Additions to the Sixth Edition
A curious rigidity of mental and physical capacity
Seems to characterise some excellent and well-mean-
Ing people, and among those whose marriages unac-
Countably fail to reach just that height of perfection
In a physical sense which they may intellectually
Desire, are those who are either entirely ignorant that
Sex union may be accomplished in many various posi
Tions, or those who consider any other position but
The most usual one to be wrong
Yet, curiously enough, it sometifnes comes to
Light that a pair do not even know the usual position
And in my own experience several couples who have
Failed to have children, or have failed to obtain the
Complete delight of union, have revealed that the
Woman did not know that it is not only her arms
Which should embrace her lover. Consequently
Entry was to him both difficult and sometimes
Impossible
In addition to this, the encouragement of that
Spontaneous movement which comes so naturally to
Those who are highly stirred, needs in far too many
Of our moderns to be cultivated. A pair should
Impelled by the great wave of feeling within them
Be as pliable as the sea-plants moved by the rushing
Tides, and they should discover for themselves
Which of the innumerable possible positions of
Equilibrium results in the greatest mutual satisfac-
Tion. In this matter, as in so many Others of the
More intimate phases of sex life, there should not
Harden a routine, but the body should become at the
Service of intense feeling a keen and pliable instru-
Ment
It must be remembered that the parallel of the
More primitive creatures cannot be pressed too far
Because in a thousand ways we highly civilised
Human beings have developed in fresh directions
Away from our ancestral habits. This question, of
Whether or not it is right and wise to have sex unions
During pregnancy, is one on which scientific research
Should be undertaken. Far too few men and women
Are clean-minded and frank enough to record their
Feelings in this connection, and far too few medical
Men delicately sympatheic enough to elicit the facts
Even from those women who are personally conscious
Of them. The little evidence which I have acquired
Through direct personal confidences about this subject
Points in absolutely conflicting directions, and there is
Little doubt that in this particular, even more than in
So many others, the health, needs, and mental
Condition of women who are bearing children
Vary profoundly. From one distinguished medical
Specialist I have acquired the interesting suggestion
That in one or two cases among his own patients
Where the prospSctive mother had desired unions and
The husband had denied them thinking it in her in-
Terest, the doctor had observed that the children
Seemed to grow up restless, uncontrollable, and with
An unduly marked tendency to self-abuse. On this
Most suggestive and important idea, I would gladly
Obtain evidence from parents and the medical profes-
Sion, for only from a large number of cases can
Reliable conclusions be drawn. But just as in popular
Opinion it is good for the child and the woman to
Gratify any harmless fancy for food which she may
Develop, so, in my opinion, it seems probable that
Any desire for moderate and careful sex union
Between the prospective mother and the father of the
Coming child should be gratified in the interests of
All three. But this opinion is expressed merely
Provisionally, and largely in response to a number
Of inquirers who have asked me about this point
Immoderate and excessive sex union must un-
Doubtedly be looked upon as an unfavourable
Symptom, and a practising doctor should be consulted
About it
A woman who is bearing a child by the man she
Deeply loves, has an intense longing that he should
Share, so far as is possible, in influencing that child
While it is coming, and that he should be as near and
As close to it and to her as is possible. The basis of
This longing we may well imagine may be not only a
Tender sentiment of the brain, but may depend on
That fine sensual interchange of ultra-microscopic
Particles which must take place between skin and
Skin during physical contact, the idea of which is so
Beautifully foreshadowed in Carpenter's " Love's
Coming of Age."
A woman who is bearing a child should not —
Indeed, she cannot — have the intensest form of
Muscular orgasm, but this subtler and deeper sweet-
Ening and harmonising union has not only a romantic
Justification, but will, I think, be proved by Science
When Science becomes sensitive enough to handle
Such delicate things, to have a real bio-chemical basis
As so many people lack a due visualising imagina-
Tion, perhaps I should add that the ordinary position
Of union is not suitable — indeed, may be very well
Most harmful — to a woman during this time; but she
And her husband can easily so intertwine themselves
That the weight of both is lying upon the bed or upon
Pillows, and so no pressure falls upon the woman
Although it is out of the province of this book to
Give advice about the more material and better -
Known details of the general management of the
Health of the prospective mother, yet there are one
Or two very important points generally overlooked
Which profoundly affect both the woman's health and
Happiness, and may affect also the child. For in-
Stance, leading medical experts are in the habit of
Considering the " morning sickness " which is so
Usual in the early months of pregnancy as a " physio •
Logical process," and to look upon it complacently
As perfectly normal and to be endured as a matter o.^
Course. This marks a deplorably low standard of
Health. Why should this comparatively small but
Nauseating experience accompany what should be
Among the most rapturously beautiful months of .1
Woman's life.? In my opinion there is no reason for
This at all, except that medical men have been blind
Leaders of the blind; accustomed always to deal with
Invalids or semi-invalids, they have lost the instinct
To demand of humanity a high and buoyant state of
Health, while women so harried by the undue drains
Of unregulated sex experience, with vitality so
Lowered by " civilised " life, have seen one another
Suffering on all sides until they too have lost the
Racial memory of radiant bodily beauty and health
Here and there an exceptional woman has gone
Through the months of pregnancy with no handicap
With not even morning sickness. Instead of looking
Upon her as an enviable exception, as all do now, look
Upon her as the normal standard which all should
Attain! One of the aids to attaining this standard
For every prospective mother would be the know-
Ledge by all adult women that, directly they know
They are bearing a child, they should instantly discard
Not only all corsets, but all clothes of every kind
Which are heavy and close or which have any definite
Bands or tight fastenings. Specialists are content to
Say no harm accrues if a woman wears " comfort-
Able " corsets until the third or fourth month. I
Denounce this as misleading folly. The sensitiveness
To pressure, often unconscious, at such a time is
Extraordinary, and the penalty of even the lightest
Pressure is th& morning sickness. The standard of
Clothing should be so light, so loose, that a butterfly
Could walk upon the bare skin beneath the clothes
Without breaking its wings. This- may seem exag-
Gerated to nearly everyone, but it is a very profound
Truth
