PAET II. 



PRENATAL CULTURE. 



CHAPTER XL 



PRENATAL INFLUENCES. 



In preceding chapters we have considered 

 briefly the several factors of heredity and the 

 potentiality of the fixed, or established, charac- 

 ters and their influence upon offspring. In this 

 and succeeding chapters we shall study the fac- 

 tors of prenatal culture, the influence of parent- 

 al conditions at the initial of life, and the effects 

 of maternal impressions during gestation. 



The transmission of acquired characters is an 

 established fact. The transient physical, mental Acquired 

 and moral conditions of the parents, prior to 

 the initial of life, at the time of inception and of 

 the mother during gestation, do affect offspring. 

 This fact I have emphasized at some length in 

 the introduction to Part I, but, because of its 

 supreme importance, I shall notice further the 

 testimony of standard authorities and recount a 

 few cases from personal observations showing 

 the efficacy of prenatal influences and maternal 

 impressions. 



