Medford mail tribune., May 10, 1959, Image 36

Family Weekly
May 10, 1959
'peii letter to
by Theodore Irwin
wo you're having a baby!
And you're joining the great sorority of Ameri
can mothers to whom our annual tribute is now
being given: Then rejoice that your baby will be
born in 1959, for this is a wonderful age in which
to become a mother. No other decade, no other
year, has ever been so safe.
You are one of a fortunate multitude. Every
eight seconds, somewhere in America, a wife
becomes a mother.
Now here are things you should know about
your rites of initiation. First, rid yourself of the
mumbo-jumbo of old wives' tales. These are the
deep convictions of eminent obstetricians and psy
chiatrists who have long studied the' problem of
mental attitudes in mothers-to-be.
To make pregnancy a happy period, a completely
emancipated approach is advocated by such author
ities as Dr. Alan F. Guttmacher, director of
obstetrics and gynecology at New York's Mount
Sinai Hospital. His "free" policy is to allow you to
indulge in any athletics including horseback riding,
to hold onto your job until the final month, and
to go out socially as much as ever. Anything is
permitted that will make your pregnancy as
gratifying as possible. x .
"Childbirth should not be a contest, but a satisfy
ing, maturing experience," says Dr. Guttmacher, a
tall, white-haired man, the father of three children
himself and clinical professor of obstetrics and
gynecology at Columbia Medical school.
For a serene pregnancy, Dr. Guttmacher feels
that you must first liberate yourself from unreason
ing jitters. Among the 6,000 private patients he has
delivered in the past quarter-century, he has found
that their chief fears often shared by husbands
are death, pain, and having an abnormal infant As
noted by doctors elsewhere in the nation, women
also are apt to be apprehensive of miscarriage and
of ruining their figures.
To release an expectant mother from the terror
of death and invalidism, Dr. Guttmacher points
out that today fewer than one woman in 2,000 dies
in the process of childbirth, compared with one in
149 only a generation ago.
"Moreover," he adds, "we no longer see huge
lacerations and other, damaging aftereffects of
childbirth. Infections, for example, can be promptly
handled by antibiotics without leaving adhesions.
Nowadays, women often come out of pregnancy in
better condition than when they went in. Believe
me when I say that birth has become almost 100
percent safe. Many obstetricians have practiced
two decades or longer without a maternal death."
Responsible for this tremendous progress, besides
the use of antibiotics and chemotherapy, is the
availability of blood banks for transfusions to cor
rect anemia and the vast improvement in obstetrical
anesthesia. Also important is the greater use of
X ray to measure the pelvis, locate the placenta,
and check the progress of labor. These and other
marvelous facilities for a mother's care and safety
should help build your confidence.
Not long ago, a well-to-do, well-educated but
panicky young wife came to Dr. Guttmacher and
insisted that she would not go through with the
"horror" of childbearing. She wanted an illegal
abortion. Patiently and sympathetically, the obste
trician discussed her alarms and prevailed on her
to go through with the pregnancy. After her baby
daughter was born, she expressed profound grati
tude. Two years later, she had another baby.
As for pain, women often admit it's not nearly as
bad as anticipated, according to Dr. Guttmacher.
American women, unlike mothers in other coun
tries, demand pain relief and get it. A variety of
techniques of anesthesia and analgesia, suited to
each patient's needs, is available. If you're a
woman who doesn't want to be aware .of what's
going on, a heavy analgesia will "knock you out"
On the other hand, many prefer prenatal instruc
tion in "natural childbirth," following the theories
of Dr. Grantly Dick Read, who contends that fear
and a muscularly unrelaxed state are the chief
sources of pain and difficulty in labor. Dr. Read
advocates the elimination of tension through
knowledge, which dispels terrorizing mystery from
the birth process. This is done by professional in
struction. The method is suited to the personality
and emotional makeup of some women, while rou
tine pain relief may be better for others.
To allay your anxiety about an abnormal baby,
you should bear in mind that with vast improve
ments in obstetrical care, birth "misadventures"
are uncommon and the odds are greatly in favor of
having a normal child.
"If there is a congenital abnormality and it
does occur once or twice in a hundred newborn,"
Dr. Guttmacher says, "it can usually be corrected
by surgical or other medical means, so that the
infant has a good chance for a normal life."
Dread of miscarriage is a fairly common problem
because about one out of ten pregnancies ends in a
spontaneous abortion. When and if this occurs,
you should realize that it is nature's way of
rectifying a bad start.,
"Miscarriage is a kind of .defense reaction on the
part of . nature," Dr. Guttmacher points out, "Three
out of every four early miscarriages are the expul
sion of a defective egg which has long ceased
developing. Once women . understand this, they
usually feel easier, in their minds."
Among the familiar old wives' tales that still
plague expectant mothers is that childbirth
will ruin your figure and end your youth and
beauty. That's nonsense, obstetricians agree, and
it's only an excuse to "let yourself go." Actually,
there's much evidence to prove that childbirth can
improve the feminine form.
"To retain her figure," Dr. Guttmacher says,
"a woman should have good prenatal care, with all
its controls of diet and general health; firm sup
port of breasts during pregnancy and nursing;
exercises to strengthen abdominal muscles after
delivery; and a little 'won't power' at the table. A
girl of athletic build may snap back to her pre
pregnant shape without lifting a finger; an older
woman inclined to fat may have a fight on her
hands. But her 'girlish' figure is within reach."
By not making an ordeal of pregnancy, and
adopting a cheerful mental attitude, you need not
suffer the nausea and vomiting known as "morning
sickness." Contrary to popular notion, it is not an
inevitable part of pregnancy.
"For the woman who battles nausea only about
one out of three the trouble may very well be in
her mind as much as in her tummy," says Dr.
Guttmacher. "The idea of having a baby takes a
bit of emotional adjustment, even when the child
has been planned and hoped for. Doubt, worry,
tension, fear, anxiety however subconscious
have an undeniable effect on the body. Women
who expect to be sick during pregnancy will be;
those who think of pregnancy as a natural, healthy
function will probably feel good."
With the proper mental attitude, most expectant
mothers can get over their fears and emotional
nightmares. To achieve that cheerful approach,
many doctors are now releasing pregnant women
from the cloistered life they once led.
For the "new look" in mothers-to-be, Dr. Gutt
macher counsels you to keep your job as long as
possible. "Don't be a stay-at-home recluse," he
says. "If you're not working, see your friends,
work as a volunteer in some community, activity,
take an education-for-childbirth course at the Red
Cross, your hospital, or church. Keep going, if yu
want to avoid those notorious mood swings."
(Continued)
Family Weekly, May 10, 159