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180
COUNTY BOROUGH OF CROYDON.
PUERPERAL FEVER & OTHER ACCIDENTS
OF CHILDBIRTH.
These are best avoided by attending to the following simple rules
during pregnancy:—
Diet should be plain, easy of digestion, nutritious, and taken at
regular intervals Milk should be taken freely, and beer, wine or
spirits only sparingly and under medical advice.
Exercise should be moderate in amount, and in the fresh air
Violent exercise and fatigue should be avoided.
Rest should be taken daily in the afternoons, and mental excitement
avoided.
Clothing should be loose and warm, woollens being worn next the
skin.
Bathing should be carefully attended to, especially towards the
end of pregnancy.
The Bowels should act daily—cascara is a useful simple laxative.
Infectious Disease. Pregnant women should avoid contact with
any kind of infectious disease, and with patients suffering from discharging
sores.
The Nipples during the last two months of pregnancy should be
bathed with boiled warm water, and glycerine of borax applied daily.
When taken in labour the patient should have a warm bath, plenty of
soap and water being used, and fresh clean underclothing put on.
THE LYING-IN ROOM.
The room should be scrupulously clean, the window and grate
register opened. In cold weather a small fire is necessary. The room
should not have been recently used for any case of infectious disease.
If there is any doubt about this the room will be disinfected free of
charge on application to the Medical Officer of Health.