How Many Petticoats Does Your Baby Need?

One of the gifts I received at the baby shower this past weekend (more on that later) was a book called Expectant Motherhood by Nicholson J. Eastman. Apparently, my mom found it at a garage sale and thought I might find it amusing. First published in August of 1940, the second edition was printed in 1947. Huge changes in the field of obstetrics occurred during this time.

Here's some of the little gems of wisdom from Expectant Motherhood:

From page v of the preface, "Childbearing...is the supreme physical function of womanhood." That's a good start. It's nice to know that I have a purpose.

Page 15 describes how to determine pregnancy by the incredible scientific process of injecting urine into a rabbit or mouse...although the rabbit test operated on the same principal as the modern pregnancy test, it's still kinda gross...poor bunny.

Page 15 also list another of the "laboratory tests" available to the woman who thinks she may be with child, X-ray diagnosis (no, I am not making this up)..."The skeleton of the growing baby is usually demonstrable in X-ray pictures of the mother's abdomen from the beginning of the fifth month and when thus seen is, of course (of course!) absolute proof of pregnancy."

Or, you could wait until "the fifth month when the baby's heart sounds become audible." We've come a long way, baby! I saw the heart beat at 10 weeks.

I've come to the conclusion that my favorite phrase in this entire book is "date of confinement," as though a laboring woman is something akin to a violent mental patient that must be locked up for her sake and the sake of others. Interesting. Maybe not far from the truth in some cases.

The section on "Diet and Hygiene in Pregnancy" has a great bit about syphilis if anyone's interested in catching up.

I also like the section about the seven food groups. That's right, seven. The most important of which might be the "Butter and Fortified Margarine" group.

"Tea and coffee may be drunk as usual." Wrong. More than 200 mg a day has been linked to a number of different problems.

"Small amounts of alcohol, let us say a cocktail now and then or a glass of wine, are harmless..." Well, it's good to know that nobody can make up their mind about this one.

Page 68, in regard to clothing..." The most important consideration in regard to the expectant mother's wardrobe is that it should be attractive." Yeah, that's right...attractive. But wait there's more..."This may sound like a superficial observation (you don't say!), but it is profoundly true...More important than knowing the dangers of...high heels is the knowledge that you are well-groomed, because only then will you really enjoy entertaining your friends and meeting your husband's friends, and in turn, visiting their homes." That's definitely my priority, entertaining large crowds of guests. My goals are all screwed up, eh?

"Throughout pregnancy, long "soaks" in a very hot bath are to be avoided since they are more likely to cause fatigue than comfort..." Well, half right.

Parental warning! "Under no circumstances is sexual intercourse permissible during the last six weeks of pregnancy. This is one rule which is extremely important and absolute." Yeah, it'd be a real shame if you got more pregnant. Good luck with that.

Even better..."While most obstetrical authorities, then, disapprove of excessive smoking in pregnancy (twenty-five or more cigarettes daily), there is no reason for believing that a woman who smokes moderately, let us say ten cigarettes or less a day, need change her custom at this time." And on top of that, "by no means try to give them up in pregnancy. There is no surer way of...converting a placid, sweet-tempered girl into an intolerable shrew." Hmmm. Maybe that''s my problem. "With negligible effort...(a) smoker can usually be content with a package a day or somewhat less, and if you can arrange this there is no great cause for concern." Just cut back to a pack a day and you'll be fine.

Step 6 in how to gain the proper amount of weight advises the following easy step which "may well be taken with Step 5, namely, to substitute saccharin for sugar, not only in coffee or tea, but for cereals and fruit."

And last but not least...In case you've ever wondered the proper number of petticoats is 2, the fabric depending on the season, of course.