Morning Sickness

Morning sickness is nature's punishment for past sins committed. Prospective mothers who have morning sickness have abused their privilege in all lines. They have sought pleasure to excess, have danced too much, and have imprudently cooled the body after being heated, by sitting in a draft, drinking too much water or soda-fountain beverages, or chilling the stomach too frequently with ices; and in their every-day lives they have eaten too much, too frequently, and of improper food combinations, and neglected to masticate and insalivate starchy foods properly. Instead of eating a reasonable amount morning, noon, and night, many have eaten five times a day, and sometimes oftener. The human body has its limitations, and everyone should try to learn what they are, and then respect them. The commonest drunkenness is food-drunkenness. Physical and mental pleasures enjoyed to excess are a form of drunkenness, and sooner or later bring on enervation. Those who are enervated fail to eliminate the waste-products of the body as fast as necessary, and toxins are retained in the system, bringing on what I define as Toxemia. People in this state are in line for catching colds, coughing, and having the lighter forms of so-called diseases, such as colds, headache, sore throat lasting a few days, fits of indigestion, constipation, and other so-called diseases.

A young woman getting married, after bringing on this state of her organism, is almost invariably troubled with morning sickness, because in all such cases there is a gastro-intestinal indigestion, if not catarrhal inflammation. A sensitive, catarrhal stomach is the commonest derangement of people who ordinarily pass as normal or healthy. Pregnancy in such subjects is accompanied by an extraordinary state of the stomach, which is called morning sickness--often it is an all-day sickness. These subjects continue abusing themselves with irregular eating and imprudent eating, which aggravates the so-called morning sickness. Those troubled with morning sickness should fast a reasonable length of time, and, when indulging in food, they should take a little fruit for breakfast. If fruit irritates the stomach, or the stomach rebels by becoming nauseated, this feeling should pass off before any more food is taken. If the discomfort lasts during the forenoon, no food should be taken at noon. Hot water, sipped slowly, in place of food, should bring some relief, and, to quiet the irritation of the stomach, hot water may be sipped at intervals all the forenoon. If the afternoon is spent in comfort without nausea, a light dinner should be indulged in in the evening--a small piece of broiled steak, a lamb chop, or any other meat desired, with one or two properly cooked vegetables and a combination salad. Bread or starches in any form should not be eaten. Certainly no eating of an improper character should be indulged in, such as cake, ice-cream, custard, as these will increase the nausea and prolong a recovery.

When comfortable, plain eating should be the rule: in the morning, if the stomach will accept it, a piece of dry toast, eaten without butter, masticating each morsel until liquefied in the mouth, and then followed with orange juice and water half and half, or any table beverage ordinarily used, except tea or coffee; at noon, fruit; and in the evening, the regulation dinner, similar to the one mentioned above. Avoid heavy eating until the nausea has entirely disappeared; then respect digestive limitations. Remember that self-control is transmissible.