perly; these
may render the life of the pregnant woman miserable, and may be the
direct cause of a painful, prolonged, difficult labor. The evils which
result from constipation because of the absorption of poisons by the
bowel are of the gravest importance during pregnancy. These poisons
affect the general health; the victim is tired, listless, and apathetic,
and is thereby disinclined to exercise adequately; the appetite is
poor; there are headaches, neuralgias, insomnia, nervousness,
melancholia, and general mental and physical inertness. What hope may a
pregnant woman entertain of having "an easy confinement," or of bringing
a healthy child into the world under these circumstances? Who is to
blame? Sometimes it is necessary to tell the unadorned truth,--the woman
is to blame. No woman has a right to assume the responsibilities of
maternity who has not had enough respect for herself to discontinue
habits which caused this failing, or who has not had strength of will
enough to begin its successful cure. Get busy,--do something,--it is
never "too late," but do it now.

Before we take up the treatment of constipation in women, it is
necessary to explain more fully the type of constipation which we
referred to as "incomplete" constipation. There is a condition of the
bowel, in which we find its wall coated with hard fecal matter. The size
of the bowel may be dilated as a consequence. This condition may occupy
part, or most, of the entire length of the large intestine. In the
middle of this hard mass there is a small channel through which
semi-liquid matter passes. When the bowel moves, it is this semi-liquid
matter that passes out, and this constitutes the daily movement. We have
consequently a condition in which we have a daily movement but not a
complete emptying of the bowel. The character of the stools from such a
bowel must necessarily be more or less of a semi-liquid consistency,
because the intestine, being coated with a hard dried out layer of old
fecal substance, is prevented from absorbing the liquid part of the
fresh fecal mass passing through it. This condition may exist for a
considerable time, but it will slowly undermine the health and vitality
of any person in whom it exists. The symptoms which a patient in this
condition complains of are,--a feeling of being tired and languid, no
energy or vim, headache, loss of appetite, loss of flesh, neuralgic
pains, nausea, vertigo (dizziness), insomnia, frequent cold