Lessons from the Unwed

When an unmarried woman becomes pregnant, she often feels the eyes of the world trained disapprovingly on her. One result is that she tries to conceal her condition as long as possible. Nowa Viennese obstetrician advises expectant mothers who are lucky enough to have husbands that they can learn something about bearing children from the wayward members of their sex. Writing in London's Lancet, Dr. Albert W. Bauer claims that unmarried women usually have an easier time during pregnancy and in childbirth than those who are married.

"Having reason to hide her condition," writes Dr. Bauer, "the unwed mother attempts to conceal her enlarging abdomen by pulling in her buttocks, much as the cowed dog tucks his tail between his legs. This flattens the abdomen and reduces the lumbar lordosis [curvature of the lower spine]. In this position the fetus lies more parallel to the maternal spine and the abdominal muscles are less stretched." By contrast, "the married mother carries her pride before her like a banner, and drags behind her a crippling backache which often becomes chronic.

In this position the abdominal muscles are overstretched and they become hypersensitive for the ensuing labor."

With a simple diagram showing the stress points of pregnancy and how the fetus may stretch the abdomen (see cut), Dr. Bauer tries to persuade his married patients to look as though they are not.

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