Volume II Part 3 (1/2)
It is exactly the same way with every little boy and girl. We are put into this world for a certain purpose, and we must all work. Now parents know this, and they know just how to prepare little girls and boys for this work. They therefore ask them to do many things that are not pleasant or agreeable but which must be done in order to prepare them for the work ahead.
WHAT A MOTHER SHOULD TELL HER DAUGHTER
Your daughter is now about fourteen years of age. She is about to pa.s.s from girlhood to womanhood and she should know more of life's story. The mother will now tell her the complete story in the form of little talks, based upon the following facts as texts. Each mother will doubtless add to the story as conditions justify and as the education of the mother and daughter may dictate. A mult.i.tude of little side talks can be wisely indulged in to make clear any uncertain or doubtful explanation, and every one of these incidental excursions can be made exceedingly interesting if wisely and opportunely chosen. Always remember, however, to emphasize the sacredness of the story. Do not permit your daughter to get the impression that you are telling her something that simply has to be told, just as you told her the correct way to boil an egg. Let her realize and get the impression that this is the most serious and most wonderfully interesting story in existence, the most important story she will ever hear. Let her understand that motherhood, for which she is now preparing, is the duty G.o.d a.s.signed her in this world: that that duty must be carried out, and that she must do nothing, nor leave anything undone, to interfere with its accomplishment. Do not only impress her with the story itself, but let your own explanation be so emphatically serious, that she will deeply appreciate its momentous significance--an occasion to be remembered all her life.
If she gets the proper impression from you at this time she will never treat the subject lightly, or permit it to be promiscuously discussed within her hearing.
Begin by telling her that she is about to enter the most important period of her life. Explain why this is so in the following way, in your own words. If we admit every female child to be a future mother, and motherhood the highest function possible to the s.e.x, then the awakening of the s.e.x organs and the mother instinct, must be the most important developmental episode in the life story of every woman. If this is so, then it follows that every girl should enter this period in the very best physical health possible, in order to reap the best results incident to this evolutionary period. We impress and warn her, therefore, that, as her system is about to undergo important changes, she must be particularly careful of her health. A little mistake at this time may be followed by more serious consequences than if made at any other time in her life. If a girl is to become a mother, certain changes must occur in her body before the nest, of which we previously wrote, can be made ready. G.o.d did not overlook anything when He peopled the earth; He therefore wisely planned that these changes in the female should occur at a time when the girl is strong and healthy.
THE PERIOD OF p.u.b.eRTY IN THE FEMALE. SYMPTOMS OF BEGINNING MENSTRUATION.--At about the age of fourteen these changes begin to give evidence of existence. They affect the girl's whole system and the mother must be especially patient and sympathetic. Her disposition may change, she may want to be alone, and she may be more or less melancholy. She will be dissatisfied with the things that previously interested her. She will tire easily, and she may have many spasmodic pains from time to time. The wise mother will tactfully see that she takes plenty of nouris.h.i.+ng food and systematic exercise, and that she gets enough sleep in a well-aired room. There are other physical changes which are observable at this age. The girl grows taller, the figure broadens out, the hips widen, the bust enlarges, and the waist line increases in size. These are all part of the great change from girlhood to womanhood.
CHANGES IN THE REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS.--The princ.i.p.al change takes place in the reproductive organs themselves, and it is very essential that she should have a clear mental picture of just what is meant by ”reproductive” organs and their location in her body. We mean by this term the group of organs which are concerned in creating and nouris.h.i.+ng a child until it is old enough to be born into the world.
THE FEMALE GENERATIVE ORGANS.--These organs are the womb or uterus, two ovaries, two fallopian tubes and the v.a.g.i.n.a. The womb or uterus is the ”nest.” It is about the size of and is shaped like a pear. It is hollow, however, though its walls are quite thick. The ovaries are about the size of a peach stone and lie at the side of the womb,--one on either side. The fallopian tubes connect the ovaries with the womb. The v.a.g.i.n.a connects the womb with the outside world,--it is sometimes known as the birth ca.n.a.l. In the very lowest part of the abdomen, or belly, in front, is the bladder, which collects the urine until it is necessary to pa.s.s it out. In the back part of this region is the r.e.c.t.u.m; it collects all the undigested food, etc., from the intestinal ca.n.a.l. Between these two,--the bladder and r.e.c.t.u.m,--we find the reproductive organs, the womb, ovaries and v.a.g.i.n.a, described above.
THE FUNCTION OF THE REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS.--It will be difficult, even for mothers, to acquire a clear understanding of the function of the reproductive or generative organs. It is an exceedingly interesting process, however, and it is well worth a patient, attentive study to clearly understand the brief description we give of it. If you acquire a distinct mental picture of the problem you will be able to tell your daughter a story that will be of intense interest to her, and a tale that is interesting is impressive and is productive of thought and reflection. That is the condition of mind we want daughters to be in when they hear this story.
The human ovaries begin to prepare themselves for their life work when the girl is about eight years of age. When they are ripe, or ready to perform this duty, the girl menstruates for the first time. This is known as the age of ”p.u.b.erty,” which implies that she has developed, pa.s.sed from girlhood into womanhood. After having reached the age of p.u.b.erty it is possible to become a mother.
THE AGE OF p.u.b.eRTY.--There is no fixed age at which the first menstruation takes place. Some girls develop quicker than others,--a condition that depends upon the health and type of girl. A strong, robust, full-blooded girl will menstruate at an earlier age, than will a sickly anemic girl. The average age is fourteen years, though there is no reason to worry if a girl does not menstruate for a number of years later. In warm climates the age of p.u.b.erty is from two to four years earlier than in more temperate climates.
THE FUNCTION OF THE OVARY.--Just what takes place in each ovary when it is ripe is best explained by likening an ovary to an orange,--though of course the ovary is very much smaller than an orange, as was previously noted. If you make a cut in an orange and squeeze it, you express some of its juice and most likely you will also express one or more seeds.
The seeds of the ovaries are called ”ovules,” and the process by which it expresses them is called ”ovulation.” Of course there is no actual squeezing of the ovary,--the ovules grow in the ovary, and as they ripen they come to the surface, and when actually ripe, the part of the surface of the ovary to which they come, opens up (like a flower unfolding when in bloom), and they fall out. The ovule we may regard as the human female egg, and one ripens and falls out every twenty-eight days.
When the egg falls out of the ovary it falls into the tube which carries it into the womb. This tube you will remember is called the fallopian tube. The ovule or egg is now in the cavity of the womb where we will leave it for the present.
THE FUNCTION OF THE WOMB.--While these changes are going on in the ovary, the womb is also preparing itself for its share of the work. The lining or internal surface of the womb is composed of mucous membrane, much the same as the interior lining of the mouth and throat. This lining becomes congested with blood, and is so intensely swollen at the time when the ovule or egg reaches the womb, that it is ready to rupture and bleed all over its surface. Just whether it will rupture and bleed, depends upon whether the egg is going to grow into a child or not. If it is not going to grow into a child, it immediately bleeds freely, and continues to bleed, until the whole lining of the womb and egg is pa.s.sed out into the outer world. This takes four or five days and const.i.tutes ”menstruation.” After menstruation is over, the womb begins again to prepare itself for the coming of the next ovule or egg, and as this occurs every twenty-eight days, menstruation is commonly termed the ”monthly periods.”
WHY MENSTRUATION OCCURS EVERY TWENTY-EIGHT DAYS.--The reason why the womb does this every twenty-eight days is because it is impossible to tell just when the womb will be called upon to nourish and support a child. If it did not get rid of the old blood, it would not be in a healthy condition to nourish and take care of a baby, nor would its interior be ready to supply new fresh blood for the growth of the infant. Hence nature constructs and builds a new ”nest” in the interior of the womb each month. It very much resembles the new home into which the bride and groom, go to begin housekeeping.
When you told your little girl the story of life, you particularly drew her attention to the important fact that every living thing is created by the union of a male and female principle, and, therefore, has a mamma and papa. This applies to trees, flowers, vegetables, fish, animals, birds, insects,--every living thing, including human beings. We have seen that the ovule from the ovary is the female egg, or principle. It is the part the female contributes toward the future child. Before a child is possible, however, the ovule must meet the egg from the male.
THE MALE OR PAPA EGG.--The male or papa egg is called a ”spermatozoa.”
It reaches the interior of the womb through the lower opening, which you will remember opens into the v.a.g.i.n.a. Emphasize to your daughter that the female ovule or egg, and the male egg, or spermatozoa, are minute objects, so microscopically small that a hundred million of them could comfortably lie upon a ten-cent piece.
THE FUNCTION OF THE SPERMATOZOA.--G.o.d gave the male spermatozoa the power to move. To watch them under the microscope you would imagine you were looking into a bowl of water, in which there were hundreds of little fish all squirming around. But the most wonderful thing about them is, they can only move in an upward direction,--they seemingly cannot move downward, or sideways. If you think for a moment you will understand why G.o.d gave them this marvelous property. When the male s.e.m.e.n is deposited in the female v.a.g.i.n.a, there are thousands of these minute, living, moving spermatozoa in it. The womb is above the v.a.g.i.n.a, and the female egg is in the womb, consequently, to reach this egg, the spermatozoa must travel upward. To travel in any other direction would be fruitless energy. There is only one female egg, but there are thousands of male eggs, or spermatozoa; it is easy, therefore, to comprehend how one of these spermatozoa should exactly be in line with the female egg in its upward path, since there are so many of them. It is only necessary that one should meet the female egg in order to impregnate it.
The shape of the male principle, or spermatozoa, is exactly like a little tadpole, and you no doubt recall that a tadpole has a minute tail, the movement of which enables it to swim around. So has the spermatozoa, and by the incessant movement of this microscopic tail they all move upward as soon as discharged by the male. I told you that G.o.d gave the male-germ life. It is necessary now to explain the character of this life. It is very brief; it is estimated that they are active for two hours, and then become inactive, or die. The best way to explain the brief activity to your daughter, is to liken the spermatozoa, to a mechanical toy, which is wound up to go for a certain time. After it runs out it becomes inactive; this is exactly what happens to the little human tadpole. If during this brief life none of them has happened to reach the female egg, pregnancy does not take place and menstruation occurs. On the other hand, if this were not so,--if these spermatozoa were active for a longer period, pregnancy would almost be certain to take place every time the womb was not already occupied with a pregnancy.
TELL THE WHOLE STORY.--When a mother reaches this stage of the wondrous tale she will be asked by an innocent girl,--”How do these spermatozoa get there?” or, ”You have not told me where these tadpoles came from”
or, ”I don't understand how these spermatozoa got into the v.a.g.i.n.a” or, ”I don't know why you call these the male egg when they are in mamma.”
It does not matter how it is expressed, the intent is plain enough. I have said, that an innocent girl will ask this question, the implication being that one who is not innocent will refrain from asking this question. A girl who knows the answer will not ask, because, if she is familiar with this subject before her mother thinks it wise and proper to tell her, she obtained her information from a source which, most likely, insinuated a suggestive, or evil, meaning into the explanation, consequently she would be afraid, or ashamed, to ask the question. An innocent girl, on the other hand, would rightly ask for information which is obviously kept back, and which she has a right to know, since a complete, and intelligent understanding of the story depends upon the elucidation asked. If it is proper to tell part of the story, it is essential to tell all of it. Tell it in your own words in this way:
When G.o.d conceived the human race He ensured its perpetuation by designing a method whereby this would be rendered possible: He did more; He wisely decided that the function, involving the very existence of the human race, should be attended with a sentient gratification. He further instilled into the fundamental economy of mankind, s.e.x attraction, which is involuntary, undeniable, and unquenchable. If G.o.d conceived the means and the method, no human mind in possession of its faculties should see evil where it does not exist. It was by Him designed that the male organ of reproduction should deposit its germinating fluid in the v.a.g.i.n.a of the female, and this is accomplished by a union of species.
The one set of reproductive organs is a complement of the other, and essential to the other. It is by this act that the male spermatozoa is enabled to complete the function of fecundation.
If now we a.s.sume the male and female element to have met and united, menstruation does not take place. The egg or embryo (the future child) begins to grow, and it remains in the womb for two hundred and eighty days from the day when the male and female egg met. It is quite natural for an intelligent girl to ask her mother to explain, ”How a baby can live in there for such a long time,” or ”What makes it grow if it does not get anything to eat or drink.”