The Four Epochs of Womans Life | Page 6

and the ball-room, talk of beaux, of love and
marriage, and children being surrounded with the atmosphere of riper
years. It is generally believed that early stimulation of the sexual
instincts leads to the premature establishment of puberty, as do also
spiced foods and alcoholic beverages.

First Onset of Menstruation.-- Sometimes the first menstrual discharge
appears suddenly, lasts for a few days, and then stops; it may appear
after an interval of two or three weeks, or not for several months. If for
several months the flow appears at the regular time, and the quantity is
about the same as the first, the menstrual habit may be said to be
established. The mode of onset varies considerably within the limits of
health. So long as the general health remains good, no anxiety need be
felt in regard to the establishment of the menstrual function.
In other cases there may be a discharge of blood at the first period, and
none afterward for several months; in other words, menstruation may
be established suddenly, intermittently, or gradually. It must be
remembered that certain pathologic conditions cause many disturbances
connected with the onset of puberty.
Psychic Changes at Puberty.-- The angular, gawky feeling gradually
disappears; the girl becomes self-conscious; new impulses arise, and
she gives up many of the hoydenish ways of childhood. The girl's
imagination is more lively, and just at this time mathematics form an
excellent subject for mental occupation. The girl now begins to
question the whys and wherefores, and demands reasons for the course
that is laid out for her, and is full of ideas of her own; so that while as a
child she had accepted almost unquestioningly the commands of her
parents, she can be managed now only through the power of reason.
And this is just as it should be, for the girl has reached the years of
discretion, and now is the time when her reason and judgment are
capable of rapid cultivation.

CHAPTER II.
HYGIENE OF PUBERTY.
Home Life; Corsets; Shoes; Underwear; Nutrition; Diet; Water;
Constipation; School Life; Spinal Curvature; Exercise; Walking;
Running.

"Every man is the architect of his own fortune."
PSEUDO-SALLUST.
Home Life.-- With beginning menstruation the equilibrium of the body
is very easily disturbed, so that even in the case of the healthy girl some
precautions should be taken and a rational regime should be adhered to;
while in the case of the delicate girl a still more careful attention will
have to be directed toward her weak points, in order that she may
develop into a healthy woman.
For every girl at this time of life home is preeminently the place; so that
she may not only have the benefit of a mother's watchful care, but also
lead a life as free from conventionalities and as much in the open air as
possible. No girl should be sent away to school at this period of rapid
growth and development; nor should girls of the working classes, when
it can possibly be avoided, be sent out to fill positions as clerks in illy
ventilated stores, in factories, or as domestics. If a girl can be kept at
home until she is eighteen years old, she will be a much stronger,
healthier woman than would otherwise be possible.
Corsets.-- At this period of life it is particularly necessary that the
clothing should be warm and at the same time sufficiently loose to
prevent the constriction of any part of the body. And whatever the adult
woman may elect to do in the matter of wearing corsets herself, she
does her young daughter an irreparable injury by constricting and
moulding her growing body in these corset-splints. Corsets placed on
the young girl interfere with the functions of circulation, respiration,
digestion, and of the pelvic organs, also with muscular development. In
addition to all this, the girl is handicapped in taking all outdoor
exercises and athletic sports.
The lungs, heart, and great blood-vessels are placed in and completely
fill an air-tight, distensiblecage, which is most distensible at its base.
The least chest girth of the adult woman-- that is, the under-arm girth
around the chest-- that is consistent with health is twenty-eight inches;
and this girth must be enlarged three inches in forced inspiration. In

ordinary respiration the waist expansion should be one-half to one inch,
while during great muscular activity it should be from one and a half to
three or four inches. One-third of the lungs lie below the point of
beginning corset pressure, so that with tight corsets this amount of lung
substance must be more or less useless.
It is self-evident that any restriction placed about the waist, by
preventing the full expansion of the ribs and the descent of the
diaphragm, will further embarrass the heart's action by diminishing the
amount