ali

ties in her hu sban d. Some women are very fastidi

ou s, an d while they may say n othin g to their hu s

ban ds for fear of irritatin g them, they may thin k a

good deal.

Sex Knowledge for Women - Forgotten Books

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