rset, Dr. Stockham said with emphasis: "_The corset should not be
worn for two hundred years before pregnancy takes place._ Ladies, it will
take that time at least to overcome the ill-effect of tight garments which
you think so essential."

20. PAINLESS PREGNANCY AND CHILD-BIRTH.--"Some excellent popular volumes,"
says Dr. Haff, "have been largely devoted to directions how to secure a
comfortable period of pregnancy and painless delivery. After much conning
of these worthy efforts to impress a little common sense upon the
sisterhood, we are convinced that all may be summed up under the simple
heads of: (1) An unconfined and lightly burdened waist; (2) Moderate but
persistent outdoor exercise, of which walking is the best form; (3) A
plain, unstimulating, chiefly fruit and vegetable diet; (4) Little or no
intercourse during the time.

"These are hygienic rules of benefit under any ordinary conditions; yet
they are violated by almost every pregnant lady. If they are followed,
biliousness, indigestion, constipation, swollen limbs, morning sickness and
nausea--all will absent themselves or be much lessened. In pregnancy, more
than at any other time, corsets are injurious. The waist and abdomen must
be allowed to expand freely with the growth of the child. The great process
of _evolution_ must have room."

21. IN ADDITION, we can do no better than quote the following
recapitulation by Dr. Stockham in her famous {298} Tokology: "To give a
woman the greatest immunity from suffering during pregnancy, prepare her
for a safe and comparatively easy delivery, and insure a speedy recovery,
all hygienic conditions must be observed.

"The dress must give:

"1. Freedom of movement;

"2. No pressure upon any part of the body;

"3. No more weight than is essential for warmth, and both weight and warmth
evenly distributed.

"These requirements necessitate looseness, lightness and warmth, which can
be obtained from the union underclothes, a princess skirt and dress, with a
shoe that allows full development and use of the foot. While decoration and
elegance are desirable, they should not sacrifice comfort and convenience.

22. "LET THE DIET BE LIGHT, plain and nutritious. Avoid fats and sweets,
relying mainly upon fruits and grain that contain little of the mineral
salts. By this diet bilious and inflammatory conditions are overcome, the
development of bone in the foetus lessened, and muscles necessary in labor
nourished and stren