i8o TABOO AND GENETICS 



ment of any public appearance when pregnancy- 

 is evident, the jokes and secrecy which surround 

 this event, show how far we are from rationahz- 

 ing this function. 



Even medical men show the influence of old 

 superstitions when they refuse to alleviate the 

 pains of childbirth on the grounds that they 

 are good for the mother. Authorities say that 

 instruction in obstetrics is sadly neglected. A 

 recent United States report tells us that prevent- 

 able diseases of childbirth and pregnancy cause 

 more deaths among women than any other 

 disease except tuberculosis. (4). 



The belief in the possession by woman of an 

 uncanny psychic power which made her the 

 priestess and witch of other days, has 

 crystallized into the modern concept of womanly 

 intuition. In our times, women " get hunches," 

 have " feelings in their bones," etc., about 

 people, or about things which are going to 

 happen. They are often asked to decide on 

 business ventures or to pass opinions on persons 

 whom they do not know. There are shrewd 

 business men who never enter into a serious 

 negotiation without getting their wives' in- 

 tuitive opinion of the men with whom they are 

 dealing. The psychology of behaviour would 

 explain these rapid fire judgments of women 

 as having basis in observation of unconscious 

 movements, while another psychological ex- 



