Richard Burton - Additions to the Sixth Edition, Married Love (1919)First edn. 1918. lyrics

Additions to the Sixth Edition A curious rigidity of mental and physical capacity Seems to characterise some excellent and well-mean- Ing people, and among those whose marriages unac- Countably fail to reach just that height of perfection In a physical sense which they may intellectually Desire, are those who are either entirely ignorant that Sex union may be accomplished in many various posi Tions, or those who consider any other position but The most usual one to be wrong Yet, curiously enough, it sometifnes comes to Light that a pair do not even know the usual position And in my own experience several couples who have Failed to have children, or have failed to obtain the Complete delight of union, have revealed that the Woman did not know that it is not only her arms Which should embrace her lover. Consequently Entry was to him both difficult and sometimes Impossible In addition to this, the encouragement of that Spontaneous movement which comes so naturally to Those who are highly stirred, needs in far too many Of our moderns to be cultivated. A pair should Impelled by the great wave of feeling within them Be as pliable as the sea-plants moved by the rushing Tides, and they should discover for themselves Which of the innumerable possible positions of Equilibrium results in the greatest mutual satisfac- Tion. In this matter, as in so many Others of the More intimate phases of s** life, there should not Harden a routine, but the body should become at the Service of intense feeling a keen and pliable instru- Ment It must be remembered that the parallel of the More primitive creatures cannot be pressed too far Because in a thousand ways we highly civilised Human beings have developed in fresh directions Away from our ancestral habits. This question, of Whether or not it is right and wise to have s** unions During pregnancy, is one on which scientific research Should be undertaken. Far too few men and women Are clean-minded and frank enough to record their Feelings in this connection, and far too few medical Men delicately sympatheic enough to elicit the facts Even from those women who are personally conscious Of them. The little evidence which I have acquired Through direct personal confidences about this subject Points in absolutely conflicting directions, and there is Little doubt that in this particular, even more than in So many others, the health, needs, and mental Condition of women who are bearing children Vary profoundly. From one distinguished medical Specialist I have acquired the interesting suggestion That in one or two cases among his own patients Where the prospSctive mother had desired unions and The husband had denied them thinking it in her in- Terest, the doctor had observed that the children Seemed to grow up restless, uncontrollable, and with An unduly marked tendency to self-abuse. On this Most suggestive and important idea, I would gladly Obtain evidence from parents and the medical profes- Sion, for only from a large number of cases can Reliable conclusions be drawn. But just as in popular Opinion it is good for the child and the woman to Gratify any harmless fancy for food which she may Develop, so, in my opinion, it seems probable that Any desire for moderate and careful s** union Between the prospective mother and the father of the Coming child should be gratified in the interests of All three. But this opinion is expressed merely Provisionally, and largely in response to a number Of inquirers who have asked me about this point Immoderate and excessive s** union must un- Doubtedly be looked upon as an unfavourable Symptom, and a practising doctor should be consulted About it A woman who is bearing a child by the man she Deeply loves, has an intense longing that he should Share, so far as is possible, in influencing that child While it is coming, and that he should be as near and As close to it and to her as is possible. The basis of This longing we may well imagine may be not only a Tender sentiment of the brain, but may depend on That fine sensual interchange of ultra-microscopic Particles which must take place between skin and Skin during physical contact, the idea of which is so Beautifully foreshadowed in Carpenter's " Love's Coming of Age." A woman who is bearing a child should not — Indeed, she cannot — have the intensest form of Muscular orgasm, but this subtler and deeper sweet- Ening and harmonising union has not only a romantic Justification, but will, I think, be proved by Science When Science becomes sensitive enough to handle Such delicate things, to have a real bio-chemical basis As so many people lack a due visualising imagina- Tion, perhaps I should add that the ordinary position Of union is not suitable — indeed, may be very well Most harmful — to a woman during this time; but she And her husband can easily so intertwine themselves That the weight of both is lying upon the bed or upon Pillows, and so no pressure falls upon the woman Although it is out of the province of this book to Give advice about the more material and better - Known details of the general management of the Health of the prospective mother, yet there are one Or two very important points generally overlooked Which profoundly affect both the woman's health and Happiness, and may affect also the child. For in- Stance, leading medical experts are in the habit of Considering the " morning sickness " which is so Usual in the early months of pregnancy as a " physio • Logical process," and to look upon it complacently As perfectly normal and to be endured as a matter o.^ Course. This marks a deplorably low standard of Health. Why should this comparatively small but Nauseating experience accompany what should be Among the most rapturously beautiful months of .1 Woman's life.? In my opinion there is no reason for This at all, except that medical men have been blind Leaders of the blind; accustomed always to deal with Invalids or semi-invalids, they have lost the instinct To demand of humanity a high and buoyant state of Health, while women so harried by the undue drains Of unregulated s** experience, with vitality so Lowered by " civilised " life, have seen one another Suffering on all sides until they too have lost the Racial memory of radiant bodily beauty and health Here and there an exceptional woman has gone Through the months of pregnancy with no handicap With not even morning sickness. Instead of looking Upon her as an enviable exception, as all do now, look Upon her as the normal standard which all should Attain! One of the aids to attaining this standard For every prospective mother would be the know- Ledge by all adult women that, directly they know They are bearing a child, they should instantly discard Not only all corsets, but all clothes of every kind Which are heavy and close or which have any definite Bands or tight fastenings. Specialists are content to Say no harm accrues if a woman wears " comfort- Able " corsets until the third or fourth month. I Denounce this as misleading folly. The sensitiveness To pressure, often unconscious, at such a time is Extraordinary, and the penalty of even the lightest Pressure is th& morning sickness. The standard of Clothing should be so light, so loose, that a bu*terfly Could walk upon the bare skin beneath the clothes Without breaking its wings. This- may seem exag- Gerated to nearly everyone, but it is a very profound Truth