THO’theWomanought to be cautious of herDIETandREGIMENduring the whole time ofPregnancy, as advis’d inChap.3. of thisSection; yet she is now oblig’d in thefirst place(especially from the beginning of the9thMonth) to be much more circumspect; to use nothing butFoodof goodNutritionand easyConcoction, of anAperitiveandLaxativeQuality,littleat a time, but frequently taken.
II.SHEought tostiroften, and exercise herselfmoderately, withoutstoopingorbendingthe Body too much, lest theUMBILICALSmay entangle theInfant.
III.SHEshould discreetly rest herself at certain Times, and indulge herself in composingSleep; lying altogether on herBack, not on eitherSide, that theInfantmay freely turn itself.
IV.FROMthetenth Day, proper Emollient and LaxativeDecoctionsby way ofBaths, may necessarily be used twice or thrice aWeek, for moistening thePassages, and facilitating theBirth: Or otherwise, theBellyand properPartsneed only be fomented withCloths, orSpungesdipp’d in suchDecoctions, and the neighbouringPlacesanointed with appositeLinimentsor requisiteOintments: But noLaconickorSweatingBathsorBagnio’s, ought to be used at thisJuncture; notwithstanding some contraryOpinions.
V.THEInfantis to be cherish’d, and strengthen’d by properCordialsinwardly taken, as well as by outwardApplications.
VI.THERoomorChamberin which the Woman is to undergo herTravailandLying-In, ought to be convenientlytemperate, neither toocoldnor toohot: By reason that theonecertainly constringes and shuts theWomb; as theotherdissipates and debilitates theSpirits.
In short, I have knownWomen, who have often had most painful, lingring, and laboriousBirthsbefore; to have beenLaidafterwardswith the greatest Ease imaginable in a very short time, by only carefully observing theabove-prescrib’d REGIMEN. Wherefore I shall take leave to go on farther, to