wreck the love-life of husband and wife. I know of cases where the
wife, influenced by the wrong teachings about the necessity of
complete abstinence during pregnancy, about the possible injury to the
child from intercourse, persisted in keeping the husband away; and the
result was that the husband began to go to other women, and he got in
the habit to such an extent that he refused to give up entirely, even
after the child was born. It cannot be expected from a married man,
who is used to more or less regular sexual relations, to abstain
entirely for nine or ten months. Such a demand is unreasonable and
uncalled for. All claims about the injurious effects of intercourse on
the mother and child lack proof and foundation. During the first four
months of pregnancy no change need be made in the usual sex relations.
Their "intensity" should be moderated, their frequency need not.
During the fifth, sixth and seventh months intercourse should be
indulged in at rarer intervals--once in two or three weeks--the act
should be performed without any violence or intensity, and the usual
position should be reversed or changed to a lateral one. During the
eighth and ninth months relations had best be given up altogether.

And this abstinence should last until about six weeks after the birth
of the child. During this period the uterus undergoes what we call
involution; that is, it goes back to the size and shape it had before
pregnancy, and it is best not to disturb this process by sexual
excitement, which causes engorgement and congestion.

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

SEXUAL INTERCOURSE FOR PROPAGATION ONLY

Belief in Sexual Intercourse for Propagation Only--What Such
Practice Would Lead to--Nature and the Sex-fanatics--Sexual
Desire in Woman After Menopause--Sex Instinct of Sterile Men and
Women--Sex Instinct Has Other High Purposes.

Some people sincerely believe that the sexual instinct is for
reproductive purposes only; they claim we should never indulge in
sexual intercourse unless it be for the purpose of bringing a child
into the world. The act performed without such aim in view is
stigmatized by them as carnal lust, as a sin. Some even say that such
an act is equivalent to an act of prostitution. To _argue_ the
question with such people would be a waste of time. It is not fair to
impugn the good faith, the sincerity of your opponents, because I have
convinced myself that the most insane, most bizarre notions may