JTUESmG. 279 



Probable Date of Confinement.— The usual method of reckoning 

 the probable date of confinement is to learn on what day the last monthly flow 

 ceased, then to count three months backwards (or nine months forwards) and 

 add seven days. This is, in practice, the best plan that has been suggested, 

 and will general!}' give a date within a very few days of actual confinement, 

 frequently the very day. The following example will show how the calcula- 

 tion is made: — A woman, we will say. wa ; last unwell on March 10; counting 

 three months back from March 10 gives December 10; add seven days and it 

 will give December 17, which is the probable date of her confinement. If it 

 is not the actual day, labor wiU in all probability take place within three or four 

 days before or after it. 



Movements of the Foetus, — The movements of the foetus are not 

 perceived by the mother until between the fourth and fifth months — that is, 

 until pregnancy has advanced about half-way. Not very uncommonly the 

 occurrence of the first definite movement of which the mother is conscious is 

 accompanied by a sensation of nausea and faintness. It is this fact which gave 

 rise to the opinion long held, and still prevalent amongst the ignorant, that the 

 foetus then for the first time becomes living, an opinion that finds expression in 

 the word "quickening," the use of which, like that of many other words, has 

 outlived the theory in which it had its origin. As a matter of fact, the foetus 

 is living from the very commencement of pregnancy, and the reason why 

 movements are not felt during the earlier half of pregnancy is to be found in 

 the fact that the womb itself is not sensitive, and that it is not until the middle 

 of pregnancy that that organ has enlarged sufficiently to bring it in direct 

 contact with a part fully endowed with sensibility — namely, the inner surface 

 of the abdominal wall. From the moment when they are first perceived, the 

 movements of the child become more and more distinct as pregnancy advances, 

 and constitute one of the most important of the later signs of that condition. 

 When from any cause it is impossible for the probable date of confinement to 

 be calculated according to the rule laid down in the preceding paragraph (.as, 

 for example, when the date of the last menstruation is uncertain, or when one 

 pregnancy succeeds another so quickly that menstruation has not been re-estab- 

 lished in the interval), it may be approximately arrived at by reckoning it as 

 four and one-half months after the date of " quickening." 



MANAGEMENT OP PREGNANCY: General Rules— Consti- 

 pation — Piles — Hardening the Nipples — Swollen Breasts— 

 Varicose Veins— Falling Forward of the Womb — Obstinate 

 Vomiting — Difficulty in Passing Urine, &c. 



Proper Treatment of Pregnancy.— The proper treatment of preg- 

 nancy consists for the most part in paying increased attention to the laws of 

 health. A pregnant woman requires a full allowance of rest, and should 

 therefore be careful to avoid late hours. She should take plenty of outdoor 

 exercise whenever the state of the weather permits; and, while avoiding all 

 strain, such as the lifting of heavy weights, or reaching things 



