Sex at choice / by Mrs. Monteith Erskine, with an introduction by James Monteith Erskine.

  • Erskine, Cicely Quicke (Cicely Quicke), Mrs.
Date:
[1925]
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)

Credit: Sex at choice / by Mrs. Monteith Erskine, with an introduction by James Monteith Erskine. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    14Ô Six AT CHOICË delivered during sleep, without being conscious even of first labour. This must be of rare occurrence, especially among women who have not previously- borne children and whose organs are thus less disposed to dilate ; it might be possible in warmer countries than those of Europe. A lady told me her first three children, born in India, gave her no trouble at all, but during her last three confinements in England she nearly lost her life each time ; and it is well known that most Anglo-Indians prefer an Indian con¬ finement to a home one. There is no doubt that the summer confinement is, as a rule, quicker and easier for the same patient than one occurring in winter. But this is a digression. To return to my argument, there exists no biological fact to dispute the theory that the ovum, whether before or after the menstrual period, may lie for a few days awaiting fertilisation. It is entirely unreasonable to suppose that the cata- menial flow might carry away, not only all belated spermatozoa, but even the ovum itself. So for that very reason, the ovum is discharged separately from the flow, although in direct relation to it. Thus, one month it is thrown out after the uterus has been emptied of its menstrual flow, and the next month it is thrown out before the period is due, and some seven or eight days previous to the actual discharge. This is the normal rule. The exception occurs when an abnormal ovary allows the ovum to escape during the period ; even then it happens only after the bulk