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

deep enough to cover and contain the whole abdominal region. Finally, as long as the young mother is nursing, and her flow of milk is undiminished, she should avoid all exercises which involve bending the upper part of her body forward rapidly or for any appreciable length of time. These move- ments cause pain and often loss of milk from the heavy and distended breasts. And the bust should be supported and protected by a brassiere or soutien gorge (bust bodice) which fits closely without pressure, and is, if possible, made to measure. We have dealt here almost exclusively with exercises belonging to the category of " general physical culture/' and merely mentioned the significance of exercises of the pelvic floor without directions as to how these should be per- formed after child-birth. Nor indeed, have we anything to add to what has already been explained on this topic in the first section of the present work. But it may be as well again to stress the supreme importance of exercise of the muscles of the pelvic floor in the puerperium : they need more urgent care than any others, even the abdominal group. For in- adequacy in the latter group may be, to some extent, counter- acted by artificial support, but incomplete recovery and con- sequent functional defect of the pelvic floor is only repairable by great efforts. So the pelvic floor should be exercised vigorously and systematically throughout the puerperium from the third day after delivery unless, indeed, severe injuries and lacerations contraindicate such an early start. And this is the more easily done as the direct contraction, tension and relaxation of the perineal and perivaginal muscles is much more important than this indirect and accessory movement—as I have repeatedly indicated—and can be operated without special fatigue or loss of time. What of the exercises of the pelvic zone after child-birth ? Here, too, I have nothing to add to the description already given. In the early puerperium, special abdominal exercises of the pelvic zone are out of the question. In the later stages,