[15] This point is discussed, for instance, by Seropian in a Paris Thesis (Frequence comparee des Causes de l’Accouchement Premature, 1907); he concludes that coitus during pregnancy is a more frequent cause of premature confinement than is commonly supposed, especially in primiparae, and markedly so by the ninth month.

[16] “Infantile Mortality:  The Huddersfield Scheme,” British Medical Journal, Dec., 1907; Samson Moore, “Infant Mortality,” ib., August 29, 1908.

[17] Ellen Key has admirably dealt with proposals of this kind (as put forth by C.P.  Stetson) in her Essays “On Love and Marriage.”  In opposition to such proposals Ellen Key suggests that such women as have been properly trained for maternal duties and are unable entirely to support themselves while exercising them should be subsidized by the State during the child’s first three years of life.  It may be added that in Leipzig the plan of subsidizing mothers who (under proper medical and other supervision) suckle their infants has already been introduced.

CHAPTER II.

SEXUAL EDUCATION.

Nurture Necessary as Well as Breed—­Precocious Manifestations of the Sexual Impulse—­Are They to be Regarded as Normal?—­The Sexual Play of Children—­The Emotion of Love in Childhood—­Are Town Children More Precocious Sexually Than Country Children?—­Children’s Ideas Concerning the Origin of Babies—­Need for Beginning the Sexual Education of Children in Early Years—­The Importance of Early Training in Responsibility—­Evil of the Old Doctrine of Silence in Matters of Sex—­The Evil Magnified When Applied to Girls—­The Mother the Natural and Best Teacher—­The Morbid Influence of Artificial Mystery in Sex Matters—­Books on Sexual Enlightenment of the Young—­Nature of the Mother’s Task—­Sexual Education in the School—­The Value of Botany—­Zooelogy—­Sexual Education After Puberty—­The Necessity of Counteracting Quack Literature—­Danger of Neglecting to Prepare for the First Onset of Menstruation—­The Right Attitude Towards Woman’s Sexual Life—­The Vital Necessity of the Hygiene of Menstruation During Adolescence—­Such Hygiene Compatible with the Educational and Social Equality of the Sexes—­The Invalidism of Women Mainly Due to Hygienic Neglect—­Good Influence of Physical Training on Women and Bad Influence of Athletics—­The Evils of Emotional Suppression—­Need of Teaching the Dignity of Sex—­Influence of These Factors on a Woman’s Fate in Marriage—­Lectures and Addresses on Sexual Hygiene—­The Doctor’s Part in Sexual Education—­Pubertal Initiation Into the Ideal World—­The Place of the Religious and Ethical Teacher—­The Initiation Rites of Savages Into Manhood and Womanhood—­The Sexual Influence of Literature—­The Sexual Influence of Art.