4. REPRODUCTION


Problems in conception, infertility and complaints during pregnancy lie morning sickness, backache, urinary incontinence, breast tenderness, constipation, piles etc, along with homeopathic treatment….


XIX. Marriage.

MARRIAGEABLE AGE. From twenty to twenty-five years of age may be stated as the proper time for contracting marriage on the part of females; and from twenty-five to twenty-eight years of age on that of males. Under favourable circumstances, marriage is conducive to health and longevity. As a general rule the female constitution is not sufficiently matured till the twenty-first year of age to allow marriage without risk of injury to health and comfort. Some exceptions to this exist in persons who have acquired a about nineteen that mental and physical maturity which the majority only obtain some years later. Too early marriage often results in a broken constitution and feeble health in the mother, or in the birth of weakly children. On the other hand, too late marriage often entails much discomfort, and children born of such parents are often sickly, and die prematurely. A considerable disproportion between the ages of the husband and the wife is, for similar reasons, to be avoided. Physiology has, beyond a doubt, established the general truth of these remarks, though it is not presumed that they can or will always be applied. It is most important, however, that they should be instilled as first principles in the minds of the young and their counselors, in order that their application may be facilitated as circumstances permit.

XX. Sterility-Barrenness.

When a reasonable period has elapsed after marriage, and conception not taken place, the question arises, what is the cause.

As we have fully entered into this subject in the Lady’s Manual, we shall here only point out a few of the conditions or causes of sterility, and give general hints as to the treatment when they are at all amenable to personal measures. In nearly all cases, however, a physician should be consulted.

CAUSES. When non-conception is due to faults on the side of the female, the causes may be local or constitutional. Amongst local causes are-a natural defect in the formation of the vagina, uterus, ovaries, etc., which is comparatively rare; polypi or others tumors in the uterus; displacement of that organ; self-abuse; ill-timed or too frequent sexual intercourse; Leucorrhoea, etc.

Constitutional causes include those in which the general physical powers are impaired, or exhausted by acute or chronic disease; also, obesity; too severe exertion; too close mental application, by which an undue amount of nervous power is diverted from the reproductive; a luxurious or inactive mode of life, the hard-working and the poorer classes being much more prolific than the rich, thee indolent, and the free liver; sexual frigidity, etc.

TREATMENT. This must be regulated by the cause. If uterine irregularity, Leucorrhoea, or other functional derangement exist, in must be remedied by such means as have been previously pointed out; and injurious habits must be corrected.

The remedies most serviceable in sterility are-Sepia, Agnus Castus, Baryta Carbonica, Conium, Platina, Ferrum, Phosphorus, etc. Generally, a physician only can decide which remedy, and strength, etc., are necessary. Many drugs recommended as curative of sterility are of doubtful character.

XXI. Conception.

Impregnation depends on the union of certain elements furnished by the male and female organs during sexual congress, both being alike indispensable; and the qualities of the germs furnished at the period of impregnation will cling to the individual through life. It is more than probable that conception resulting from intercourse when the bodily functions or organs are impaired, whether by fatigue, overtaxed digestion, or excesses of any kind, affords a rational explanation of many infirmities or eccentricities in the offspring. The practical lesson, therefore, is, that sexual connection, at least when conception is possible, should only take place under favourable conditions.

The majority of authors agree that the time most favourable to conception is that immediately following the menstrual discharge. Women having then a greater aptitude to conceive, it is also the most favourable time for sexual intercourse. CAZEAUX says, ” everything seems admirably prepared at this period for the reproduction of the species.” The aptitude for fecundation is not, however, always limited to a few days after the menstrual period; the excitement during intercourse being capable of so influencing the ovarian vesicles as to produce changes in them similar to those experienced at the time of menstruation. Not with standing this exception, however, those who are anxious to increase their families should connect their hoped with this period, whilst they who for reasons of health, from poverty or other circumstances do not wish to add to the number of their children, should then exercise particular caution and self- control. An entirely different doctrine has since been enunciated, to the effect that a developing ovum or growing embryo does not belong to a menstrual period just past, but rather to one immediately prevented by fecundation. In short, menstruation is now considered to be a degenerative process, a kind of fatty metamorphosis similar to that which takes place at the end of pregnancy, and by its occurrence to prove that the ovum has already perished. Hence, according to this doctrine, the time most favourable to conception is the few days preceding the monthly period. It is always desirable to ascertain the precise date of conception. CAZEAUX thinks that the women is apt to experience an emotion of painful pleasure, a voluptuous sensation, and a shuddering proceeding from the spine, pain in the region of the navel, sometimes sensation of motion in the abdomen, and uneasy feelings in the region of the hips, followed by languor, fatigue, and sleepiness, and the next day by a sense of fulness, warmth, and heaviness in the abdomen. With the aid of some such signs, that author adds, some females, especially those who have already had children are able to distinguish a prolific intercourse.

XXII. Symptoms of Pregnancy.

1 For a more detailed account see The Lady’s Manual, also Dr. W. Morgan on Pregnancy.

The signs and symptoms of pregnancy vary considerably in different women, both as to their nature and the periods of their occurrence; but as it is often a matter of importance and anxiety to know whether pregnancy does or does not exist, we will enumerate the symptoms which are most common and characteristic. In estimating their conclusiveness, however, reference must be had to their number and importance, the previous condition of the woman, and any accidental causes which may have been in operation to produce abnormal changes.

The only absolutely certain sings of pregnancy are-the movements of the child felt by another, fluctuation, the sounds of the foetal heart, and ballottement, but, with the exception of fluctuation, these cannot be observed till pregnancy is several months advanced, and the last three only by a medical man.

1. Absence of menstruation. When after marriage a women passes the usual time of her menstruation once, twice or even thrice, especially if she has always been previously regular, pregnancy may be suspected, although the suppression may arise from other causes.

2. Morning-sickness. After a few weeks, if sickness, with or vomiting, occur on rising in the morning, or retiring at night, or at any other periodical time, with no apparent cause, the digestion, appetite, and general health continuing good in spite of the nausea, this symptom, added to the first, will strengthen the probability of pregnancy.

3. Enlargement of the breasts. From sympathy with the womb and other parts of the genital apparatus, and in process of preparation for the performance of their own future function, the breasts generally enlarge soon after conception, causing sensations of fulness, throbbing, tingling, and tenderness, and if they are felt, will be found hard and knotty, the whole glands manifestly taking on a more vigorous physiological activity.

4. Darkening of the areola around the nipple. The darkish circle round the nipple (areola), usually becomes much darker in pregnancy, especially in the first. Little prominences or minute glands, like pimples, also arise on the areola, from which subsequently a semi-milky fluid may be squeezed.

5. Milk in the breasts. This usually a good sign of pregnancy, although in some women who have borne children the milk has never ceased to be secreted; and in others who have never been pregnant, a milky kind of fluid may be pressed out of the nipple.

6. Enlargement of the abdomen. This sign, added to those already enumerated, will materially strengthen the presumption of pregnancy. Enlargements may, indeed, occur from other causes, but in these cases the development and shape are not such as characterize pregnancy.

7. Quickening. The rising of the womb out of the pelvis into the abdominal cavity constituted what is termed quickening; this occasionally takes place so suddenly as to alarm the mother, or cause faintness. It was formerly supposed that life did not exist till quickening occurred, but it is now known that thee foetus is alive form the first moment of impregnation. Movements take place probably much earlier than quickening, but are not perceptible to the mother owing to the nature of the bony structure-the pelvis in which the foetus is enclosed during about the first twenty weeks of pregnancy; after this the womb becomes too large to be any longer retained in the pelvic cavity, and, rising up into the abdomen, the sensation of movement is conveyed to the mother through the soft parts. At the same time, movements in the abdomen, felt only by the mother, may bee due to flatulence, imagination, etc.; it is only when the notions of the foetus are distinctly felt by another person that pregnancy can be determined by this sign.

Edward Harris Ruddock
Ruddock, E. H. (Edward Harris), 1822-1875. M.D.
LICENTIATE OF THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS; MEMBER OF THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF SURGEONS; LICENTIATE IN MIDWIFERY, LONDON AND EDINBURGH, ETC. PHYSICIAN TO THE READING AND BERKSHIRE HOMOEOPATHIC DISPENSARY.

Author of "The Stepping Stone to Homeopathy and Health,"
"Manual of Homoeopathic Treatment". Editor of "The Homoeopathic World."