Chapter II: Preface

To this generation as to no other, are we indebted for the awakening of woman. Not the awakening alone which has led her out of the old lines into nearly every avenue open to man in his pursuit of the necessities and luxuries of life; but that other and larger awakening which has set her down face to face with herself, and in her study of woman she has shown herself courageous.

Bravely acknowledging her own limitations, she has set herself the task of fortifying the weak points, curbing the more daring aspirations, and getting herself into trim, so to speak, that she may traverse the sea of life, without danger to herself, her cargo, or to any of the countless ships which follow in her wake, or that pass her in the day or the night.

Not all women have yet awakened, and for those who have eyes to see, and have seen, a great work is still waiting to be done. They must reach out and rouse their sisters. Will they do it? With our young wives rests the weal or woe of the future generations. To them we say, “What of the future, and what sort of souls shall you give to it?”

EMMA F. A. DRAKE.

DENVER, Colorado,
United States of America.
_February 1st, 1901._

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.

INTELLIGENCE OF THE YOUNG WIFE.

Out of girlhood into wifehood.—The setting up of a new
home.—Woman’s exalted place.—Earlier influences.—Importance
of intelligence.—Woman fitted by creator for wifehood
and motherhood.—The position of reproductive organs in
the body.—Dangers of crowding contents of abdomen.—What
all young wives need to know.—Premium previously set
upon ignorance.—Heredity.—Failures and successes of our
ancestors.—Faults and virtues transmitted through heredity, 21-35

CHAPTER II.

HOME AND DRESS.

Preparations for successful home-makers.—The importance of
sensible dress.—An opportunity for reform.—The conditions of
attractive dress.—A question of healthfulness.—What wives need
to know concerning dress.—The kind to be avoided.—Injurious
dress destroying the race.—The ailments caused by wrong
dressing.—The corset curse.—A summary of the evils of dress, 37-46

CHAPTER III.

HEALTH OF THE YOUNG WIFE.

Health insures happiness.—Be ambitious for health.—The scarcity
of perfectly healthy women.—Fashion to the Rescue.—The boon
of health.—Necessity of ventilation and fresh air.—Duties to
the home.—The greatness of woman’s sphere.—In the society
drift.—The extreme of wholly avoiding society.—Keeping in
the middle of the road.—Pleasures and recreations taken
together.—Taking time to keep young.—Mistakes which some
husbands make.—Wrecks at the beginning of married life, 47-55

CHAPTER IV.

THE CHOICE OF A HUSBAND.

Higher standards are being set up in the choice of a
husband.—Should be worthy of both love and respect.—Love
likely to idealize the man.—The real characteristics
necessary.—Deficiencies in character not to be supplied after
marriage.—The right to demand purity.—Young men who “sow wild
oats.”—Importance of good health.—Weaknesses and diseases which
descend from parents to children.—The parents’ part in aiding
to a wise choice.—The value of the physician’s counsel.—One
capable of supporting wife and children.—A dutiful son makes
a good husband.—Essential requisites enumerated.—The father
reproduced in his children.—The equivalents which the wife
should bring to her husband, 57-64

CHAPTER V.

WHAT SHALL A YOUNG WIFE EXPECT TO BE
TO HER HUSBAND?

The young wife should seek to be her husband’s equal, but not
his counterpart.—The recognized centre of the home.—Woman’s
true greatness.—Man’s helpmeet.—Mrs. Gladstone’s part in her
husband’s greatness.—Should attract her husband from the
club to the home.—Continuing to be attractive in dress and
manners.—Should accept both wifehood and motherhood.—Should
keep pace with his mental growth.—Guarding against improper
use of literary clubs, reading circles, etc.—Solomon’s picture
of the model young wife.—A converted heathen’s estimate of his
Christian wife, 65-72

CHAPTER VI.

TROUSSEAU AND WEDDING PRESENTS.

Husband and wife ruined before their “crane is
hung.”—The foolish and ruinous display at weddings.—An
illustration given.—How wedding presents lead to debt and
unhappiness.—Living does not need much machinery.—Mistake
of copying after people of large wealth.—Wise choice of
furniture.—The best adornments for the home.—The trousseaux of
our foremothers.—The need of simplicity.—Artificialities that
make a veil between our souls and God, 73-78

CHAPTER VII.

THE MARITAL RELATIONS.

The subject approached with reluctance.—The marital state
should be the most sacred of sanctuaries.—Wrongly interpreted
it is the abode of darkness and sin.—Its influence for good or
evil upon character.—Responsibility of mothers for the unhappy
lives of their daughters.—Commercial marriages.—Marriage as
it should be.—The husband’s danger from “aggressiveness.”—The
wife should not provoke the wrongs she suffers.—Marital
modesty.—Parenthood the justification of the marital
act.—Reproduction the primal purpose.—Harmony of purpose and
life.—Love’s highest plane.—The value of continence.—The right
and wrong of marriage.—The relation during gestation.—Effects
of relation during gestation illustrated.—The wrong-doings of
good men.—The fruits of ignorance.—The better day coming, 79-96

CHAPTER VIII.

PREPARATION FOR MOTHERHOOD.

Motherhood the glory of womanhood.—Maternity natural and
productive of health.—Prevalence of knowledge of methods used
to prevent conception.—Mothers should prepare their daughters
for maternity.—Motherhood the sanction for wifehood.—Effect of
fixed habits of mother upon offspring.—Adjustment of clothing
to expectant motherhood.—Importance of proper exercise.—The
sitz bath.—Effects of environment upon the unborn.—Why Italian
children resemble the madonnas.—The child the expression of the
mother’s thoughts.—The five stages of prenatal culture stated
and illustrated.—The mother of the Wesleys.—The child the heir
and expression of the mother’s thought and life, 97-112

CHAPTER IX.

PREPARATION FOR FATHERHOOD.

The command to “replenish the earth.”—Preparation for
motherhood more written about than preparation for
fatherhood.—Questions which would test the fitness of
young men for marriage.—Parents should know the character
of young men who desire their daughters in marriage.—Many
young men of startling worth.—The improving of a good
heritage.—Effects of bad morals and wayward habits.—Effects
of tobacco and alcoholics.—How young women help to contribute
bad habits in young men.—The years of rooting and weeding
necessary.—Attaining the best.—The father reproduced in his
children, 113-121

CHAPTER X.

ANTENATAL INFANTICIDE.

The alarming prevalence of this hideous sin.—How daughters
are initiated.—How expectant mothers appeal to reputable
physicians.—Young women should be taught to associate the idea
of marriage with motherhood.—Destruction of own health and life
go hand in hand with prenatal murder.—Effect of such attempts
upon the physical life and character.—Life from the moment of
conception.—The injustice and cruel wrongs inflicted upon wives
by uncontrolled passions of husbands.—Obligation of motherhood
should be recognized.—Its blessings.—The duty of the physician
as educator of public sentiment, 123-134

CHAPTER XI.

THE MORAL RESPONSIBILITY OF PARENTS IN
HEREDITY.

The duty of the present to future generations.—Darwin on
heredity.—Nature inexorable.—The mother’s investment of
moulding power.—The father’s important part in the transmission
of heredity.—The parents workers together with God.—Parents
must reap what they sow.—The law and the gospel of heredity
contrasted.—The children of inebriates and others.—Lessons
from reformatory institutions.—The outcast Margaret.—The
mother of Samson.—How a child became an embodiment of “The
Lady of the Lake.”—The woman who desired to be the mother of
governors.—Importance of this study, 135-145

CHAPTER XII.

AILMENTS OF PREGNANCY.

Pregnancy not an unnatural but a normal state.—Tendency to
neglect hygienic rules.—Morning sickness.—How to correct
it.—Important questions of diet.—Displaced uterus as cause
of nausea.—Mental states.—Companionship.—Various gastric
troubles.—Insomnia.—Hysteria.—Constipation and how to correct
it.—Longings.—Self-control.—With proper care, as a rule all
goes well, 147-154

CHAPTER XIII.

DEVELOPMENT OF THE FŒTUS.

Minuteness of the germ of human life.—The embryo cell and
its store of food.—Its journey to the uterus.—Meeting the
spermatozoön, conception occurs.—The changes which take place
in the uterus.—Life is present the moment conception takes
place.—The mysterious development of the embryo.—The sin of
tampering with the work of the infinite.—The various changes in
the development of the embryo and fœtus set forth.—The changes
that occur each month.—Parenthood the benediction of husband
and wife, 155-162

CHAPTER XIV.

BABY’S WARDROBE.

The question that comes with fluttering signs of
life.—Importance of wise choice of material and style of
dress.—The blessedness of mother’s joy in preparing baby’s
clothing.—The questions of dress important.—Formerly
seemingly planned for discomfort.—The “binder” an instrument
of torture.—Better methods now prevail.—The napkin.—How to
establish regular habits for baby.—The pinning blanket.—The
little shirt.—Baby’s earliest and best dress described.—The
complete wardrobe described.—The furnishings of the
basket.—Things which are not to baby’s taste or comfort.—The
later wardrobe, 163-171

CHAPTER XV.

THE CHOICE OF PHYSICIAN AND NURSE.

Choice of physician and nurse of real consequence.—Choose
a physician whom you can trust implicitly.—A cleanly
man.—The wife should make the selection.—A Christian
physician.—Choice of nurse.—Wife most capable of making
choice.—Advice of the physician desirable.—She should be
pleasing to the wife.—Cleanliness.—Gentleness.—A person of
individuality.—Neatness in manner and clothing.—Should be
intelligent.—Physician and nurse should work in sympathy.—A
good cook.—Able to converse, but not a gossip.—Many such
physicians and nurses, 173-177

CHAPTER XVI.

THE BIRTH CHAMBER.

Memory’s dissimilar pictures of birth-chamber scenes.—Newborn
souls welcomed to mother’s arms and love.—The rebellious
mother with empty heart and unwilling arms.—The older
children reflect the spirit of the mother toward the
newcomer.—Illustrations of conduct of intelligent children
toward mother at birth period.—How to calculate date of
confinement.—Birth chamber no terror for those who live
hygienically.—Anæsthetics.—Their use explained.—Allaying
anxiety.—Earliest premonitions.—Preparation.—The three stages
of labor.—Tying the cord.—The rest and joy that complete and
crown labor, 179-187

CHAPTER XVII.

SURROUNDINGS AND AFTER-CARE OF THE
MOTHER.

Maternity should have the largest and brightest room in the
house.—It is her coronation room.—Simplicity of labor with
healthy women.—Science has reduced risk to the minimum.—The
exaltation of motherhood.—The rest after labor.—How to prepare
a bed for the parturient.—Deliverance of mother from friends
and visitors.—Sanitary pads.—Regular nursing.—Undisturbed
sleep.—No binder necessary for mother.—The care of the
breasts.—Diet.—Sitting up.—Six or eight weeks needed to regain
normal condition.—The use of the douche.—Sore nipples.—The
bearing of children not to be dreaded.—The joy of
motherhood, 189-200

CHAPTER XVIII.

CARE OF THE BABY.

The more thoughtful treatment of babies than formerly.—The
first attention that baby needs.—Its oil bath.—The care
of the eyes.—The care of the placentic cord.—Baby’s first
bath.—Its covering after the bath.—The basket.—Regularity
in nursing.—Waking at night.—Rocking to sleep.—Quantity of
food.—The appointments of the nursery.—The mother and the care
of her own children.—To her children the mother should be the
dearest creature in the world.—The babies born of love.—The
babies born in bitterness.—The responsibilities and joys of
motherhood, 201-212

CHAPTER XIX.

THE MOTHER THE TEACHER.

Food, clothing and restraint not the mother’s full duty to her
children.—Teach them self-knowledge.—Mother should give honest
answers to honest inquiries.—Ignorance leads to vice, and vice
to ruin.—When shall children be taught physical truths.—How to
teach little children physical truth.—Questions of sex should
be the most sacred things of their knowledge.—How to teach the
children in this sacred way.—Mothers should teach their boys as
well as the girls.—How boys grow away from their mothers.—How
mothers may win and hold their boys.—An honest mother’s
reward, 213-228

CHAPTER XX.

COMMON AILMENTS OF CHILDREN.

Little ailments.—Nursing babies affected by condition of
mother.—Sleep and health.—The baby’s food.—Why babies are
restless when nursed from the right breast.—Children’s symptoms
often more grave than the ailment.—Illustrations.—Fevers
and teething.—Vomiting.—The cause of rash.—Pallid
children.—Chafing.—Babies do not cry without cause.—Need
of water and fresh air.—Sleeping in open air.—Relief in
constipation.—Important suggestions, 229-236

CHAPTER XXI.

GUARDING AGAINST SECRET VICE.

The mother’s preparation as guide and protector of her
children.—Safeguards for tiny babyhood.—Cleanliness,
regularity, chafing, pin worms, servants, nurse girls, etc.,
etc.—How to teach and guard them during childhood.—Safeguarding
the children with knowledge.—Inborn curiosity concerning
physical mysteries.—How to meet these questions.—Sleeping
alone.—How to correct vice where it exists. The duty of
physicians to the public.—Symptoms which call for parental
watchfulness.—Results of secret vice.—Rewards of parental
vigilance, 237-244

CHAPTER XXII.

THE TRAINING OF CHILDREN.

The training which develops talents.—When child-training should
begin.—The training of her children the mother’s all-important
calling.—The influence of the mother’s own character and
life.—The children imitators of their parents.—Importance of
earliest training.—Spoiled children.—Children’s rights.—The
proper correction of children.—Broken promises and parental
falsehoods.—Value of tact in parental discipline.—Value of
parental sympathy.—The mother, herself, the best gift to her
children.—The choice of books and stories.—The choice of
companions for the children.—Toys, sports and amusements.—An
appeal to mothers, 245-262

CHAPTER XXIII.

BODY-BUILDING.

Our duty to nourish, strengthen and build up strong
bodies.—Eradicating inherited infirmities.—Children inherit the
permanent states of their parents.—The parents’ duty to those
who are not well born.—What has been accomplished along these
lines.—The relation of babies’ clothing and food to physical
growth.—Unwise feeding.—The laws of nutrition.—The relation
of food to national greatness.—A list of good foods.—The
relation of exercise to appetite.—Comparative value of meat
and vegetables.—Importance of rest and sleep.—Regular sleeping
hours.—Schools and nervousness in children.—Many children
are not properly nourished.—Food poorly prepared and poorly
served.—The importance of hygienic cooking.—The cause of
weak eyes in children.—Children and bare feet.—The dosing
of children with nostrums.—The use of brandy and wine in
cooking, 263-285

CHAPTER XXIV.

MOTHERS’ MEETINGS, STUDY CLUBS AND
BOOKS.

The awakening along new lines.—A better brand of
mothers.—Books that will help along this line.—Mothers’
clubs as factors.—Their need in cities, villages, and rural
communities.—A rich mine, 287-292