Sex efficiency through exercises : special physical culture for women / by Th. H. van de Velde ; [photos, by E. Steinemann].

matters." Moreover, there are special difficulties in the later months of pregnancy. The size of the child and its position in the abdominal cavity force up and somewhat hinder the full action of the lungs. Thus it is urgent that the expectant mother should learn how to breathe, and learn it betimes. For she is not only strengthening and refreshing herself thereby, but she is gaining control of respiration in later stages and during actual birth. And increase of oxygen benefits the heart action and the circulation of the blood ; for the heart has an extra share of effort during gestation— as well as the lungs. The importance of full and correct breathing for the act of birth is twofold. It refreshes the body and counteracts exhaustion, and it also promotes the action of the diaphragm and the rhythmic pressure and relaxation which may be so helpful in expelling the child and avoiding severe injuries to the maternal organs, especially the pelvic floor. Gymnastic exercises also quicken elimination and the combustion of waste products through muscular activity, speeding up circulation, clearing bowels and kidneys and sweat glands, and helping to keep down the excessive fat which often accompanies gestation. Both general exercises and respiratory exercises work perfectly together in these directions, and may, therefore, be most usefully combined. The ideal here is alternate breathing exercises and bodily movements in the open air : and the most simple form is walking with deep and full breathing. And, of course, neither method excludes the other, but may complete and enhance it. And the final point to bear in mind among the general benefits of exercise during pregnancy is the advantage of relaxing and " suppling " exercises. On this subject Sieber— whose pamphlet " Are Exercises advisable during Preg- nancy ? " (36) I can, on the whole, recommend, equally with Mrs. Lisa Mars treatise " Beauty in spite of Maternity." (37) —is of opinion that these " suppling " exercises serve to steady the muscular system, and to soothe the nerves which are in a state of unstable but permanent excitement through- out pregnancy. And I agree that their effect is appreciable.