OUR BABIES.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 3241, 10 June 1911, Page 4

OUR BABIES.

THE CORSET

Last week, we gave a detailed! account from one of our correspondents cf how a girl, gave up the wearing of corsets ■ After much* thought she arrived at two conclusions. First, that she must devise some way of taking the drag of her skirts off her hips-.—[Really off the waist rather than the liips, because the liauncli bones . may reasonably hear some of the weight and pressure of the clothes.—Hygeia.] Secondly, that the muscles of her body had become* to weak and flabby freon year® of disuse that a few weeks (at least) of. physical exercises were absolutely necessary before her- free*dom could become enjoyment. She “thought some more.” Then she went out and bought a yard or two* of wide elastic and some ib*ig safety pins. She brought these home and made suspenders of them to go over her shoulders and bear all the * weight of her clothes. As we- said last week, our correspondent set to* work in the right direction when, instead of suddenly throwing off her corsets and suspending her garments from the shoulders, she first trained the living nerves and muscles of her trunk to resume the duties which they -had been shirking to a great extent for years, and lazily handing over to stiff, dead structures of linen, steel, 1 or whalebone. {She realised that corsets were , incapable of .modelling and lending support to the body without at 1 the same time hampering and restricting its freedom of movement, besides displacing and impedin',g the vital organs contained* in the chest and abdomen, and gravely interfering with their work. Experience had taught her that the abdomen must.be supported, and ' that until she had brought the muscles of the abdominal walls into a proper state of tone and fitness, it was a mistake to entirely give up tlie corset. Whether elastic suspenders passing over the shoulders afford the best means of hanging _ women’s garments is another question. I think not. Ordinary broad clastic is too narrow,and elastic braces have been almost given up by men in favor of broad webbing, aided by many ingenious contrivances for faeiHating movement and equalising pressure. However, in our case, lam inclined to think that more advantageous 'and convenient support may he given | by the use of a simple bodice with bnt- ", tons. The following, adapted from an i eminent authority. Dr. Bendix, of Berlin, makes this clear:

IVHIAT D:R. BENDIX SAYS.

“The corset is the greatest and most serious menace to the health of the female sex. Owing to the dictates of fashion which declare a waist beautiful

only when encircled by a corset; there develop after a time these injuries and anomalies of which the constricted chest is characteristic'. , “Above all, we must consider the ef-

fects of pressure upon the abdominal organs, particularly upon the liver, and the displacement of the abdominal organs, with all their remote sequelae, such as dilation of the digestive organs, anaemia of all grades, poor development, and various nervous symptoms. The earlier tight-lacing is practised and the more the shape of the chest is removed from the normal," the more certain is the prolapse of the stomach, the less the opportunity for the blood-making system to escape disturbance, and the more persistent and .difficult to cure are the consequent symptoms of disease. “Children who do not wear corsets, but who wear waist bands which are too tight, may develop manifestations similar to* those which occur from wearing tight corsets. One of the most essential needs for the health arid strength, of the growing and developing organism is to preserve the natural form of the chest in the young and to guard them from the evils induced by the wearing of corsets.. But in order to get along without a corset, ’which lends support to the entire upper part of the female figure, including breast and hack, it is necessary that the girl’s body should be strengthened by good nourishment, plenty of fresh air, and particularly by exercise, such as walking, gymnastics, tennis, rowing ,etc., so that the muscles may be strong enough to furnish tlie requisite support without artificial aid. This end is fully attained, in my experience, when the development of the muscles of the chest* and back is begun early. “Instead of coisets, the girls'ouglit to wear under-waists, which have buttons to which the skirt and drawers can bo

fastened, thus dividing the weight of the clothes between, the hips and the shoulders. This manner of dress does not permit the wearing of heavy underclothing. The same result lias also been attained by the : so-called “reform” clothing, which often replaces the .skirt' by trousers. Whenever this kind of clothing is used, and it is found that there is pressure upon the two floating ribs (which in women is particularly harmful), it should be made clear that the band of the skirt must. lie worn loosely, and that the garment itself should rest snugly upon, and take its support from, the upper part of the haunch bones.”

CHILL FROM GIVING UP CORSETS If corsets were suddenly given up, even after a few weeks., of physical training, and were ’ replaced by elastic suspenders only, • the wearer would naturally feel more or ! less chilly. That this must be so is evident when we consider the stitched material, usually finpervious by dressing, and made thicker and heavier by the addition of steel and whalebone. The following extract from a letter just received shows that this is no imaginary objection; A correspondent writes: — LETTER FROM HOSPITAL NURSE.

“About 10 years ago I was exercised on the point of corsets, and decided to give them up. > 1 may say that I had not depended on them much for support, having removed all the bones and, of course, wearing them very loose. I gave them up entirely—missed their warmth, got a chill, and something like lumbago in my back. Indeed, I had to, miss my examinations that year, arid 1 resumed the-.use of corsets. I may say that I have recently discarded them altogether, and I have been: thinking it, would be wise to advise women giving uo corsets to wear something to give extra warmth. Seeing that one tends to miss the encasing warmth, if I ma”, so put it, might it not be well to substitute the ‘clinging’ warmth of some elastic, cosy, knitted or woven garment?” ... . 'Unquestionably our correspondent is right. No sudden change should ever be made in the nature and distribution of protective clothing to which the 'organism has become habituated, but it docs not follow that special shielding or the abdomen should be continued ior long! SIR FREDERICK TREVES. Sir Frederick Treves inveighs against the excessive clothing of ■ the abdomen so characteristic of the ordinary garments of our sex. He says: “The mul-

titude of bands above and about the hips tends to keep the region unduly warm ,and to lead to congestion of the pelvic viscera. These viscera, -which include . the organs special to women, are- from their position particularly liable to congestion, and it is not difficult .to- understand that many layers of warm- clothing in the vicinity of these organs will increase that tendency.”