hild the mother was
very well, nursed the baby successfully, and the little family
flourished. Then came the unfortunate illness of the husband, which
threw him out of work for six months, during which time they lived on an
allowance from his union, his savings, and finally ran into debt. This
greatly grieved the man and depressed the woman, but both bore up well
under it until the birth of the second child, when their circumstances
forced them to move to a poorer apartment. The wife was delivered by a
dispensary physician, who did his duty well but allowed the woman, who
protested she felt well, to get up and care for her husband and baby
much earlier than she should have done.

The nursing of this baby was more difficult. The mother's breasts did
not seem to be nearly as active as in the previous case. The baby cried
a great deal and needed attention a good part of the night. The husband
was unable to help as he had previously done and the fatigue of the care
of child and man brought a condition where the woman was tired all the
time. Still she bore up well, though when the summer came she greatly
missed the little two weeks' vacation that she and her husband had
yearly taken together from the days of their courtship.

The husband recovered, but his strength came back very slowly. He went
to work as soon as possible but worked only part time for six months. At
night he came home utterly exhausted and could not help his wife at all.

During the next year both children were sick, first with scarlet fever
and then with whooping cough. The mother did most of the nursing, though
by this time the father was able to help and did. The necessary expenses
so depleted the family treasury that when the summer came neither could
afford to go away.

Both noticed that the mother was getting more irritable than was natural
to her. She went out very seldom and her youthful good looks had largely
been replaced by a sharp-featured anxiety. Though she carried on
faithfully she had to rest frequently and at night tossed restlessly,
though greatly fatigued.

She became pregnant again, much to her dismay and to the great regret
of her husband. At times she thought of abortion, but only in a
desperate way. The last few months of her term were in the very hot
months of the year and she was very uncomfortable. However, she was
delivered safely, got up in a week to help in the care of her other two
children and to get the house into shape