from her diet. At times
she did not even eat bread. Her chief diet was fruit, vegetables, and
simple salads, and yet the albumin and casts continued to increase in
the urine and the blood-pressure climbed up to 190 mm.

As we approached the last two weeks of pregnancy, this little woman
was taken to the hospital and systematic daily treatment with sweating
procedures was begun. Among other things, she had a daily electric
light bath. After each of these baths she was wrapped in blankets and
the sweating continued for some time. Careful estimations of albumin
were made daily and the blood-pressure findings noted three times a
day. During the last week of pregnancy she lived on oranges and
grapes. Day by day she was watched until the eventful hour arrived.
She went into the delivery room and gave birth to a perfectly normal
child. The albumin and casts quickly cleared up, the blood-pressure
lowered, and today the little woman is a fond mother of a beautiful
baby boy.

It is hard to estimate what might have taken place had not her
elimination been stimulated. The blood-pressure was our guide. Had the
albumin (without casts) appeared in the latter weeks of pregnancy
with a blood-pressure of 140 or 150 mm., we would not have become
excited, for the reason that in every normal pregnancy there is
often present a trace of albumin in the latter weeks; but when
the blood-pressure jumped to 170 or 190, then we knew that
toxemia--eclampsia--convulsions--were imminent. So we have in recent
years, come to look upon the blood-pressure as an exceedingly
important factor--as an infallible indicator of approaching
trouble--as a red signal light at the precipice or the point of
danger; and it not only warns us of the danger, but it tells us about
how near the boilers are to the bursting point. The glassy eye, the
headache, the full bounding pulse and the blurring of vision, are all
symptoms accompanying this high blood-pressure, so that in these
enlightened days no practitioner can count himself worthy the name, or
in any way fit to carry a pregnant woman through the months of
waiting, unless he sees, appreciates, and understands the value of
blood-pressure findings in pregnancy.

CHAPTER VII

PREPARATIONS FOR THE NATAL DAY

Two months before baby is to arrive, the expectant mother should pay
particular attention to the conservation of her strength. The woman
who is compelled to leave her home for the factory, the laundry,