I Come now, agreeable to my Promise, in theFirst Chapterof thisSection, to direct and prescribe to theWoman conceiv’dher dueCourse: Whom I would have to consider,First, that she is in a very narrow and dangerousSea; and,Secondly, that, as thePilotcannot be always upon theWatch; so the Safety ofShipandCargodepends entirely upon theCare,Conduct, andSteady Handof the skilfulSteersman.
WHEREFOREtheWomanbeing now satisfy’d of herCONCEPTION, she is to observe a quite differentOeconomyin herWay of Living, from what she formerly practis’d: Since adouble Mischiefmay be the Result of onesingle Faultin this Case; theINFANTalways participating of what affects theMOTHER. And therefore she is now not only to take Care ofHerself, but also of herEmbryo, or theFruitof herWomb; especially in theFirst Months, when it may be justly compared to the tenderBlossomsofTrees, which are easilyblasted, orshaken-offby the least Accident ofWindorRain.
THISRegimen, which I am about to speak of, isTwo-fold; theOnefor suchWomenas find themselves in a goodState of Health, by way ofPrevention: TheOtherfor those of thetenderer Sortof Constitutions, who begin to suffer immediately under the commonSymptoms: Upon which Affair I shall give a few necessaryPrecautionsadapted toBoth, with all possible Discretion and Judgment.
I.THEConceiv’d Womanthen is to observe a good, wholesome, and regularDIET; sinceErrorscommittedthat way, with respect either toQuantityorQuality, may be ofdouble Damage; I mean, both to theMotherand theInfant. She should therefore eat ratherOften, thanMuchat aMeal; especially atNights, without fasting too long at any Time.
II.SHEis discreetly to avoid all unwholesome, or intemperateAir, and not expose herself to anyExcessofHeatorCold.
III.SHEmust not desire rashly to walk much abroad inMoon-Shine, nor towashher Head inSun-Shine.
IV.SHEought not to frequentGardens; and that for the followingTwo-fold Reason:First, lest perchance she happen to sit or tread upon someHerbof a perniciousQuality; as divers are, in provokingAbortion:Secondly, lest she covet someFruitorHerbs, which may be of Damage or Inconveniency ifallow’d, and the same ifdeny’dHer.
V.SHEis prudently to avoid allOdoriferousorPerfum’d, as well asStinking NauseousSmells.
VI.SHEmust carefully shunsittingorlying hard, and alsoliftingany heavyWeight, or herArmsabove herHead.
VII.SHEought purposely to forbear allhard Labour, andviolent Emotionsof Body.
VIII.SHEis prudently to avoid all Apprehensions ofFearsandFrights, and not to besurpriz’dat any thing she hears or sees.
IX.SHEis cautiously to declineWatchings, and sitting up late atNights; but must indulgemoderate Sleep.
X.SHEmust notlaceherself (asbefore) withWhalebone-Stays, nor useBusks; which may not only spoil herBreastsandBelly, but alsomis-shapetheInfant, ifAbortiondoes not immediately follow.
XI.SHEought discreetly to suppress allAnger,Passion, and otherPerturbationsof Mind, and avoid entertaining tooseriousormelancholick Thoughts; since allsuchtend to impress aDepravityof Nature upon theInfant’sMind, andDeformityon itsBody.
XII.SHEis not to be tooBusy, orAttentive, fixing herEyestoo much upon any oneObject; especially on deformedugly Persons, or any such accidentaldisagreeable Sight.
XIII.ASto herAppetite, she ought to set theDelphick Oraclebefore her (Nil nimium cupito) anddesirenothing but whatshe can haveto her Satisfaction.
XIV.SHEmust carefully avoid all strongpurging Medicines,[56]especially before thefourth, and after thesixth Month: And evenThenalso, unless a Necessity of turgidMatter, or unfix’dHumours, oblige her to it, or requireEvacuation. She is also likewise to abstain from allPhlebotomy[57], especially in thelatter Months.
XV.ASto herExercise, of what kind soever, the following generalRulemay suffice;viz.thefirst Monthshe ought not toexerciseherself at all: Thesecond, but seldom and slowly: Thethird, oftner and briskly: Thefourth,fifth, andsixth, moderately and boldly: Theseventh,eighth, and to the middle of theninth, she should study by degrees to reduce Herself discreetly, and abstain from all her wontedExercise, and act very circumspectly in all Regards; especially[58]theeighth Month, which is the most dangerous and troublesome of all the Time ofPregnancy.
XVI.LASTLY, Let herState of Healthbe never so good, she ought to take properMedicinesto strengthen theWomb, as well as theFœtus, in order to preventAccidents, which may happen to thestrongest Woman.
BUTas toWomenof moretender Constitutions, they are not only subject to thecommon Symptoms, but often liable also toacute Diseases; such asFevers,Pleurisies,Squincies,Inflammations,Epilepsies,Apoplexies,Convulsions,Contractionsof the Limbs, Joints,&c.In whichCases, I may reasonably recommend thePatientto the ablestPhysician; since none but the most Judicious ought to undertake them in such critical Conjunctures. Because it is no waysSafeto use thesame MeansandMedicineswith thePregnant Woman(which those incidentDiseaseswould otherways regularly require;) without a dueDistinctionand a niceRegardhad to her otherHabitsofBody.
THESEtender Womenare also sometimes seiz’d withChronical Distempers; such asintermitting Fevers,lingring Coughs, &c: But, in thoseCases,Prescriptionsare not so Proper or Convenient, unless theDistemperbe very severe and extremely prejudicial to theFoetus, because they commonly wear off before theDelivery.
HOWEVER, be theConstitution, or Condition, of theWomanas it will, I mean,StrongorWeak,HealthyorSickly, all prudentParents, who desire to be bless’d with comely, tractable, and hopefulChildren, ought not only to perform theirNuptial Dutieswith greatSerenity of Mind, but also to take mutualCareto prevent and suppress allFamily-TumultsorDomestick Storms: For there never ought so much as aCloudto appear in theirConjugal Society; since all such unhappyAccidentsstrongly affect the growingInfant, and intail the sameQualitiesofDispositionalmost indelibly imprinted upon it.