MY BIRTH THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 
NEW YORK • BOSTON • CHICAGO • DALLAS 
ATLANTA • SAN FRANCISCO 
MACMILLAN & CO., Limited 
LONDON • BOMBAY • CALCUTTA 
MELBOURNE 
THE MACMILLAN CO. OF CANADA, Ltd. 
TORONTO MY BIRTH 
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF AN 
UNBORN INFANT 
BY 
ARMENOUHIE T. L AMBON 
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 
1916 
All rights reserved THE MACMILLAN COMPANY. 
Copyright, 1916, 
Set up and electrotyped. Published December, 1916. 
Norfoocti 
J. S. Cushing Co. Berwick & Smith Co. 
Norwood, Maas., U.S.A. Zo 
MY LITTLE ONE IN THE BEING PREFACE 
In response to the urgent need of the present 
youth for true knowledge concerning motherhood 
and the prenatal life of a babe this daring narra- 
tive was undertaken. 
With austere courage the little yet unborn being 
tells through its mother in the language of Every- 
woman and Everyman how it came into being and 
bow in the nine months before birth its various 
organs unfolded from the one original cell. In 
describing their development it tells of a few 
fundamental facts concerning their complicated 
mechanism and the part they play in the act of 
living and does not hesitate to criticize their use 
and abuse by the present generation. 
Before telling of the actual act of being born, 
it makes a final appeal to young mothers not to 
allow commercialized fashion and fad to penetrate 
the peacefulness of infancy and early childhood 
and hinder the normal development of a tender 
body, mind and soul. In order to dispel the VIII 
PREFACE 
harmful influence of superstitious stories on an 
expectant mother, this little one tells how in the 
light of most up-to-date science it escapes various 
body deformities (birthmarks) and how probably 
the mysterious question of its sex is determined. 
That this modest book may be of some assist- 
ance to young mothers and teachers who are more 
often confronted by young boys and young girls, 
who', prompted by newly awakened sex conscious- 
ness, ask, “ How did I come to be ? ” is the sincere 
wish of the author and mother. For their thor- 
ough understanding and for their use a number of 
illustrations taken from the most authoritative 
sources are inserted. 
The little autobiographer yet in the being and 
I, its mother, herewith wish to extend our most 
sincere thanks and appreciations to all those sci- 
entists, embryologists and anatomists on whose 
observations is based this strange biography which 
ends where all others begin. 
A. T. L. CONTENTS 
CHAPTER PAGE 
Foreword by the Mother .... 1 
I. My Very Beginning 10 
11. The Pattern of My Future Self . . 22 
111. Recruiting and Organizing of Workers 32 
IV. How the Foundation of My Body Was 
Laid 38 
V. How I Was Fed and Taken Care of in 
the First Week of My Existence .44 
VI. How I Came to My Present Dwelling 
PLACE' 49 
VII. How the Framework of My Body Went Up 58 
VIII. The Coming of My Various Internal 
and External Organs .... 66 
IX. The Development of External Organs 
and Modeling of My Face ... 80 
X. The Duties of the Brain .... 91 
XI. Two Secrets 101 
XH. How My Body Was Adorned . . . 108 
XIH. The Evidences of Life before Birth . 117 
XIV. An Explanation and a Plea . . . 124 
XV. My Birth to Your World .... 133 
ix LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 
figure facing page 
I. Female Reproductive Organs, showing Uterus, 
Fallopian Tube and Ovary ... 12 
11. Ovary Ready to Discard Ripe Ovum . . 12 
111. Diagram of Human Ovum .... 19 
IV. Diagram of Human Spermatozoon . . 19 
V. Ovum Ready for Reception of Spermatozoon 19 
VI. Diagram showing First Steps in Segmenta- 
tion of Ovum. (In color.) ... 24 
VII. Diagram showing Formation of Blastula. 
Diagram showing Formation of Blastula 
(In color.) 34 
VIII. Diagram showing Origin of Neural Tube . 39 
IX. Diagram showing Development of the Differ 
X. Embryo of 2.6 mm., showing Yolk Sack anc 
ent Nutritive and Protective Bags . . 46 
XL Embryo in Six Different Stages ... 60 
Umbilical Cord 55 
XII, Embryo with Primitive Segments ... 62 
XIII. Embryo showing First Buds of Various Or- 
gans 69 
XIV. Development of Hand 80 
XV. Embryo showing Modeling of Face . . 80 
XVI. Diagram showing Formation of External Ear 84 
XVII. 
XVII. Diagram showing Anlage of Eye ... 84 
XVIII. Diagram showing Formation of Palate . . 86 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 
PIG-TIKE PACING PAGE 
XIX. Diagram showing Development of Tongue . 86 
XX. Brain Cells at Rest, in Action and Exhausted 99 
XXI. Companionship of Twins .... 101 
XXII. Twins in the Uterus 103 
XXIII. Embryo of 11 Weeks, and Fetus of 17 Weeks 108 
XXIV. Fetus and its Household at Full Term. (In 
color.) ....... 140 MY BIETH MY BIRTH 
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF AN 
UNBORN INFANT 
Foreword by the Mother 
Surely it will not be amiss, perhaps it may 
even interest the reader to know, just how this 
strange autobiography came to be. Unlike 
other personal diaries, this one begins and 
ends before the birth of the autobiographer, 
who tells in simple form just how, when and 
where his little body came to be how the 
different organs were constructed, equipped 
and finally each tuned to the life it will have 
to live in this world, when happily born. 
It was in the fourth month of approaching 
motherhood when I felt the little guest move 
freely within the hidden chamber which was 
in me and part of me. At times it seemed as 
if its little legs, or perhaps its little hands, 2 
MY BIRTH 
were gently knocking at the walls of its dwell- 
ing in an endeavor to wake up my soul from 
a dream it had been dreaming at least since 
my arrival at womanhood. Who knows! per- 
haps that wakeful dream had begun when I 
embraced my first doll. 
Those mysterious jerky motions were the 
first communications I had received from that 
new life. Until then only annoying symptoms 
had told me of the great creative work God 
had so graciously begun in me. With that 
remarkable occurrence which is spoken of as 
“Quickening,” my suspected baby became a 
reality. With each beat it seemed to gently 
approach the threshold of my soul, begging 
for free and frank communication and plead- 
ing for better understanding from me its 
mother. 
It seemed appalling that I was allowed to 
become a mother without knowing the mean- 
ing and significance of approaching mother- 
hood. I am ashamed to confess that like 
most young mothers of my time, I was quite 
ignorant of the exact conditions under which 
this baby of mine was existing. I knew noth- 
ing of its daily life nor its needs. My knowl- FOREWORD BY THE MOTHER 
3 
edge of that great phenomenon the birth 
of Man was just as dim as that of my less 
educated ancestors. In fact, in my false 
modesty, I, like them, was proud of my igno- 
rance. 
As the days and wakeful nights passed, the 
mystery of that gentle throbbing within me, 
for which I had no satisfactory explanation, 
grew greater. Finally I was seized with an 
mtense desire and determination to tear down 
aU barriers of conventionality, of inherited 
superstition and prejudice, and henceforth 
seek openly true knowledge concerning the 
birth of my child. 
I went to a few of my very intimate friends 
uud advisers, but they, being also the products 
°f the same farcical civilization, were unable 
to give me satisfying information. 
The medical books which my doctor kindly 
brought to me contained many a lengthy dis- 
course about the birth of Man, but their 
language was utterly foreign to me. Each 
paragraph was loaded with long scientific 
terms which I could hardly read. In no 
Way did they help to quench my thirst for 
knowledge. 4 
MY BIRTH 
Instead, I became more acutely conscious 
of my ignorance. With every new day I 
seemed to experience a new sensation, which 
I knew would thrill my blossoming mother- 
heart, if I could have responded with intelligent 
understanding. 
Another little one was to be born into this 
world. I was to wait for it still five mysterious 
and perhaps dangerous months. But what was 
to happen in all that time? Was it true that 
the thoughts and actions of an expectant 
mother affect the progress, perhaps retard that 
great creative work? Was it a mere parasite, 
living on its mother, or was it already an in- 
dependent being, endowed with all the attributes 
of life ? These and many more questions, 
doubts, fears, hopes and longings seemed at 
times to overpower me. 
One day in the peaceful silence of early 
dawn, it seemed as if I heard the insistent 
calling of my little infant. “ Throb, throb,” 
came just from under my heart. I closed my 
eyes to exclude all distractions from without 
and made a supreme effort to bring my soul 
within the reach of my child. Gradually there 
came to me from so near yet so far away, from FOREWORD BY THE MOTHER 
5 
the land of the unborn sounds and words 
that echoed in my soul and finally reverberated 
mto my mind, where they were assembled into 
such human thoughts: 
“Why all this mystery about our existence, 
mother-to-be? Why are we barred from 
the knowledge and conversation of every civil- 
ized man and woman when we do exist so 
actively in the mind of every thoughtful person, 
Regardless of age, nationality and social stand- 
? Deep in their souls they all are intensely 
interested in our development, in our place of 
habitation as well as in our mode of living. 
Still they pretend the contrary and dare only 
about us in their most intimate 
circles. 
“Why do fathers and mothers invent all sorts 
°i most improbable stories about our coming? 
It has been said by them that we come from 
the mountains, or from the angry river fight- 
lng its way through the village. Some even 
venture to say that we come from the land 
unknown; from the stars. Others make their 
little ones believe that we are to be bought 
from the old family doctor, who has a large 
house full of little babies yet to be born. Even 6 
MY BIRTH 
birds and beasts have been accused of being 
responsible for our sudden appearance. 
“It seems as if every mother, who is ques- 
tioned about our coming, invents a story of 
her own. Every country, every period of civi- 
lization, has brought forth a new tale about us, 
thus burying our existence before birth, as well 
as our birth, in falsehood and mystery. 
“Let us tear away this cruel curtain of so- 
called modesty which benefits no one. It only 
breeds superstition and falsehood. Lend me 
for the time being your worldly tools of ex- 
pression, and you and I, let us tell every girl 
and every boy, in their own words, that in 
future motherhopd and fatherhood they are 
not only indispensable tools in the hands of 
the Creator, but also that all material to be 
used in the construction of the body of their 
child is supplied by them. 
“Let us tell them how the new being, during 
the period of its creation, is tucked away in 
the softest and safest spot in the body of its 
mother right under her throbbing heart, 
until the little one is fully equipped to meet 
all requirements of the complicated life it 
will have to live when born. FOEEWOED BY THE MOTHEE 
7 
“Could there be then such a crime as 'race 
suicide’ or any other sin connected with man- 
hood and womanhood if all young men and 
all young women were familiar with the true 
facts concerning fatherhood and motherhood; 
if they fully realized that every act of each 
hay in their lives may add a straight or a 
crooked, a true or a false line to the moral 
Pattern of that new life, which will come into 
being through them and in them? Let them 
know that they are responsible for the life pattern 
°f their offspring. 
Think how much less would be the mental 
anguish and physical pain of a prospective 
mother if she knew something about the 
creative period of her babe. How patiently 
yould she bear all discomfort of those try- 
mg nine months, if she could think of each 
Particular week to be the time when a cer- 
tain organ in her infant becomes a useful 
member of that great unit; when fingers 
are added to the hands, feet to the legs, 
and features to the face. Knowledge will fill 
every minute of that period with happiness 
and a peace that comes only from perfect 
understanding. 8 
MY BIRTH 
“Later to them the birth of a child will not 
be a mysterious and unavoidable event, but 
it will mark the day of great joy, when through 
them the greatest of all miracles begins its 
second chapter life in your world.” 
When I awoke from that remarkable dream 
I found myself in a different world. All the 
physical discomforts and mental anguish which 
had come with the beginning of my infant had 
disappeared. In my lonesomeness I had found 
the dearest companion, who was to be with 
me and in me night and day; whispering into 
my soul all that was taking place in him and 
about him. 
In return I was to lend him my worldly 
tools of expression, writing down what I was 
inspired to learn during those early peaceful 
hours of the morning. This for the sake of 
all those mothers and fathers, maturing girls 
and boys, who are also anxious to know the 
truth about the birth of a child. 
Hence this humble but daring narrative 
which is based on the most up-to-date theories 
regarding the birth of Man, but presented in 
the language of Everyman and Everywoman. 
Whether you be a father or a mother, a FOREWORD BY THE MOTHER 
9 
friend or a teacher, I lay in your hands with 
this modest book its sacred object take it 
ajid pass it on in its true holiness. 
The Mother and Author, 
Armenouhie T. Lamson. CHAPTER I 
MY VERY BEGINNING 
It was in the newest hours of a new day, 
when I promised to tell the old, old story of 
a new life, the story of the birth of Man 
my birth my story. 
In spite of the fact that this story is the 
oldest story in the world, and every being 
through all ages has been himself or herself 
the hero or the heroine, I am told that only 
a few have heard it, and fewer yet are the 
brave ones who dare tell it. 
Strangely, this ancient story has a still 
more ancient beginning, which lies away beyond 
time and memory. In fact its very beginning 
is so aged that it crumbles and falls to pieces 
when thought and logic try to place it into 
any one of the countless volumes of wisdom. 
Therefore, it has not been possible for the 
wise men of your world to permanently place 
it in any one of the popular ologies. 
10 11 
MY VERY BEGINNING 
Theology, physiology, zoology and geology, 
with the aid of chemistry and physics, each 
in turn is trying to claim the oldest beginning 
of a new life. I, too, am unable to trace it 
to its very source. Still I am anxious to 
answer the question in the mind of every 
modern mother and every thoughtful father 
which they ask in song, in jest and in solemn 
earnest, “Where did you come from, baby 
dear ? ” 
If I must answer such a great question, I 
say, “I come from everywhere.” Then all 
things of all times past have contributed to- 
wards my being. But life, or the ability to 
move, assimilate, grow and reproduce came 
to me from the very first organism which 
was endowed with such a life. Just how, 
when and where this first mother cell came 
to be, I confess with the wisest men of your 
world, “God only knows.” 
Hence I shall trace the very beginning of 
the story of my birth only to the very first 
living cell, when I was a minute germ-plasm 
within the body of that first being. My task 
Was then to be and in time to carry on the 
torch of life to the coming generations. As 12 
MY BIRTH 
such a life-carrier, or germ-plasm, I then 
wandered through all ages of evolution and 
in due time climbed all steps of civilization; 
gathering tendencies, characteristics, talents 
and abilities from the experiences of all my 
countless ancestors. Finally that day came 
when the great Creator found me sufficiently 
mobilized to fight my own battle of existence. 
Therefore, when my mother was born, I 
was sent with her as one of her many ova or 
generative cells; to help her in time to re- 
produce her like; to add one more link to the 
great human chain which thus increasing and 
advancing is to return to God in Eternity. 
Hence I have been with my mother at least 
since her birth, tucked away with 30,000 or 
40,000 other ova in the softest and warmest 
niche in her body, which you call Ovary. Every 
woman possesses two such ovaries; one on 
each side of the Uterus Womb. You see 
in Figure I how these two ovaries, little plum- 
like bodies about 1 and i inches in diameter, 
are wrapped and tucked away in the folds of 
the supporting tissues of the uterus with 
which each ovary is connected by a narrow 
tubelike passage. Fig. I. Female Reproductive Organs. (Uterus diagrammatic and greatly reduced.) 
Fig. 11. 13 
MY VERY BEGINNING 
I happened to be then an ovum or human 
egg living in the right ovary, which is a 
trifle larger than the left one. About 40,000 
little ova were my companions. At first we 
were all comfortably housed around the periph- 
ery of the ovary doing little active work. 
Some even seemed to be slumbering. Day 
after day, and month after month would pass 
without my noticing any changes among them. 
One day, almost tired of waiting, I inquired 
for the reason of our inactivity. I was told 
that our turn for action would only come 
when all the other organs in the body of our 
child-mother had sufficiently developed to stand 
the additional work they will have to do for 
our maturation. 
Most people, who know little about the 
human generative cells, accuse them of leading 
a parasitic life just living on the mother 
without taking any part in the growth of her 
body nor sharing the task of her daily living. 
Such an accusation is not quite fair to the 
little eggs, because in their time theirs is the 
great calling to be and to help perpetuate 
the race. 
They are in the true sense of the word life- 14 
MY BIRTH 
carriers, and as such they know no death. 
While the somatic cells, which build up the 
body and help the different organs to func- 
tionate, die with the host and return to dust, 
generative cells the ova may pass on to 
the coming generation and thus live on to 
Eternity. 
What a great pity, then, that so few of these 
precious life-carriers get an opportunity to 
fulfill their great calling. When I am born, 
I shall surely try and find out why this should 
be so. Is it true that selfish economic factors 
force man to forcefully cut down our birth 
rate and deprive us of our birth-right to be 
and to bear? 
From the many thousand ova in every 
woman, at least two hundred mature and are 
equipped to assist in the birth of a new being, 
but how few are finally chosen for that glorious 
function ! You can perhaps understand, there- 
fore, the intense excitement among us when 
the monthly cycle would come around, when 
some of the mature ova would be taken away 
so that they might have a chance to live on. 
Under such circumstances waiting was for us 
very trying at times. 15 
MY VERY BEGINNING 
When our child-mother was about ten years 
of age, some of the more matronly looking 
ova among us were ordered to withdraw to- 
ward the center of the ovary, where everything 
could be done more conveniently for their 
rapid growth and development. There was 
ample space for expansion there and plenty 
of blood vessels to provide them with all the 
elements necessary for their maturation. 
As all maturing ova are veiled or enveloped 
in what the scientists of your world call 
“Graafian f0111016,” we waiting ones could 
not see very plainly the great things which 
were happening within. Something most re- 
markable was surely going on, because all 
efforts seemed to be directed toward the cen- 
ter, all the larger blood vessels were swollen 
to their utmost capacity, taking great vol- 
umes of blood back and forth. Even the 
nerve channels showed the marks of over- 
work. Under such excellent care, one could 
almost see them grow and develop. 
Those who were ready or sufficiently ma- 
tured were then rolled away from the center, 
back to the periphery. We used to speak of 
their “coming out party”; matured, veiled, 16 
MY BIRTH 
puffed and lady-like they rolled about, pushing 
the little slumbering sister cells away and 
pressing themselves forward against the very 
outer wall. Finally the outer envelope 
Graafian follicle not being able to stand 
the pressure from within, would break, and 
our proud and mature sister would end her 
coming out party with a complete going out. 
I do hope that in your world the coming out 
party of an older sister is not so much at the 
expense of the younger sisters. One never 
saw or heard again of a sister ovum who in 
this manner had left her cozy and comfortable 
home the ovary. This maturing and part- 
ing incident of an ovum is called “ Ovulation ” 
by you. To us it means either death or the 
beginning of a new life. 
In order not to break the law and the rule of 
nature we were kept busy watching, sometimes 
helping in the ovulation of some among us, 
—an incident which took place at regular 
monthly intervals. The torn walls, through 
which the mature ovum had escaped, had 
hardly been mended when we were asked to 
assist other ripe ova to break a similar outlet 
and depart. MY VERY BEGINNING 
17 
Twenty-two years at least I had been waiting 
patiently for my turn to come. I had gladly 
and willingly assisted many others to mature 
and to depart in the meantime not neglect- 
ing my own preparedness. 
At last I was called upon to depart. In 
spite of the fact that I had to leave my warm 
dwelling place in the ovary for a mysterious 
future holding more possibilities for death 
than a new life, I was bubbling with happiness 
and gratitude to be finally given a chance. 
However, before my departure I was ordered 
to proceed to the “mobilization camp” at the 
center of the ovary, where I was looked over 
more thoroughly and further equipped with 
the necessary elements for the performance 
of my great task. 
Hardly had I arrived at this center of activity 
when a great number of blood vessels and nerve 
fibers entered into me, zealous to have me take 
from every one as much as each one could 
give. Of course we little delicate ova, who 
were at this remarkable mobilization camp, 
could not use all that was offered to us. There- 
fore, at times there was serious trouble about 
us “congestion” they called it. 18 
MY BIRTH 
We all regretted such a condition. Con- 
gestion in the ovary invariably causes painful 
sensations to our mother, who has to suffer 
during each monthly cycle just on our account, 
until the congestion among Us is relieved. 
I hope an explanation of this phenomenon 
will make women more patient to bear the 
pains and inconveniences during such periods. 
Personally I did not suffer seriously during 
that incident. In spite of it all I rapidly grew 
in size. This perhaps was mostly due to the 
increase of fluid within the outer envelope of 
my body the ovum. 
One morning, however, I noticed that the 
elements within me were dividing in two 
halves. The other half of me did not develop 
into a new cell a daughter cell but it 
perished. 
At first I was in despair, thinking of the 
sudden departure of all the wonderful char- 
acteristics, talents and virtues which I had 
collected on my perilous journey down the 
countless past ages and up the steep slopes of 
evolution and civilization. 
But in spite of the fact that I had lost half 
of my contents, I was still outwardly growing Fig. 111.— Diagram of Human Ovum. (Waldeyer.) 
Fig. IV.— 
Diagram 
of Human 
Spermato- 
zoon. 
(Retzius.) 
Fi«. V.-Ovum Ready for Reception of Spermatozoon. (After Cunningham.) MY VERY BEGINNING 
19 
in size. Evidently I was losing in quality 
when gaining in quantity. My neighbors, 
the other numerous little ova, soon began to 
resent my sudden growth and commenced to 
push me back closer and closer against the 
outer wall of the ovary, until I seemed to be 
literally bulging out like a little blister. Figure 
II will show you just what an uncomfortable 
position I was thus forced to take. However, 
it was not long before the last act of ovulation 
took place. The outer wall of the ovary, as 
well as my protecting membrane “Graafian 
follicle” broke, and I was discarded. 
The fluid that had been collected within 
my outer covering now escaped, washing me 
out of my cozy home. As I had no means of 
self-locomotion, I was entirely at the mercy 
of the elements about me in the lower ab- 
dominal cavity, where it was dark and all 
quiet, except for the mysterious gurgling within 
the intestines. 
Fortunately I soon noticed above me little 
tentacle-like projections—“ Fimbriae ” —which 
were waving at me, as if beckoning me to 
come. Hardly had I time to decide for my- 
self which way to turn, when a wave came 20 
MY BIRTH 
and I was pushed in or sucked in by these 
tentacles. 
When I recovered from the shock of such a 
sudden and forceful transportation, I found 
myself in a narrow tubelike passage, called 
“Fallopian tube.” As it was very dark and 
very close about me, I was sure my end was 
at hand. But then a great miracle took place. 
I suddenly felt myself forcefully held and lovingly 
embraced by a friendly little stranger known as 
the male germ cell or “Spermatozoon ” during 
which act the male element disappeared within 
my body. 
Unfortunately there was hardly time to 
follow the details of this great miracle. It 
seemed as if all came and passed in an instant. 
The two cells met, and uniting, amalgamated 
into one great unit. 
I am afraid no one but God knows just how 
the complete union and blending into each 
other of the two elements, the female genera- 
tive cell the ovum and the male genera- 
tive cell the spermatozoon takes place. 
Scientists of your world only know that when 
this act of fertilization occurs, it marks the 
very beginning of a new life, which, in its time, MY VEEY BEGINNING 
21 
like the mother being, will be capable of moving, 
growing, assimilating and reproducing its like. 
Such is the true and romantic birth or be- 
ginning of every human being. No one but 
God and my parents are responsible for my 
coming. I am so happy to think that the 
true story of my birth has nothing to do with 
the popular stork story, where the stork is 
charged with stealing the little baby from 
some one or somewhere to sell it to a mother. 
I was neither stolen nor forcefully taken away 
from anywhere. But lam proud to he the free 
gift of my mother and my father. CHAPTER II 
THE PATTERN OF MY FUTURE SELF 
Surely that was the greatest day in my life, 
the day which rightfully ought to be remem- 
bered as my birthday. On that day of all 
days the greatest miracle in my life took place, 
when the two primary elements the sper- 
matozoon and the ovum met, and uniting, 
gave a new life to a stray little ovum whose 
days were numbered in a single file. 
If this great incident had not taken place, I 
would have perished in the surrounding foreign 
elements within a few days, perhaps in a few 
hours, just like many of my sister ova, who 
had left the ovary before me. Instead, through 
the kind act of the male element, I was given 
a new life to live in your world of experiences, 
hopes and opportunities. 
In the act of fertilization of the ovum a 
marvelous human body with all its complex 
organisms was called into being. The character 
of its species, sex and appearance was decided 
22 THE PATTERN OF MY FUTURE SELF 
23 
upon, and the corner stone of its mental, moral 
and emotional life was laid. Unfortunately 
it is beyond our comprehension and under- 
standing how a mere meeting and uniting of 
two single cells can have such miraculous 
consequences. 
A closer inspection of the two fundamental 
cells may somewhat help you picture how 
the wonder pattern of my future life was 
drawn. 
The female sex cell the ovum and the 
male sex cell the spermatozoon equally 
share the great task of the propagation of the 
species. Both are single cells of extreme 
minuteness. A mature ovum is not larger 
than 0.25 mm. in diameter, while the sperma- 
tozoon measures 0.05 mm., only \ as large 
as an average ripe ovum. Still both contain 
all the vital elements which you find in an 
ordinary egg of a bird. 
In the center, buried in the yolk germinal 
vesicle —is a little dense spot germinal 
spot which is often called the “Nucleolus” 
or the soul of the cell. This dense spot must 
be the most vital structure in a cell, because 
when it is harmed by unfriendly elements, 24 
MY BIRTH 
gradually the whole cell shrinks, withers and 
is washed away as waste. When the nucleolus 
divides itself the whole cell follows its example. 
Through such complete division often a new 
cell similar to the original one is created. The 
new cell is then called a “daughter cell.” 
The main body of the cell the yolk or 
“Nucleus” —is filled with a dense network 
supporting little particles or granules. Scien- 
tists, who stain these granules to make them 
visible, call them “chromatin (color) granules” 
or “chromosomes.” 
Unlike the egg of a bird, the ovum is en- 
veloped by a delicate soft membrane instead 
of the shell. Little channels are to be found 
penetrating this outer covering which bring 
to the cell the nutriment gathered by the 
helping cells surrounding each ovum. It is a 
fact that these helping cells follicle cells 
contribute materially toward the growth and 
development of each ovum. Figure 111. 
It will be ungrateful for me to say just 
which structure of the ovum is the most im- 
portant. Each has a duty which could not 
be performed by the other. Without the aid 
of any one the whole could not exist. Fig. VI. Diagram showing First Steps in Segmentation of the Ovum, (von Beneden.) THE PATTERN OF MY FUTURE SELF 
25 
The spermatozoon greatly differs in its out- 
ward appearance from all the other cells of 
the body; perhaps on account of its thread- 
like tail which keeps the whole in active move- 
ment. Figure IV. 
That was the reason I was so frightened 
when in my hour of distress' in the dark narrow 
Fallopian tube, I first saw that strange being. 
(I am not surprised to hear that until very 
recently spermatozoa were regarded as little 
living animals.) 
However, it soon won my confidence through 
its kindly act, and when I had sufficiently 
recovered from the unexpected occurrence, I 
looked it over more closely. Its oval shaped 
head seemed to contain all the vital elements 
of a cell. Even color granules or chromosomes 
were present in full force. 
From the apex of the head projected a spear- 
like process which was both sharp and hooked, 
evidently made to pierce an opening, and when 
successful on account of the hook, it could not 
be forced back. 
The tail interested me most because it was 
different from what I had seen before. Be- 
sides, it was moving all the time. A spiral 26 
MY BIRTH 
membrane as delicate as the most delicate 
membranes of a fish was attached all along 
to the body of the tail, evidently to help in 
its propelling and guiding movements. 
As the tail moved, the whole cell came for- 
ward. It was plainly to be seen that this 
happy being had an innate power of self- 
locomotion. It seemed to be able to go wher- 
ever an inner desire, call it “Instinct,” ordered 
it to go. It was even capable of swimming 
upward against the strong current which was 
present in the dark Fallopian passage. 
When this strange spermatozoon approached 
me, it seemed as if it was attracted by some 
element within my own self, located perhaps 
in a certain portion near my outer wall. The 
spermatozoon swam all around me as though 
looking for that one spot. Finding that center 
of attraction, it stopped, embracing me, pierced 
its weapon of entrance, the spear, into that 
portion of my body, and with a boring motion 
advanced into the innermost of my being 
the nucleolus. 
Do you think it possible that some magnetic 
power within me attracted this foreign element 
and then like a magnet pulled it in? If you THE PATTERN OF MY FUTURE SELF 
27 
study Figure V, you will see that a certain 
portion of an ovum at this stage is bulging 
forward, as if eagerly waiting for the entrance 
of its savior the spermatozoon. 
When the two elements met, the spermato- 
zoon entered and disappeared within my body 
the ovum. Strange to say, in this act the 
fascinating tail somehow disappeared. Whether 
it was willingly discarded or it was accidentally 
or intentionally broken off, I don’t know. I 
only noticed that, when the head of the sper- 
matozoon entered the nucleolus of the ovum, 
it was minus the interesting tail. 
A remarkable incident followed the act of 
fertilization. As soon as the germinal spots 
of both cells met, they were fused into one. 
Even the mature chromatin granules of each 
cell joined forces to decide the life and the 
appearance of the future being myself after 
birth. 
I was intensely interested to hear that the 
chromatin granules of both cells brought the 
pattern of my future life. They were the 
bearers of all the qualities, good and bad, which 
I was to inherit from my parents and their 
ancestors. 28 
MY BIRTH 
Naturally you might think that the number 
of the chromosomes or hereditary granules in 
the fertilized ovum are twice as many as they 
are in each of the original cells. Such a mul- 
tiplication of hereditary qualities is fortunately 
prevented by a process of maturation which 
takes place both in the ovum and the sper- 
matozoon before the act of fertilization. 
According to a great scientist of your world, 
the female sexual cell originally contains 48 
such chromosomes, while the spermatozoon 
contains 47. During maturation the cell con- 
tents of both are divided in two, and one half 
is lost. Hence the fertilized ovum receives 
in addition to her 24, either 23 or 24 from the 
male sexual cell. Thus it is that the fertilized 
ovum is not essentially larger than the single 
mature ovum. 
Fortunately during maturation the stronger 
hereditary qualities in each of the cells are 
retained, while the weaker ones perish. Evi- 
dently that great law, “survival of the fittest,” 
also governs this first battle of life. Hence 
during my fertilization only the victors met, 
and uniting, made the pattern of my future 
self. THE PATTERN OF MY FUTURE SELF 
29 
It has been said that hereditary characters 
fall into two opposite groups which alternate 
with or supplement each other. For instance, 
the ovum as well as the spermatozoon is said 
to possess a pair of chromosomes which 
contain either both black, or the one blue 
and the other black, eyed tendencies. During 
maturation the weaker of these chromosomes 
perish, so that in the act of fertilization there 
are only two instead of four such tendencies 
to form a favorable combination. In my 
case, if the blue-eyed tendency was retained 
during maturation and fertilization, I am sure 
to have blue eyes when lam born. If during 
this act of union the black-eyed tendency was 
the stronger in both cells my future eyes will 
surely be black or at least dark. 
The same rule may apply to the formation 
of my moral characteristics. However, their 
development will depend greatly on my future 
environment and bringing up. I will bring 
to your world only the inborn ability to judge 
and to choose between the good and the bad 
which you call “ Instinct.” Instinctively I 
may want to be good or bad, useful or harmful. 
Among the great number of chromosomes 30 
MY BIRTH 
which came to me, some brought to me also 
talents, inborn likings, or mental tendencies. 
When any one of these is recognized early and 
stimulated by adequate environment, and prop- 
erly trained, it might become a real talent. 
If such a talent is then developed to its utmost 
creative possibility, I may have the good fortune 
to be known as a “genius” in that particular 
line. 
However, it may also be possible that the 
good and useful talent granules were not strong 
enough to survive the act of maturation and 
fertilization. Then I am sure to grow up to 
be one of the great multitude of mediocres, 
who, I hear, struggle desperately to even make 
a living in your world. Even so my fate will 
not be as pitiful as that of a great many human 
parasites who crowd your public and chari- 
table institutions. 
After such reflections it is a comfort to me 
to know that my near and remote ancestors 
are the ones who gave me all my physical, 
mental and moral characteristics. And through 
their good and honest living my mind as well 
as my soul are sensitized to respond to the 
best and accept only the good in life, wherever THE PATTERN OF MY FUTURE SELF 
31 
and whenever they may cross my path. It 
comforts me to believe that environment, edu- 
cation and training can somewhat supplement 
the good I did not inherit and can correct 
some of the undesirable lines in the inherited 
pattern of my life or at least they can assist 
in the final modeling of my soul. CHAPTER 111 
RECRUITING AND ORGANIZING OF WORKERS 
In spite of the fact that I am yet a no one, 
I feel like a real hero, who is said to be one 
before he is dead and gone. I am proud of 
myself, because I know it was most daring 
to speak of that miracle which made my birth 
a possibility. Now that I have given away 
the greatest secret in the life of man, which 
unlike other secrets is seldom told, I wonder 
again why the episode, which tells of the be- 
ginning of man, is barred from the conversation 
of all so-called “good people.” 
No part of the story of my birth thrills my 
heart more than that which tells of the heroic 
act of the spermatozoon how it saved the 
wandering ovum from destruction and death. 
I know of no greater wonder than the union 
and amalgamation of these two friendly cells, 
which gave birth to a new life equipped with 
a definite and individual pattern unlike any 
other in the whole universe. 
32 33 
RECRUITING AND ORGANIZING OF WORKERS 
At first the fertilized ovum showed no external 
signs of being affected by that most extraordi- 
nary experience. The coming of the male 
element did not even increase its size, as one 
would have expected. This surely was due 
to the fact that each participant during its 
maturation, which preceded the act of fertiliza- 
tion, had lost half of its chromosomes. There- 
fore, the result of the union of the two cells 
was again only one complete cell of the usual 
size. 
But how different were the conditions within 
the new cell from that of the original ovum ! 
It was all motion. Driven by a new life, each 
particle seemed to obey some innate power, 
fulfilling the great law of the universe, which 
had come into effect during the vast ages of 
time, through the living of each generation. 
By and by, the compound nucleolus of the 
fertilized cell swelled again and divided itself. 
The nucleus as ever followed suit, and before 
the first hour was over each half developed 
into a separate and complete cell just like 
the formation of daughter cells. Hence two 
cells came to be within the one original ovum. 
Hardly had the outer delicate membranous 34 
MY BIRTH 
wall adjusted itself to the two new tenants 
when the two units also got busy and divided 
themselves, giving birth to four cells. 
Such a division or “segmentation” continued 
until there were as many as thirty-two cells 
in the one fertilized ovum. Thus the immediate 
result of fertilization of the ovum was segmenta- 
tion, when the principal workers were created. 
They also began to increase rapidly, and 
it became necessary to organize this new 
colony of cells by first dividing the mass into 
two main groups. Those nearest the outer 
wall, at the periphery, remained where they 
were, while the others were asked to group 
themselves closer into a separate cluster 
“Blastula” which is often and justly called 
‘ ‘ Morula ’; (mulberry mass). 
I do not wish to give you the impression 
that this recruiting and dividing of working 
forces were done thoughtlessly in a haphazard 
manner. From the very beginning one great 
Godly power was directing all movements and 
acts of each cell and each granule. 
During segmentation two kinds of cells of 
equal number were created as you see in 
Figure VI. Each newly formed cell knew for Fig. VII. Diagram showing Formation of Morula or Blastula. (von Beneden.) 35 
RECRUITING AND ORGANIZING OF WORKERS 
what purpose it came to be. Therefore, when 
the time and orders for organization and separa- 
tion came, no time and energy were wasted. 
In a little while each cell was able to take its 
particular position. 
The cells of the blastula proceeded toward 
the periphery and attached themselves at one 
point. Shrinking they also created a free 
space within the main body, called Blastodermic 
vesicle. This cavity was the very beginning of 
my future digestive tube or primitive gut. 
When this process of “Gastrulation” was 
over, it did seem as if this empty space or 
so-called “stomach” was the largest part of 
my being. Therefore, I don’t blame the people 
of your world for giving me at this stage of my 
development the nickname of “Gastrula” (little 
stomach). Figure VII. 
The next step these little cells of the blastula 
took was to organize their working force. 
The outer cells called themselves Ectoderm 
(outer layer), and went to work in their own 
way to form the necessary protective bags as 
well as to lay the foundation of the marvelous 
future protective mechanism,—the nervous 
system of my body. 36 
MY BIRTH 
The inner cells did not waste a second’s time. 
They also increased and called themselves 
Entoderm (inner layer), and remained grouped 
together, forming a flattened polygonal plate, 
from which gradually were molded many of 
the most important organs of nutrition. For 
instance, the primitive digestive tube and 
later the various organs of digestion are of 
entodermic origin. 
While the Ectoderm and Entoderm were 
doing such great things, a new layer of cells 
appeared in between the two and called itself 
Mesoderm (intermediate cell mass). It might 
be possible that this new battalion came to 
be by the separation of some cells of the Ecto- 
derm, recruiting others which were not needed 
by the Entoderm. 
Thus the working forces of this new party 
also increased rapidly and began to take a 
very important part in the inner construction 
of my body. In fact the number of the cells 
of the Mesoderm grew so large that they were 
also forced to divide their forces into two 
layers but kept the two ends united. In that 
way a cavity was formed between these two 
groups or layers of cells that was the be- RECRUITING AND ORGANIZING OF WORKERS 
37 
ginning of the body cavity in which later all 
the organs of respiration, digestion and elimina- 
tion were placed. 
In this simple but thoughtful manner the 
countless workers were created or recruited, 
and each was equipped with certain definite 
building elements as well as with the necessary 
force. The whole army of workers was or- 
ganized. Each unit received a definite task 
to perform at a given time. CHAPTER IV 
HOW THE FOUNDATION OF MY BODY WAS 
LAID 
Within a few days’ time all the working 
forces were created and each and all were ready 
to begin the great task given to them. Ap- 
parently all cells were alike each possessing 
a nucleolus, a nucleus and a body filled with 
the required building materials. Yet each was 
equipped to do a certain and definite work. 
Some were to make bone; others muscular 
bands; some nerve fibers; others connective 
tissues, and all the other various elementary 
tissues which make up the body of man. 
All these countless workers engaged in the 
building of my body structure are called 
“somatic” cells, to distinguish them from the 
“generative” cells whose duty it is to give 
birth to a new being when the proper time 
and opportunity presents itself. 
I told you how the main working force was 
organized into three groups cells of the 
Ectoderm, Entoderm and Mesoderm. Fig. VIII. Diagram showing Origin of Neural Tube. 
(Kollmann.) THE FOUNDATION OF MY BODY 
39 
The intermediate cell mass was asked to 
increase its force and immediately proceed to 
make a polygonal plate within the sanctuary 
of the blastula. In a short time their 
number grew so large that it was impossible 
for them to stand in one straight line. Some 
were asked to move forward or inward so that 
a groove in the plate was made. Other Meso- 
dermic cells came and pushed the sides of this 
primitive groove together. They met and 
fused, just as if nature intended to put in a 
box pleat. The hollow of this human box 
pleat was the principal neural passage wherein 
later developed the main cable of the intricate 
nervous system the spinal cord. 
The appearance of this primitive neural tube 
was the earliest indication of a body. In fact 
that primitive column was the very foundation 
of the whole body structure, around which all 
the principal organs were later symmetrically 
arranged. I must not forget to mention here 
that the ends of this important tube, especially 
the upper end, remained open, and, enlarging, 
created the two main vesicles of my brain. 
Figure VIII. 
The first problem given to the cells of the 40 
MY BIKTH 
Mesoderm was so successfully solved that it 
inspired the cells of the Entoderm to assist. 
They came in great force and formed an isolated 
column about the primitive streak. 
When it was inquired of them the purpose 
of that column, “Notochord,” they said: 
“We cannot help form nerve tissues, but we 
can provide for the protection of that vital 
organ.” 
Subsequently they formed a cuticular sheath 
around the neural tube to serve as its for- 
tification. From the pulp of the Notochord 
ultimately developed the whole vertebral col- 
umn as well as many other bones of the skeleton 
of my body. 
With great care I saw to it that this delicate 
fortification of the neural tube met no accident 
during its early development. 
Sometimes it happens that the lower one 
third of the primitive spinal column remains 
partially open, causing the protrusion of the 
spinal membranes or nerve fibers of the spinal 
cord. As the spinal cord is the main channel 
through which nerve impulses are taken back 
and forth from the brain, such an unfortunate 
abnormality seriously interferes in the con- THE FOUNDATION OF MY BODY 
41 
tinuous and undisturbed nerve communication 
of the lower half of the body with that master 
organ, retarding the growth and development 
of the limbs and also causing the collection 
of fluid in the head cavity. 
Such a congenital (existing at birth) cleft 
“spinal bifida” gives birth to a child with 
an abnormally large head, called therefore 
“hydrocephalus” (water in the head). The 
most unfortunate feature of hydrocephalus is 
that the water interferes with the development 
of the brain and the unfortunate infant has 
to go through life mentally deficient as well as 
physically defective. The legs grow little after 
birth. 
Oh, how happy I was when I saw that I 
had escaped such a congenital malformation. 
The primary task of the cells of the Entoderm 
and Mesoderm was done well. Therefore, they 
were sent to do other great things for me. For 
instance, the Mesoderm, lying between the 
other two groups of cells Ectoderm and 
Entoderm took up the great task of unit- 
ing the different structures by creating mus- 
cular bands between them. It also provided 
all these organs with the necessary blood 42 
MY BIRTH 
channels through which they were supplied 
with the required sustaining and building ele- 
ments. A certain number of these vessels 
carried away the left-overs to avoid any con- 
gestion. 
While the cells of the Mesoderm were looking 
after the muscular movements and circulation 
and excretion, the cells of the Entoderm were 
busy building the organs of digestion lining 
the main digestive tube which was situated 
just under the primitive nerve channel. It 
was marvelous to see how the different in- 
tricate digestive mechanisms by and by de- 
veloped from this one structure, either by 
evagination or invagination —by outgrowths 
or ingrowths of the walls of this tube. 
The cells of the Ectoderm did not share the 
task of laying the foundation of my body. 
They were looking after the protection of the 
whole. Later theirs was the great task of 
adorning my external body with the different 
appendages of the skin, such as the hair, nails 
and enamel of the teeth. 
In this simple manner the foundation of my 
body was laid by the formation of the neural 
tube and the Notochord, which separated the THE FOUNDATION OF MY BODY 
43 
former from the primitive digestive tube. 
Gradually through evagination and invagina- 
tion countless little precious organs, like the 
opening of the petals of a rose, began to unfold 
themselves from the one great original unit 
the fertilized ovum. CHAPTER V 
HOW I WAS FED AND TAKEN CARE OF IN 
THE FIRST WEEK OF MY EXISTENCE 
It is surprising how early I began to be 
affected by the same laws of nature that are 
applied to your world and its inhabitants. 
Hardly had I come to be when it was found 
necessary to provide for my nutriment and 
protection. “Then if life is to be sustained, 
its owner must be sufficiently nourished and 
adequately protected,” argued my mother. 
I was only a few days old when every work- 
ing unit in me was begging for food, “build- 
ing material,” they called it, but I knew 
well that it meant oxygen and other elements 
as well. Therefore all the cells of the Ecto- 
derm which could be spared were sent out 
to build up a temporary kitchen. 
Obeying the call of my master builder, they 
came forward from the periphery, joining 
forces, formed and filled a good-sized bag with 
a jelly-like matter. This “yolk sack” was a 
44 THE FIRST WEEK 
45 
perfect kitchen or provision house. It con- 
tained all the countless elements that were 
used by each different group of cells. In fact, 
it did supply that wonderful workshop with 
more than it could immediately use, so that 
soon an exit for the superfluous matter was 
found necessary. 
So another bag had to be formed to take 
care of the waste products and left overs. 
The latter bag was called “Allantois.” While 
the yolk sack was attached to the center of 
the main body cavity and primitive digestive 
tube, the allantois opened into the so-called 
hind gut, at the lower digestive tube. 
The allantois was a most efficient little 
organ, in spite of the fact that it was made for 
temporary use. This structure was made up 
by the cells of the Entoderm and lined with 
the cells of the Mesoderm. The cells of the 
allantois immediately went about to fulfill 
their given duties in a most remarkable manner. 
They pumped into the main workshop enough 
oxygen to burn up or at least sterilize all waste 
products, so that no harmful elements were 
retained within the ovum. Therefore, it is 
fair that I should call the allantois a most 46 
MY BIRTH 
perfect “ distillator ” as well as a remarkable 
“reservoir” of the primitive being. 
The lives of these two structures, the yolk 
sack and the allantois, were short, but for the 
time being they served their purpose perfectly. 
The next step in my development was the 
coming of the protective membranes. A re- 
serve troop of cells, which were waiting at the 
periphery, were liberated to form two external 
folds which grew and met above my head, 
forming a complete bag about me and entirely 
separating me from the frail outer wall of the 
ovum so that the great creative work within 
me could continue without being affected by 
the disturbance from without. 
This third cavity a bag called the “Am- 
niotic cavity” was also filled with a fluid 
matter. The specific gravity of this was such 
that I could float in it freely and retain my 
position, no matter what my mother was 
doing, whether she was standing, stooping, 
sitting or lying down. 
If you could have peeped through the walls 
of this amniotic cavity, you would have seen 
me floating and swaying about from one end 
to the other of my watery cradle. This per- Fig. IX. Diagram showing Development of Different 
Nutritive and Protective Bags. 
Am. Amnion. Al. Allantois. Ds. Yolk-sack. (Gegenbaur.) THE FIRST WEEK 
47 
haps was for the purpose of cleansing my outer 
cells. Or perhaps through that act of swing- 
ing about, some of the external cells were to 
collect nutriment from the waves of the am- 
niotic fluid. 
Evidently Mother Nature did not consider 
this one protective shell sufficient, for soon 
the external coat of this bag separated from 
the inner lining so that I found myself within 
two separate bags. The larger and the outer 
one was the primitive “Chorion.” Figure IX 
will show you the relative size and position of 
these different bags and cavities the chorion, 
the amnion, the allantois and the yolk sack. 
I was not more than a week old when all 
these structures came to supply me with the 
necessary building material, to take care of 
the waste and also to protect me from all 
external harm. I take great pleasure in assur- 
ing you that they all did their work well. I 
suffered no harm, and all my wants were met 
most punctually. 
These various bags are already gone,- yet 
with great gratitude I think of them. Would 
that every newly formed working community 
could pattern after this perfect model of 48 
MY BIRTH 
efficiency present in the primitive human 
egg. While the countless working cells were 
created and to each was designated a definite 
duty, all was done that could be done for the 
welfare and safety of each cell. The result 
was a most harmoniously working unit. Not 
a cell went on strike, not a single working 
force refused to do its utmost in the accom- 
plishment of that great task the construc- 
tion of my body. 
I was surrounded by no experienced and 
expensive cooks, nor was I guarded by brave 
and unbribable policemen; yet I am assured 
that any financier or king of your world would 
bitterly envy me for the luxury, comfort and 
protection that was mine even while my exist- 
ence was not suspected by anyone. CHAPTER VI 
HOW I GAME TO MY PRESENT DWELLING 
PLACE 
The formation of the temporary organs of 
nutrition and protection the yolk sack, 
allantois, the amniotic cavity and the chorion 
took place while I was still in the narrow 
Fallopian tube, during the first week. 
At first all was well with me and about me. 
But on the eighth day I noticed how the narrow- 
ness of my dwelling place was beginning to 
interfere seriously with my rapid growth. 
Besides, the shrunken looks of my bag of 
provisions began to worry me. 
Then I knew too well that the demands for 
building materials were growing too numerous 
and too varied for my modest temporary organ 
of nutrition. The faithful little cells that 
made up the yolk sack had almost exhausted 
all their supplies. It seemed imperative that 
they should soon be excused from further pro- 50 
MY BIRTH 
viding food for all the millions of working cells 
engaged in the making of my body. 
However, before I was subjected to actual 
want, a great inner desire call it “instinct” 
took hold of me. I felt as if I must move 
on downward as suggested to me by the flow 
of the fluids about me. I obeyed nature’s 
call and rolled on until I arrived in a much 
larger space. It was the cavity within the 
uterus, called, therefore, the “uterine cavity.” 
It seemed as if this new community had 
anticipated my coming. It was in readiness 
to receive me. As soon as my coming was 
suspected, great forces were utilized to prepare 
a cordial reception for me, as well as make 
me comfortable during my stay. A general 
housecleaning had been undertaken ; the struc- 
ture of the whole uterus had been looked over. 
Some of the muscular bands and elastic tissues 
forming the walls of the uterus were reinforced 
and great volumes of blood stood in readiness 
in the countless superficial vessels of the 
uterine cavity in order to assist where help 
was needed. 
As there seemed to be no other tenant I 
could not resist the invitation, and made up MY PKESENT DWELLING PLACE 
51 
my mind to settle down at a convenient loca- 
tion and remain there as long as I was wanted, 
hoping that it might be until I was ready to 
enter your world; when I may enjoy the 
home which my parents so lovingly are pre- 
paring for me there. 
As soon as I had selected a desirable location 
at the right side of the uterine cavity, a little 
pocket between the folds of the uterine lining 
was prepared for me. I moved in with my 
whole household. My faithful outer covering, 
the chorion, immediately dug a little foundation 
into the maternal tissues, so that I could be 
permanently and firmly located. It was very 
important that I should at once imbed myself 
between the inviting folds of that mucous 
membrane. The uterine fluids seemed to be 
inclined to wash me out. I did not wish to 
be discarded or aborted, for I knew well that 
I was, as yet, in no way prepared to live in 
your world. 
Soon human curiosity drove me to investigate 
my surroundings. I found that the normal 
uterus is a hollow organ, pear-shaped in its 
general form and not much larger than an 
average pear. The walls are made of remark- 52 
MY BIRTH 
ably elastic tissues which seem to respond to 
my movements almost mechanically, expand- 
ing and shrinking as required. 
I wonder if there is such a remarkable dwell- 
ing place in your world, which without much 
effort, but at the slightest suggestion of the 
tenant, meets all his needs. When additional 
space is required the house grows just large 
enough so that it is never too small or too 
large; always cozy and snug for the inhabitant. 
When it is empty, as after the departure of the 
little being, it shrinks and gradually regains 
its former shape and size. 
The inner lining mucous membrane 
falls loosely in folds which open and stretch 
as the uterine cavity grows larger. This 
lining is supplied with little openings or pores 
out of which comes a fatty secretion to keep 
the interior soft, moist and clean. When I 
first arrived, this velvety sheet immediately 
embraced me and threw its folds around me. 
The sides met and were united, forming an 
additional protective envelope about me. This 
one is called “Decidua.” 
Thus you notice that I was not only wel- 
comed and comfortably housed within the MY PRESENT DWELLING PLACE 
53 
maternal uterus, but also all was done that 
could be done for my welfare and protection. 
When I am born you will have an opportunity 
to see all these different nutritive and protec- 
tive coverings, the amnion, the chorion, as 
well as the one supplied by the uterus. As 
all these protective tissues are expelled soon 
after the birth of the child, they are called by 
you “Afterbirth.” 
When I was well settled it was time to think 
of ways and means to get nourishment and 
building material. The faithful chorion, my 
outer covering, began to dig from all sides into 
the deeper tissues of the uterus until the blood 
vessels were reached. There took place no 
fight between me and my mother’s tissues, as 
often stated by scientists; but again my 
new dwelling place responded willingly to all 
my needs. Soon with the aid of the maternal 
decidua hundreds of little channels were 
formed, bringing in to me, in the form of blood, 
all elements necessary for my being and for 
my great work. 
Subsequently, about the third month, the 
protective membranes, the chorion and the 
decidua, united and were called “Placenta,” 54 
MY BIRTH 
and through all the trying months they faith- 
fully looked after the nutriment of their “ pro- 
tege,” me providing it with the necessary 
food and oxygen. 
I don’t want you to understand that I used 
the blood of my mother just as it came, per- 
haps laden with all sorts of germs. Perfect 
sanitation laws, that were in effect all about 
me and in me, could not allow such an over- 
sight. Every drop of blood that came to me 
from my mother was first modified and clarified 
in the temporary reservoir within the chorion 
The uterine arteries poured the required 
blood into the receiving vessels of the chorion, 
where they were retained until the necessary 
changes had been effected. Finally this modi- 
fied blood was sent to me through one large 
long artery. 
placenta. 
However, the supply was most generous and 
all could not be used. After all the required 
elements had been extracted, the waste and 
what was left over was sent back through 
two vessels veins —to the placenta and 
thence to the veins of my mother. Thus from 
the placenta which served as my reservoir Fig. X. Embryo of 2.6 mm., showing Yolk-sack and 
Umbilical Cord. (His.) 55 
MY PRESENT DWELLING PLACE 
as well as my distillery came to me one 
artery and two veins, which together formed 
one cord. This “Umbilical Cord” shall carry 
blood back and forth between me and my 
mother as long as I remain the tenant of the 
uterus. Figure X. 
What a wonderful provision of Nature. As 
it is, we little yet-unborn ones are spared many 
a disease which affect our mothers during our 
stay with them and in them. If the mother’s 
blood flowed directly into our delicate systems, 
few of us would ever be able to be born healthy 
and sound. 
On the other hand, how much more would 
the systems of our mothers be overloaded with 
waste, which necessarily arises in our great 
workshop, where such a complicated mechan- 
ism as our body is constructed, if the veins of 
the umbilical cord emptied directly into the 
veins of our mothers. 
Yet in spite of this precaution nature has 
taken, our mothers feel only too often, es- 
pecially during the first three months, the 
disagreeable effect of the additional waste 
thrown in their bodies. Their organs of elimina- 
tion kidneys and intestines are often over- 56 
MY BIRTH 
taxed during the period of our coming. At 
times they are even unable to take care of all 
the combined waste products. Especially in 
the early hours of the morning my mother 
seems to feel so overloaded with unused ele- 
ments that she is forced to discard artificially, 
through the mouth, some of such undigested 
matter. This annoying symptom “Morning 
Sickness” or “Nausea” was the first sign 
of my coming which was noticed by her. 
I regret most sincerely that my coming was 
thus unpleasantly heralded. At no time had 
I more reason to be grateful and pleasant 
than in the first few weeks, when all was done 
that could be done for my settlement, comfort 
and future being. 
It was most fortunate that I made a change 
of my dwelling place at that critical time. 
Had I stayed very much longer in the narrow 
Fallopian tube, I would have been forced to 
starve or suffocate, as the thin walls of the 
passage would have been unable to withstand 
severe stretching, caused by my rapidly grow- 
ing body. Surely sooner or later it would 
have ruptured, expelling me into the ab- 
dominal cavity, where no provisions are made 57 
MY PRESENT DWELLING PLACE 
for my housing and development. I would 
have perished. 
Sometimes such sad accidents happen. One 
speaks then of “ Tubal Pregnancy,” which 
necessarily terminates in the premature death 
and abortion of the little one. 
How lucky that I did not make such a fatal 
mistake, but instead responded to the pressure 
from above and came down into the uterus, 
where I was so cordially received, and so 
lovingly housed and so generously provided 
for. 
If every normal childless woman or man 
could picture to themselves how much serious 
effort nature makes for the welfare and well 
being of the little one, and how it resents, 
after all that preparation, being forcefully 
removed, they would surely hesitate before 
they interfere with the progress of the great 
and Godly miracle. All we little ones ask is 
to be given a chance. CHAPTER VII 
HOW THE FRAMEWORK OF MY BODY WENT 
UP 
When the first fortnight of my existence 
was over, I looked back to see whether any- 
thing was left undone which ought to have 
been done. Thanks to the great Thought, 
which was supervising most faithfully the 
construction of my body, all was well with 
me and about me. 
By the third week I was settled in my 
comfortable and well equipped home in 
the uterus. All my needs were met most 
punctually the working forces within were 
carefully organized. Each cell was attending 
to its own task as if the welfare of the whole 
depended on the efforts of that one cell. Per- 
haps they knew in their own way that one 
single disorganized or misplaced cell, at a 
critical moment, might seriously interfere with 
the workings of the whole mechanism. 
58 THE FRAMEWORK OF MY BODY 
59 
At that time I was perhaps the littlest little 
human being man has ever seen not larger 
than the pupil of my mother’s eye. Possibly 
I could not have been found among the tissues 
about me without the aid of a microscope. 
Scientists, who have seen such little human 
beings, say that they are indeed not much to 
look at even painfully devoid of the pleasing 
features that differentiate a human being from 
any of the lower animals. 
Therefore, it has been justly said that we 
little no-ones, during the early months of our 
physical development and coming, recapitulate 
—repeat—the evolution of the race. According 
to this law of biogenesis the newly fertilized 
ovum may be compared to the lowest form of 
unicellular organism like the amoeba. 
After segmentation, when the working forces 
are created and organized and the primitive 
body cavity is formed, the ovum is said to 
resemble an organism like the adult volvox. 
With the coming of the digestive tube the 
little human being looks like a simple sponge. 
Later when some indications of the framework 
appear, such as the soft notochord, one justly 
speaks of the little one passing through the 60 
MY BIRTH 
stage of a worm. When a structure similar 
to the gills of a fish appear, it is compared to 
a fish, and so on until it reaches the stage of 
Man. 
I am not ashamed to confess that I, at that 
stage, possessed a body containing two long 
tubal structures primitive neural tube and 
the digestive tube just like the worm. For- 
tunately my body with a head and tail 
end had taken such a curved attitude that 
the latter, painfully suggestive of my remote 
ancestors, was carefully hidden away from 
sight. It is perhaps for this reason that all 
undeveloped beings like me modestly retain 
such a position until they have received all 
the pleasing features of man. Figure XI. 
Lack of good looks did not worry me much 
at that time. I was happy that every new 
moment was taking me one step forward in 
my evolution. The notochord, the temporary 
protective shell of my most delicate nerve 
mechanism and the forerunner of the frame- 
work of my body, soon began to be replaced 
by cells which had the ability to increase 
rapidly and form a dense fortification around 
the primitive spinal cord. Fig. XI. Embryo in Six Different Stages. THE FRAMEWORK OP MY BODY 
61 
At first this temporary framework was much 
softer than any bone a condition which 
annoyed me at the time being. I knew that 
if I wanted to be a human being I had to 
possess a hard bony structure to give me the 
required pose and the erect posture. 
Therefore, day after day, with great anxiety 
and curiosity I watched the development of 
this new structure. About the 25th day little 
horizontal lines appeared dividing the whole 
into a number of segments or somites. Figure 
XII. 
In the meantime the same soft framework, 
composed of membrane-bone or cartilage-bone, 
was gradually being partly hardened and partly 
replaced by real bone. I also noticed that the 
37 original divisions or somites of the primitive 
dense structure were developing into the seg- 
mented vertebral column. 
Thus three different sets of cells were used 
in those few weeks to form a protective column 
around the main trunk. It seemed at first 
extravagant waste of time and precious cells. 
But my mother thinks that this incident is 
another proof of the Darwinian theory. The 
first beings did not need protection for their 62 
MY BIRTH 
main nerve trunk. But by and by the enemies 
of each increased so that it had to fight for 
its existence. Therefore, it became necessary 
to reinforce this protective structure. Finally in 
the vertebrates it had to be made of hard bone. 
As the cells of the original notochord did 
not possess the ability to ossify, new cells of 
different contents were required. These un- 
doubtedly developed in the battle of life of 
countless generations. Hence I am being 
equipped with a really bony spinal column. 
Before the ossification of this structure had 
begun, other parts of my body framework 
came branching out of this main fortification. 
Nine little twigs came, grew and surrounded 
the chest or thoracic cavity, in which later 
the delicate organs of respiration, digestion 
and the heart were housed. Each of these 
nine ribs was in time supplied with a pair of 
nerves, a pair of muscle segments and a pair 
of vessels to assist in its great protective work. 
The skull, the protective cup of the brain, 
developed about the same time, also partly 
budding out from the primitive notochord. 
In the same way originated the bony founda- 
tion of my extremities arms and legs. The Fig. XII. Embryo with Primitive Segments. (Eterhod.) THE FRAMEWORK OF MY BODY 
63 
framework of the arms grew more rapidly than 
that of the legs, which proved to me the happy 
fact that I had possibilities of climbing very 
much higher up the scale of animal life. 
With the coming of the vertebrae I was not 
only made eligible to the highest organization 
in the great animal kingdom the vertebrates 
but I was assured of being able to with- 
stand a great many hard knocks, which I am 
apt to receive when a member of your trouble- 
some world. 
Think of all the great things I will be able 
to accomplish with plenty of nerve to start 
the given problem and enough backbone to 
stick through especially if I can supply a 
little bit of plain common sense to guide me 
all through the undertaking. 
However, the process of ossification of my 
skeleton will not be completed until some time 
after my birth to your world. 
You might think I ought to hurry up with 
my work and not bring such unfinished struc- 
tures. But a moment’s consideration will 
reveal to you the reason why the complete 
hardening of my skull and also of the frame- 
work of my body is postponed until after birth. 64 
MY BIRTH 
I am advised to be soft and pliable when I 
am born, because the passages through which 
I shall come are narrow and curved. Thanks 
to this great forethought to the softness of 
my bones it is possible that I may be born 
without seriously injuring the framework of 
my body in spite of the limitations of the 
maternal passages. The separate links of my 
spinal column as well as the segmentation of 
the whole framework will greatly facilitate 
my coming. 
Another provision toward my safety during 
that trying occasion is made by the division 
of the hard protective cup of my head the 
skull into a number of separate plates, so 
that they can give way if necessary without 
breaking. My skull, therefore, will come in 
six different pieces. 
There will be little free spaces in between 
the bony plates covered only by membraneous 
tissues. Most of these openings will close 
soon after birth, but the one on the very top 
of my head will persist for at least a year. 
Such open spaces between the different parts 
of the skull are called “Fontanelles.” Unless 
my mother is careful, the brain the most THE FRAMEWORK OF MY BODY 
65 
precious organ in my body may be injured 
through these congenital openings. 
When the bony framework of my body was 
coming into being I almost believed that after 
all I was only a tiny little tree. First appeared 
one single column, and from this main trunk 
then came sprouting nine twigs the ribs 
and four larger branches—the framework of my 
extremities. Later all the soft and delicate 
organs symmetrically arranged themselves 
around or within this bony skeleton, just like 
the leaves of a tree. 
It was not many years ago when a tiny 
human being, with the very first signs of a 
skeleton, was seen and studied by a scientist. 
As it already possessed all the main human 
characteristics, he called it “a human embryo.” 
Since then every little being during the first 
three months of its uterine life is known by 
that name. Evidently that great scientist 
was very proud of his discovery and wished 
to immortalize his efforts, because immediately 
he called himself an “Embryologist,” scientist 
engaged in the study of embryos. CHAPTER VIII 
THE COMING OF MY VARIOUS INTERNAL 
AND EXTERNAL ORGANS 
At first I was not quite pleased with the 
name given to me. “Embryo” sounded too 
ancient and foreign to me. But when I found 
out that it meant “to be full of—” with a 
dash, to be substituted with any word one 
may choose, I was quite reconciled. I made 
up my mind, or to be more truthful about it, 
I would have made up my mind if I had had 
one, that the dash should spell “life.” It 
was true that, in spite of my minuteness, I 
was as full of life as any living creature of your 
world. 
Life manifested itself everywhere in me, 
making every cell almost buzz with real busi- 
ness. Only a very small colony of cells, stand- 
ing about the neural tube, seemed to have no 
urgent duties on hand. Perhaps because of 
their apparent inactivity they looked distin- 
66 INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL ORGANS 
67 
guished and aristocratic. They were larger 
and seemed better nourished than the somatic 
cells, and through their clearness they were 
most conspicuous. 
When I inquired about them I was told 
that they were the “primary germ cells” which 
are to be the life-carriers of my own body. 
At that time I was still sexually in an “in- 
different stage” I did not know whether 
I was to be a boy or a girl. Therefore, eagerly 
I looked them all over, but unfortunately re- 
ceived no enlightenment on the subject. The 
distinguishing sex features had not yet ap- 
peared. Hence I was unable to tell whether 
they were to develop into ova or spermatozoa. 
Still it was interesting to see them, for they 
reminded me of a time twenty-two years ago, 
when I was like them only a primitive germ 
cell in the body of my embryo mother. What 
a remarkable cycle! It was now my turn 
to form a link in the great human chain and 
to provide for future links as well. 
This thought was gratifying and encouraging. 
I needed something to cheer me up. There 
was in reality so little of me, and that very 
ungainly. In spite of my remarkable skeleton, 68 
MY BIRTH 
externally I was just a fishlike being with an 
ugly and unproportioned head and a sugges- 
tive and offensive looking tail. 
However, one beautiful morning when I 
was wondering where I could begin to alter, 
the master builder sent orders to divide up 
the main body-cavity into different chambers, 
of different size and form. I had to be very 
careful in my measurements, for each had to 
be just large enough to hold the particular 
organ, without handicapping it in its develop- 
ment and in its workings by being too large 
or too small. 
The main trunk was then divided into three 
chambers. The upper one, nearest the head, 
was for the principal organs of respiration 
for the lungs and for their intimate comrade 
the heart. 
The second chamber, which was very much 
larger than the others, came to be my abdominal 
cavity, the home of most of the organs of 
digestion stomach and intestines and also 
of the organs or glands which are to assist in 
the great process of digestion. Such digestive 
glands are the liver, gall bladder, pancreas and 
spleen. Fig. XIII. Embryo showing First Buds of Organs. 
(Prentiss.) 69 
INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL ORGANS 
The third and smallest chamber was to hold 
the organs of elimination and reproduction. 
Hardly was the work on the partitions com- 
pleted when the little dwellers began to come. 
About the third week one could see a number of 
tiny buds sprout from the walls of the primitive 
gut. From the German comes the scientific 
name for these buds; “Anlage” they are 
called. It is a good word. Literally it means 
“to lay at” hence the anlage of thyroid 
shows where this gland is to lay. 
Figure XIII will show you the anlage of 
my lungs, which looks like a bunch of grapes 
at the end of a tube. The latter was originally 
also a part of the primitive digestive tube. 
Gradually it became a separate structure, 
running parallel with the other. Both had 
their outer openings in the mouth. 
The air passage is not to be very long. The 
portion entering the mouth is called larynx. 
It is to contain that wonderful sound-producing 
mechanism the vocal cords which consist 
of two muscular bands strung on each side of 
this tube. When the air passes upward back 
into the mouth it stretches these cords, and 
the sudden pressure produces certain sounds 70 
MY BIRTH 
known as the “human voice.” The quality 
and quantity of the produced sound will de- 
pend greatly on the thickness and the length 
of these cords and also on the resounding pas- 
sages and cavities, such as the mouth and the 
nose. 
I am told most remarkable tales of the power 
of the human voice. They say it rules and 
governs the whole world. Man and beast 
obey its call. Yet it is the sole igniter of 
happiness and sorrow it is the cupid’s arrow 
as well as the sword of wrath. Would that I 
could possess such a voice ! 
The main portion of the windpipe is called 
“ trachea.” The lower end of the trachea 
divided itself into two main branches, bran- 
chial tubes. The air passes through the mouth 
or the nose, the larynx, the trachea and the 
branchial tubes and then into the lungs. Any 
harmful elements in the intaken air may there- 
fore lodge in any one of these regions. Mother 
Nature will especially protect these delicate 
passages from harm and is therefore supplying 
them with a protective lining mucous mem- 
brane which through its secretions can de- 
stroy or wash out many a foreign matter. INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL ORGANS 
71 
But when the mucous membrane is not 
successful in performing this protective act 
alone, the deeper tissues will take up the fight. 
By sudden contractions and expansions they 
will forcefully shake up the whole passage 
for the purpose of discarding such undesirable 
foreign bodies. This act is called “coughing” 
“sneezing.” Sneezing takes place when the 
foreign body is in the nose; coughing, when 
it has entered the windpipe. It is a pity that 
both of these self-protective acts of the body 
have been ostracized by “elegant” and “good” 
manners. 
The lungs are to be of great importance for 
the welfare of the body. They are to purify 
the blood by the respiratory process and also 
extract from the intaken air the available 
oxygen and prepare it for its distribution. As 
the duty of the lung is of supreme importance, 
my Maker wisely placed it in a very safe 
chamber —in the chest which is fortified 
by the ribs and the vertebrae. 
The body of the lung is wrapped carefully 
in a sack and is divided into different 
lobes. The right lung consists of three 
lobes and the left of two, so that each 72 
MY BIRTH 
part is somewhat isolated from the other (a 
protective measure in time of disease). When 
one lobe stops working the other may continue 
pumping without intervention. 
Besides the principal organs of respiration, 
another vital system the vascular blood 
system will have its headquarters in this 
first chest chamber. The heart is its main 
distributing organ. It is interesting to me to 
know that these two vital organs are put to- 
gether in one chamber to be neighbors for 
life. 
The heart did not bud out from the walls of 
the primitive tube like the lungs, but it came 
to be by the union of two separate bags, which 
at one time were located at each side of the 
neural folds. When this human box pleat 
was formed, the two separate heart vesicles 
also met and within a short time united into 
one great organ, which is to pump liquid life 
blood into every living cell of my body. 
With each beat it will announce the presence 
of life within. It will only then stop pumping 
when all the other organs have already given 
up their life work for which they were created, 
and no more require its services. INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL ORGANS 
73 
When I think of the great work this little 
bag is to do for me, I feel ashamed of myself. 
For a time I disliked it intensely. It was so 
large and bulky and seemed so much in the 
way. For the first few weeks the heart was 
right under my chin, bulging almost out of 
my body. However, as soon as its private 
chamber was ready, it withdrew and perma- 
nently located itself where it ought to be. 
Before the final fixation of the heart, the 
blood vessels of the yolk sack joined the two 
primitive blood vessels of the heart, and with 
the gradual shrinking of the yolk sack they 
also were taken inside my body, and established 
the vascular system within me. 
The vascular system consists of a series of 
tubular vessels, which distributes blood to all 
parts of the body and gathers all fluid waste 
and carries it away so that it may be discarded. 
The lymph vascular system collects in its 
little pockets lymph glands all the waste 
within its reach, and through its channels 
finally takes them to the different elimination 
stations. (Any “city garbage collecting de- 
partment” can learn a great deal from this 
tiny but perfect eliminating system.) 74 
MY BIRTH 
I often think of my body as one big perfect 
house with its various systems to make life 
within possible and agreeable. In that case 
the so-called vascular system may be well 
compared with the plumbing of a house. 
By and by, this whole system was divided 
up, and each was given its particular location 
and duty. The arteries which are to carry the 
purified blood received thicker tubings and 
were carefully placed within the deeper tissues, 
where they are comparatively safe from 
dangers from the outer world. 
The veins through which is to run the im- 
pure blood were placed more superficially. 
The walls of these vessels are much thinner. 
Little vessels capillaries were sent every- 
where to the surface to bring nourishment to 
every distant cell and to gather all the waste 
they could find. Also they are to be on patrol 
duty day and night to gather all harmful 
intruders. These little protectors will be as- 
sisted by the lymph vascular system and also 
by the urinary system the kidneys and 
bladder. 
The kidneys were very restless little beings 
at first. The anlage of the kidneys sprang INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL ORGANS 
75 
from the so-called hind gut, way down in my 
body. But they seemed to have from the 
beginning the good intentions of moving up- 
ward until finally their progress was stopped 
by the liver. So that they are now located 
just under the liver, each in a separate fatty 
bag. As the right liver hangs lower, the 
right kidney is placed lower than the left one. 
Sometimes one or both kidneys refuse to 
settle down at the given nook and keep on 
wandering even after birth. They are known 
as wandering kidneys and become very annoy- 
ing to their master. The duty of the kidneys 
is to extract the fluid waste from the blood 
and send it to the bladder, from where it may 
be discarded. They are part of the plumbing 
system of my body. 
The organs of reproduction are to hold and 
assist in the coming of a new life. Their 
anlage appeared in the tissues of the neural 
tube, but they have already started toward 
their final dwelling place in the lower ab- 
dominal cavity. 
When the partitions between the first and 
second chambers were completed, the cells 
of the entoderm went about, making little 76 
MY BIRTH 
beds for each of the soft and delicate digestive 
glands such as the liver, pancreas and spleen. 
It was most interesting to see them come in 
pairs. Each gland developed from two hollow 
buds or outgrowths of the primitive tube. 
When the main body plate folded itself, each 
pair met and fused. Uniting, these remark- 
able glands began to sprout and bloom into 
separate clusters just like the bloom of a 
cauliflower. Each of these compound spongy 
structures are to provide the body with the 
necessary digestive fluids. 
The stomach came to be through the gradual 
enlargement of the primitive gut at the proper 
region. The digestive system will have charge 
of the culinary department of my human 
household. 
The duty of the muscular system is to 
make possible the movements of the various 
parts and organs of the body and control their 
motions. It is very interesting to see how 
these elastic bands that came in bundles can 
contract and expand as commanded by the 
brain. Each muscle is already supplied with one 
or more nerves through which comes the com- 
mand for action. INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL ORGANS 
77 
Tis true that the duties of each system, on 
which the welfare of all the others depends, are 
manifold. Any disturbance in one soon inter- 
feres with the workings of all the others. Yet 
the nervous system may justly be considered 
the master of all. It consists of the brain, 
the spinal cord and the efferent and the affer- 
ent nerve fibers which form a dense network 
of nerve channels all through the body. 
This intricate system holds and liberates all 
forces or energies used in the performance of 
the various duties of life. Each organ in the 
body derives its power of action from the brain 
through the various nerve channels. The 
digestive system, respiratory and vascular 
system, merely contribute elements for the 
production of life-force. 
The great secret of good living is to produce 
just enough force to perform the work at hand. 
Any excess in production is apt to overcharge 
the delicate nerve mechanism, invariably 
causing a premature breakdown of the whole 
system. I am told that the problems that 
face man in your world at the present time 
are such, that often they necessitate the pro- 
duction and liberation of too much energy. 78 
MY BIRTH 
I am happy to learn that under normal con- 
ditions our mechanism will be capable of using 
up automatically some of the excess energy. 
When anger, fright or pleasure overcharge the 
nervous system with unnecessary forces, the 
body performs certain unexplainable and in- 
voluntary physical acts just to burn up the 
unused energies and to reestablish the equi- 
librium of the body. Hence the act of scream- 
ing, crying, laughing, clapping of the hands 
or stamping with the feet. They all are per- 
formed to relieve the delicate nervous system. 
It is very unfortunate that social ethics and 
laws of good manners have restricted the use 
of such involuntary protective physical acts, 
because when they are suppressed, the nervous 
system is in danger of being overcharged and 
may suffer serious consequences. Who can 
deny the harmful effects of suppressed sorrow 
or grief or the relief one feels after a good 
hearty cry or laugh. 
“Good form and etiquette breed nervous 
wrecks. Nervous breakdown is a disease of 
civilization,” says the philosopher. 
Volumes could be filled with the various 
duties of each particular organ of each cell INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL ORGANS 
in my great workshop. I only dare mention 
a few in an effort to impress on you the magni- 
tude of the task of living, and the importance 
and sacredness of the nine months of my 
embryonic life when this remarkable mecha- 
nism is constructed and equipped to live the life 
of its time. CHAPTER IX 
THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE EXTERNAL 
ORGANS AND MODELING OF MY FACE 
It is a very strange coincidence that the face 
to be so beautiful after birth was almost 
offensive looking in the first few weeks of my 
embryonic life. One may almost think that 
even we embryos are painfully conscious of 
the homeliness of our heads, as we bend down- 
ward, almost burying our faces within the 
neighboring parts, until better looking features 
have been formed. 
Look at Figure XIV. lam sure you don’t 
blame that embryo for wanting to hide its 
face. It has lifted its head just to show you 
how its primitive face looked before the model- 
ing of the features. One can hardly compre- 
hend how a beautiful human countenance 
could develop out of apparently nothing. 
The face seems to consist of a large opening 
surrounded by a number of liplike projections. 
At the beginning of the second month, when Fig. XIV. Development of Hand. 
Fig. XV. Embryo showing Modelling of Face. (His.) FURTHER DEVELOPMENT 
81 
looking into that large opening, one could 
see three little clefts, making four archlike 
elevations. These unassuming clefts and pro- 
jections gradually gave birth to a number of 
useful organs; and a great deal of the material 
used in the making of my tongue, teeth and 
the various organs situated in the neck, was 
furnished by these gill-like structures. 
The first step nature took to alter the un- 
gainly mouth was to unite its different lip- 
like projections in such a way that out of 
that one big cavity a number of smaller cavi- 
ties were formed. As you see in Figure XIV, 
projections 5 and 3 as well as 6 and 4 have 
fused, making two little chambers for the 
eyes. Later 1 with 3, 2 with 4 partially united, 
leaving only two small openings for the nostrils. 
Thus the nose and cheeks were formed. The 
external form of the nose was complete by the 
eighth week. 
Also the oral cavities were one with the 
primitive mouth. About the sixth week six 
little buds appeared around the first branchial 
cleft. They too, by fusion and rotation, came 
to form one structure the external ear. 
Figure XVI will show this process. When 82 
MY BIRTH 
the two outer edges of this cleft were united 
there came to be a long tubelike passage, 
connecting the outer opening with the interior 
chamber, where the very delicate hearing 
apparatus was at the same time being installed. 
Then partitions were raised up from the 
surrounding inner embryonic tissues, so that 
the one original passage was divided into three 
parts. The middle portion, the interior oral 
chamber or tympanic cavity, was separated 
from the external passage by a delicate mem- 
brane the future drum. The third portion 
was a narrow passage Eustachian tube 
leading into the larynx. This was perhaps 
to give the sound waves an additional passage 
to reach the organs of hearing. In the main 
tympanic cavity, cells were busy constructing 
the three bones which play a most important 
part in the act of hearing. 
In order to prevent any interference from 
without, while this delicate mechanism is being 
put up, Mother Nature temporarily has closed 
off this chamber. But when lam ready to be 
born, that additional membrane will break, 
so that sound waves from your world can 
reach my drum unhindered. 83 
FURTHER DEVELOPMENT 
Looking over Figure XIV, you might be 
disappointed to find the external ears so much 
out of place, almost under my chin, but with 
the development of the neighboring features 
and with the upward tilting of the whole 
head, they will come to their conventional 
location. I must see that my external ears 
are well placed and proportioned before I am 
born, so that they are not embarrassingly 
suggestive of my certain ancestors, who are 
known by their ears. 
A great deal could be said about the coming 
of the sense of hearing, but you seem to be 
more interested in the development of the 
eyes. ’Tis true they play a remarkable role 
in the life of man. 
The eyes, besides transmitting pictures of 
the outer world to the thought centers in the 
brain, give at all times truthful expressions to 
the thoughts which are formed behind them. 
All the other senses may be taught to lie. 
The eyes ever look the truth, whether they 
be directed to a friend or to a foe. They are 
justly looked upon as the windows of the soul. 
My creator must be very partial to this 
sense too, for the anlage of the eye was the 84 
MY BIRTH 
first one to appear. Soon after the embryonic 
area was formed, two good sized round eleva- 
tions were to be seen on each side of the head. 
When the neural groove closed, it left two 
openings at the proper region, out of which 
came, like a mushroom, the anlage of each eye. 
As the outer covering of the eye-buds in- 
creased in size and thickness, there took place 
an inward folding, invagination, so that the 
bulging tumor was converted into a cup with 
an irregular bottom and double sides. Figure 
XVII. 
Soon the border of the optic cup grew until 
the sides met and created a round chamber in 
which the delicate mechanism of sight was 
gradually installed. The visible portion of 
the eye consists of the white and opaque 
fibrous membrane the sclerotic which sur- 
rounds a transparent horny round plate 
cornea through which will pass to the iris 
the picture of the object seen. The inner 
surface of the iris is covered with some color 
or pigment matter, those which I inherited 
from either of my parents. At first the iris 
was colorless, but since then the inherited color 
granules have come and have painted it. As Fig. XVI. Diagram showing Formation of External Ear. 
(Cunningham.) 
Fig. XVII. Diagram showing Anlage of Eye. FURTHER DEVELOPMENT 
85 
my eyes remain closed until the time of my 
birth, I am not able to state whether they are 
brown or blue. 
Within the inclosed globe two new folds 
came and met, and uniting created that precious 
organ of sight which you call “lens.” This 
is a translucent round body, placed in the 
center of the pupil to collect the rays of an 
object and focus them on a given spot on the 
back wall the retina. 
While all this was happening inwardly, two 
folds appeared externally around the eyes. 
They grew and met, but did not unite, only 
remained closed. I was told that they were 
the eyelids. Their duty shall be to prevent 
the entrance of any foreign matter from with- 
out into the eye. They have already begun 
to fulfill their calling. In order to prevent 
the entrance of fluids about me into the eyes 
under construction, the lids are closed. But 
they have promised to open as soon as I come 
in contact with the outer world. Unlike other 
vertebrates, a child comes to your world with 
its eyes open. 
While my external face was being modeled 
and the different parts were receiving their 86 
MY BIRTH 
conventional form and location, the interior 
of my head was busy putting up partitions, 
dividing the whole into chambers of various 
sizes. 
The main division took place through the 
formation of the roof of the mouth palate. 
The palate formed by the growth and fusion 
of the first two branchial arches which grew 
in a horizontal direction and met, dividing the 
head into two main vesicles, the upper large 
one the brain vesicle, and the lower one 
the mouth. Figure XVIII. 
Also the nasal chamber was separated from 
the mouth and from the oral chamber through 
the formation of the palate, which was at first 
soft, but has already begun to harden. 
I was happy to see this process of union pro- 
ceed uninterrupted. Sometimes this act of 
union is not accomplished. It is difficult to 
say whether it is caused by lack of sufficient 
building material or whether any difficulty 
in the mother’s mechanism causes it. The 
roof remains divided. One speaks of “cleft 
palate,” which is often accompanied by a 
division of the upper lip. This happens when 
the original projections 5 and 6 Figure XIV Fig. XVIII. Diagram showing Formation of Palate. (Prentiss.) 
Fig. XIX. Diagram showing Development of Tongue. 
(Prentiss.) FURTHER DEVELOPMENT 
—do not unite. The unfortunate child is 
then born with a cleft palate as well as with a 
hair lip. 
This is a very unfortunate accident of 
Nature, because these malformations not only 
seriously interfere with the formation of words, 
but also make it extremely difficult for the 
individual to take and swallow nourishment. 
The sense organs are then exposed to all sorts 
of dangers, as their chambers remain open. I 
need not mention its effect on the looks of the 
face. 
I am speaking of these unfortunate possibili- 
ties so that every mother may appreciate 
more a physically perfect child. Also I want 
them to know just how in reality these so-called 
“birthmarks” may happen, so that prospective 
mothers may free their minds from all super- 
stitious stories that often come and mar their 
happiness during the period of approaching 
motherhood. 
Superstitious mothers must be told that the 
infant from the very first day of its being is 
an independent being. The mother only pro- 
vides its temporary dwelling place and supplies 
the necessary nourishment. Heredity and in- 88 
MY BIRTH 
fluences of unknown origin are solely responsible 
for accidental birthmarks and malformations. 
Before the cleft in the palate was closed, 
two interesting folds appeared both on the 
ceiling and floor of the mouth and grew in a 
semicircular form, creating the gums. They 
are already equipped with the anlage of the 
first and second sets of teeth which are to 
appear at different intervals after I am born. 
For the present each tooth anlage hidden 
within the gums is made up of soft tissues, 
but soon bony cells will come and replace 
them. 
As I told you before, the mouth is the be- 
ginning of the digestive tube, but for the 
present a membrane has closed up also this 
passage so that none of the fluids in which I am 
swimming can enter the lower alimentary canal. 
Sometimes they do get into my mouth, but 
they are expelled by such jerky motions of 
my protective mechanism which you call 
“hiccoughs.” Some of my movements which 
seem to disturb my mother at times are the 
result of this act and not always are caused 
by the forceful movements of my legs which 
you call “ kicking.” FURTHER DEVELOPMENT 
89 
The coming and development of my tongue 
is perhaps the most interesting among them. 
The anlage of the tongue is to be found at 
three different places. On Figure XIX they 
are marked 1, 2 and 3. At first the buds 2 
and 3 grew and met. Then 1 stretched itself 
and joined them and brought them forward 
into the mouth. In this way this organ re- 
tained its firm base, but the main body was 
free to move about. In some people, I under- 
stand, it moves too much. In others where it 
should, it does not keep in action long enough. 
Sometimes I am told it happens that the 
anlage 2 and 3 do not unite, but each develops 
independently. The unfortunate being is then 
born with a divided tongue, just like the tongue 
of a rabbit. This characteristic is better suited 
to the life of a rabbit, who leads a silent life; 
but a human being, who has to express himself 
audibly, will be greatly handicapped by such 
an accident. 
Proudly I raised my head and looked about 
me. When I looked down I saw that the 
budlike anlage of my extremities had de- 
veloped into a pair of properly articulated arms 
and legs. At first they looked just like stumps, 90 
MY BIRTH 
with no signs of hands and feet but by the 
end of the second month the hands and feet were 
well formed, even there were to be seen indica- 
tions of fingers. Figure XIV. The fingers 
and toes remained webbed for some time. 
Such was the beginning of the four faithful 
servants of my body. The arms will ever do 
all manual work for me, while the legs shall 
carry me wherever I may wish to go. The 
second month was literally my budding season. 
It was the springtime of my embryonic life. CHAPTER X 
THE DUTIES OF THE BRAIN 
With great joy and satisfaction I began the 
third month of my embryonic life. Up to that 
time all was well with me. The evolutionary 
period of my life was successfully passed. All 
resemblance to primitive forms of animals, 
such as that of the earth-worm and the fish, 
was completely lost by the disappearance of 
the gill-like branchial clefts as well as the tail. 
I was then already the happy owner of all the 
characteristic features of Man. 
My head, though still very large and un- 
gainly, was the center of great activity at 
that time. Therein was being housed a matter 
composed of millions of cells, each in itself 
representing a complete unit to be equipped 
at birth with the forces of life. These cells, 
besides being the energy-producing batteries 
of each and every organ in the body, are to 
hold, regulate and harmonize the functionat- 
ing power of the whole mechanism. 
91 92 
MY BIRTH 
In time of danger, such as may occur by the 
entrance of any unfriendly foreign body, this 
wonder organ the brain will perform the 
duty of an indefatigable protector. No army 
of your world could be as efficient in taking 
up the battle with the invader and fighting 
it to a finish as my nervous system, commanded 
by the brain. 
Furthermore, every act, physical or mental, 
is to be patterned there and executed only 
at the command of this organ. Every word 
spoken, every impression received, will be 
registered there. The negative of all ex- 
periences will be stored in that mass, to be 
used at opportune moments. Again, this great 
unit is to be the hidden chamber of my future 
personality. In short, “I” in my complete- 
ness am to dwell in that wonderful organ 
the brain. 
I simply gasped with wonder when I heard 
of the great things to be done by this unassum- 
ing gray matter which gathered in my head 
vesicle soon after the formation of the head 
anlage. 
At the end of the second month, the three 
different parts of the brain could be distinctly THE DUTIES OF THE BRAIN 
93 
recognized from without. Now the Cortex 
in two lobes occupies the top portion of my 
head. Behind my ears the Cerebellum is 
located, and the Medulla, or the base of this 
wonderful gray matter, connects the brain with 
the spinal cord. 
The spinal cord, unlike the brain tissues, is 
composed of fibrous bands woven together 
into one main cable. These bands of wiry 
nerve trunks come from all parts of the body. 
An equal number go out from this main trunk 
in every direction so that every cell in my 
body has a double channel of communication 
with the master organ the brain. 
The efferent nerve fibers take commands 
from the brain to the designated organ. The 
afferent nerve fibers take messages from the 
distant parts of the body to the brain. Thus 
each organ is to have special centers or head- 
quarters in the brain, which through the 
efferent and afferent nerve channels will re- 
main constantly in touch with the brain, for 
whose existence and protection the brain is 
responsible. This great protective act will be 
done in the following manner. 
The afferent nerve fibers generally carry to 94 
MY BIRTH 
the brain S.O.S. calls in the form of pain. 
For instance, when a foreign matter enters 
the body structure and interferes with its 
function, conscious pain, or unconscious pain 
as during sleep or faint notifies the brain 
of the presence of the intruder. Instantly a 
help call is received at a particular center in 
the brain, where in the twinkling of an eye 
it is decided whether to retain and use this 
foreign matter or to discard it and the 
organ in trouble acts accordingly. 
For instance, if an unfriendly body enters 
the delicate organism of the eye a help call 
is sent to its headquarters in the brain. 
I may mention here that the senses such as 
sight and smelling have a direct nerve com- 
munication with the brain. These organs, as 
I told you before, developed outward from the 
brain. The S.O.S. call of the eye in trouble 
does not therefore pass through the spinal 
cord, but goes directly through the optic 
nerve to the sight centers in the brain. 
If the brain decides to relieve the eye, it 
will proceed to do this in various ways. Firstly, 
the blood supply around the eye will be greatly 
increased, raising the temperature of the zone 95 
THE DUTIES OF THE BRAIN 
in danger; this perhaps for the purpose of 
burning up the intruder, as well as the un- 
friendly elements the bacteria which might 
have come with the speck of dust. 
Secondly, the glands around the eye will be 
ordered to create and discharge a fluid, which 
will either dissolve or wash out the foreign 
body. You say “tears begin to run.” 
Then the muscles of the eye will begin to 
forcefully expand or contract; twitching the 
whole mechanism until the foreign body is 
expelled. As long as pain messages S.O.S. 
calls are sent to the brain, the protective 
act or the battle of defense will be kept up 
until a decisive point is reached. 
Sometimes when this protective system can- 
not effect. the expulsion of the foreign body, 
for the time being the enemy is interned. 
Little epithelial cells come and form a bag 
around the foreign body to prevent its escape 
into other parts of the body. For instance, 
localized pus and sometimes other foreign 
elements are found imprisoned in separate 
bags made of delicate membranes. 
Generally only harmful elements send pain 
messages to the brain. Friendly visitors give 96 
MY BIRTH 
rise to pleasant sensations. For instance, a 
tasty morsel or the sight of a beautiful object 
creates a pleasant pattern in the brain. After 
satisfying the particular sense, the sensation 
is tucked away within the boundaries of mem- 
ory, from where it may be recalled at the 
pleasure of the individual. 
I do not wish to give you the impression 
that when I am born my brain will be thus 
equipped to meet at once all the different 
requirements of the adult life. But when I 
come, I will bring with me this great system 
complete in its physical form. Every brain- 
cell or nerve-cell will be there to be gradually 
connected with the energy-producing centers. 
At birth they will be in semi-slumber, gradu- 
ally to be awakened and stimulated as their 
services are needed. Physical needs, environ- 
ment, experience, schooling, training and edu- 
cation will do this for me. The amount of the 
functionating power of each brain-cell will 
depend on the amount of stimulus received. 
Inspiring environment, useful education, will 
render highly active and productive brain- 
cells. However, over-stimulation caused by 
over-training, over-education, excessive physical THE DUTIES OF THE BRAIN 
97 
or mental work as well as prolonged disease 
will cause the destruction and death of a great 
many brain-cells. 
Unlike other cells of the body, which during 
life increase by self-division, the brain-cells 
cannot reproduce themselves, so that when 
one or more of these life batteries are destroyed 
or disabled no new ones will replace them. In 
other words, no brain-cells are formed after 
birth. 
It frightens me to think of the limitations 
of these life batteries. They may not last 
me into old age or I may use up too many 
before I have adjusted myself to my surround- 
ings and have learned to walk, to talk and 
obey my elders. My heart sinks when I 
think of all the S.O.S. calls that will be sent 
to the brain when the extremities of my parents 
painfully clash with my anatomy. 
I hate to think of the battles my precious 
brain-cells will have to fight with the terrible 
forces of measles, whooping-cough and other 
such visitors of childhood, especially the 
one that has come into prominence in the 
recent years. They call it “Infantile Paraly- 
sis.” It is perhaps, at the present time, a 98 
MY BIRTH 
child’s worst enemy, because it attacks first 
of all the main nerve channel in its defensive 
system the spinal cord and for the time 
being, and often forever, severs all communica- 
tion with the body-police-force the brain. 
The victim becomes not only defenseless but 
also partially paralyzed for life. 
It is a comfort to hear that infancy and 
childhood possess a large reserve corps of brain- 
cells which are not used in everyday life of a 
child, so that when through disease a number 
of brain-cells are exhausted, there are others 
to be stimulated to take up the duties of the 
lost ones. Therefore, a child recuperates more 
easily and in a shorter time from an illness 
than an adult who has already exhausted 
his reserve corps of brain-cells. In him no 
brain-cells will be found to take up the work 
of the ones gone. Thus the adult notices 
more acutely the reduction of energy. 
This idea may somewhat define the process 
of growing old. After a certain age, when the 
reserve corps of brain-cells have all been called 
to active service and a large number have been 
killed when on duty, the budget of energy of that 
individual is reduced, either through overwork, Fig. XX.— Brain Cells at Rest, in Action, Exhausted. (Crile.) THE DUTIES OF THE BRAIN 
99 
worry or disease, which sooner or later cross 
everyone’s path. Finally the day comes when 
the individual has not a sufficient number of 
brain-cells to supply the necessary energy to 
carry on the work of the heart and the lungs. 
They are forced to give up their life work 
death results. 
Sometimes a large number of those life 
batteries are suddenly exhausted. For in- 
stance, during fright. The individual, if the 
incident has not proved fatal, will experience 
intense feeling of fatigue perhaps to a faint- 
ing point, brought forth by the sudden fatigue 
of a large number of brain-cells. Generally a 
period of complete rest only will be the means 
of recharging these cells, otherwise they will 
die and disappear. 
According to Dr. G. W. Crile, a great au- 
thority on the brain-cells, the difference be- 
tween a fatigued and exhausted brain-cell is 
that an exhausted brain-cell whose main struc- 
tures, nucleus and nucleolus, have been torn 
to pieces and destroyed, can never be recalled 
to life. A fatigued brain-cell, still possessing 
its main parts, can regain its former functionat- 
ing power through systematic rest. Figure XX. 100 
MY BIRTH 
Therefore, rest and vacation is not to be 
considered a luxury to be enjoyed by a few 
fortunate ones, but a great necessity for all 
people who lead an active life. If occasional 
periods of rest and regular hours of sleep for 
the purpose of rejuvenating the fatigued energy- 
producing centers are not enjoyed by the in- 
dividual, the budget of energy will soon be 
diminished to such a degree that the individual 
will fall a victim of disease or at least will be 
unable to further lead an active, a useful and a 
happy life. Fig. XXI. Companionship of Twins. (De Lee.) CHAPTER XI 
TWO SECRETS 
Since my arrival at the uterus I have'been 
more or less anxious to find out whether there 
is another occupant here besides myself. A 
twin sister or a twin brother would have pleased 
me very much. At times I did imagine I 
could feel another being leaning against me as 
twins generally do. Figure XXI. 
Even my mother has had similar desires and 
suspicions. I believe she has already inves- 
tigated all popular theories which are supposed 
to reveal this secret to a prospective mother 
long before the time of birth of her infant. 
But, alas, this secret is still hidden from her. 
Now that I am big enough to reach and feel 
all around me, I am convinced that my mother 
will have to be disappointed this time. I 
shall be born alone. 
Unfortunately twins, triplets, quadruplets, 
and quintuplets are not common with human 
beings. Twins occur perhaps once in 90 cases; 102 
MY BIRTH 
triplets once in 8000; quadruplets once in 
800,000; quintuplets once in 41,000,000 births. 
I was not ambitious enough to wish to be one 
in so many millions, but I did wish to bring 
with me one other baby, just for a companion 
to play with. 
I am rather disappointed myself that another 
little ovum did not slip into the same Graafian 
follicle —my outer shell when I was an 
ovum. If this had taken place and both ova 
had been fertilized about the same time, I 
am sure I would have had a twin brother or a 
twin sister to bring with me. 
Sometimes it also happens that a daughter 
cell accompanies the mother cell and they 
are found and fertilized by two spermatozoa 
at the same time. The resulting little ones 
generally look very much alike. Sometimes 
even their own mother finds it difficult to dis- 
tinguish them until they begin to show tem- 
peramental differences. 
It has been said also that sometimes the two 
halves of the one fertilized cell, in the early 
stage of segmentation, separate and develop 
into two separate beings, giving birth to two 
babies, of the same sex two boys or two girls. Fig. XXII. —Twins in the Uterus. (De Lee.) TWO SECRETS 
103 
Twins resulting from different ova generally 
develop in the same chorion Figure XXII 
side by side in sweet companionship still 
not interfering with each other’s separate 
development. It is very unusual that one 
of the twins takes advantage of the temporary 
helplessness of the other and deprives it of 
the necessary nourishment. When this happens, 
of course one of them falls a sacrifice to the 
other. Fortunately such greed is of extreme 
rarity in our “world of the unborn.” 
Another incident which is not very common, 
but unfortunately does happen, in spite of 
the fertilization of an ovum in the normal 
manner, is that the embryonal area may 
divide itself at one or the other end, and in 
that half-divided form may go through the 
process of development. The resulting infant 
then is apt to be a double-headed monster. 
This when only the upper end of the embryonal 
area happens to be divided. When the lower 
end is split the baby will probably have two 
pairs of legs but one head. 
Happy am I that I escaped such an accident. 
It is strange that too many organs are just as 
undesirable as too few. If all goes well with 104 
MY BIRTH 
me to the time of birth, I hope to bring with 
me the conventional number of the various 
organs, each properly shaped and well placed. 
The most interesting secret buried in my 
birth seems to be my future sex. How many, 
many times have I felt my mother’s delightful 
inquisitiveness. I suppose all prospective 
mothers, and their friends as well, do their 
utmost to guess “Is it going to be a boy or 
a girl?” “Which would you prefer?” Many 
similar inquiries have I heard. I see that I 
must answer this question as well, while I 
have undertaken to tell the story of my birth, 
before I am born. 
My sex was revealed to me when I was al- 
ready an embryo. The internal sex organs 
began to develop long before, but the external 
signs came about the third month. 
I am happy to be a boy, because your world 
seems to be revolving around manhood. 
Women are considered to be incidents, no 
matter how important a part they may play 
in the bringing and upkeep of life. 
It is difficult to say just how I happened to 
be a boy. The decision was made apparently 
long before I was I. Some embryologists of 105 
TWO SECRETS 
your world maintain that the sex of a being 
is decided in the first days. Other scientists 
say that this question of sex is decided by 
the experiences of the spermatozoon during its 
maturation. 
Each spermatozoon is said to contain 47 
chromosomes color granules while the 
ovum has 48. As I have told you, during 
maturation half of each cell contents perishes. 
Hence the mature male sexual cell may possess 
either 23 or 24 chromosomes depending on 
which half is retained while the mature 
ovum possesses 24. 
When the ovum is fertilized by a sper- 
matozoon containing 24 chromosomes, the re- 
sulting embryo is said to be a female. If 
the spermatozoon with 23 chromosomes under- 
takes the act of fertilization, the baby will 
have the male sexual characteristics. 
This up-to-date theory, as well as the old 
story of Adam’s rib, gives a female child more 
to start with one more chromosome one 
more rib. Why is it then that when they 
grow up into women and men the former are 
considered to be physically as well as mentally 
inferior to the latter? 106 
MY BIRTH 
According to either theories in the creation 
of living beings, God must have been partial 
to the female sex. He took one rib or one 
chromosome from the male and gave it to the 
female. In other words a girl receives from 
nature a surplus in starting capital. But 
when she becomes a woman she is said to fall 
back, physically and mentally, and henceforth 
she is known as the “weaker sex.” It is evi- 
dent that she loses her birthright somewhere 
and sometime in her development. Why do 
you then blame Nature for her shortcomings? 
If you are a man, and truly believe in the 
inferiority of women, blame man-made forces 
that control her training, education and bring- 
ing up. No other but one of these agents 
cruelly robs the women folks of their apparently 
inherited superiority. According to the science 
of embryology the weaker sex by birth or 
nature is not the female sex but the male 
the result of only 23 male and 24 female chro- 
mosomes, instead of 24 male and 24 female 
chromosomes, which is supposed to give birth 
to a female being. 
When I am born and have become a man I 
shall surely not try to press the point of my TWO SECRETS 
107 
physical superiority. I know that in physical 
endurance no man could measure up favorably 
with his mother. If you do not agree with me, 
ask your family doctor he knows. 
Still somehow I was happy to be a boy, 
measuring already 3i inches in length when I 
was three months old. CHAPTER XII 
HOW MY BODY WAS ADORNED 
Literally speaking, “I had the big head” 
when I began my fourth month. The dis- 
proportionate growth of my brain-chamber 
made the head equal in size to the whole bulk 
of the main body the trunk. But consider- 
ing the number and importance of the organs 
it contained, one can hardly believe it to be 
large enough to hold them all. 
The face part was relatively small, but at 
that time it was the proud possessor of all 
the permanent features of a human being. 
Also the extremities had already separated 
from the body and were well divided up. 
Figure XXIII. 
The hands and feet were well developed. 
Even the fingers and toes, which were at first 
webbed, were by that time normally articulated 
and separated, giving each hand five fingers 
and each foot five toes. Fig. XXIII. Embryo of 11 Weeks, and Fetus of 17 Weeks. HOW MY BODY WAS ADORNED 
109 
Again I was grateful to my Maker for this 
careful division of the hand, so that the con- 
ventional number of five was not overstepped. 
You might think a sixth finger would be quite 
an additional help, but it is not so. The 
supernumerary one generally is not an inde- 
pendent finger like the rest, but a part of one 
usually a mate to the thumb or the little 
finger so that it is greatly in the way. 
Another happy incident, which had already 
taken place by the fourth month, was the com- 
plete disappearance of my tail an embarrass- 
ing heritage from my remote ancestors. But 
at that time all of it was well buried within 
the tissues of that neighborhood. 
Thus when the question of my species was 
irrevocably decided upon, I was given by the 
scientists of your world a new name. Hence- 
forth they called me “Fetus” offspring. If 
I had been consulted on the matter, I am sure 
I would have preferred to retain my former 
name, “Embryo,” which I had grown to like 
because it sounded so “petite” and so loving. 
The new name “fetus” sounds Latin a 
dead language not popular among the people 
of your world, I hear. I don’t understand 110 
MY BIRTH 
why they gave me such a name, when the 
embryologists themselves do not change theirs. 
However, it seems that I have to bear that 
name until the time comes when I am born and 
my parents give me a permanent name. I hope 
that name, which I shall have to bear all 
through life, will be the true product of the 
country I am to call my “country.” It is a 
pity that a great country, like the one to be 
mine, is filled with names founded on stolen 
or borrowed roots from dead countries and gone 
people. It seems to me it is time that there 
should be invented names which stand for 
American liberty and democracy for American 
boys and American girls to live up to. Such 
a one I would wish to bear. 
The latter months of my fetal life shall be 
devoted to my perfection, adjustment and also 
to the adornment of my body. 
Mother Nature seems to take a great deal 
of time to beautify, as well as to provide 
further for the protection of my body. Layers 
and layers of tissues are being built by the 
cells of the Ectoderm to protect the countless 
organs from harm. In fact every structure, 
be it muscle, nerve or bone, has a protective HOW MY BODY WAS ADORNED 
111 
covering of its own. Every organ is in a 
separate bag. Some even like the kidneys 
are placed in chambers well padded with 
fat. Every organ seems to be provided with 
different self-protective agents. Yet, I hear few 
of them go through life without being seriously 
damaged. 
There seems to be a great lesson in the fact 
that at no time during the remarkable construc- 
tion of my body is beauty sacrificed for utility. 
But they are so combined that one never can 
tell for which purpose any one feature is pri- 
marily intended. Think of the skin, the hair 
or nails. They all are for my protection as 
well as for the adornment of my body. 
Since my very beginning the faithful little 
cells of the Ectoderm have been busy forming 
the outer skin composed of many, many layers. 
It gives to the body a rosy and delicate human 
hue, besides protecting it from disease and harm. 
All channels which shall remain in open 
communication with the outer world are being 
lined with “ mucous membrane,” which is also 
to form a pleasing edging to the openings. As 
the color of mucous membrane is a dark red, 
it adds a great deal to the general appearance 112 
MY BIRTH 
of an opening such as the lips. What a for- 
tunate and charming thought of nature! 
The red hue of the protective membrane is 
due to the large number of blood vessels con- 
tained in it. Such a collection of capillaries 
on the cheeks are well acceptable, but on the 
forehead they would be considered as a “ birth- 
mark.” Hence I must see that the painting 
of red is done where it can add to the beauty 
of my external form. 
It is pathetic to think that mothers often 
accuse themselves of such accidental birth- 
marks. For instance, if the red patch caused 
by the misplacement of the capillaries resembles 
in its form and color a strawberry, it is said 
to have formed through the unquenched desire 
of the mother for strawberries during the period 
of expectant motherhood. 
The effect of such a superstition must be 
terrible both on the mother and later on the 
grown-up son or daughter. It is true that a 
mother and child-in-the-being lead a most 
intimate life, but in no way can the emotional 
or mental life of the mother retard, arrest or 
even influence the physical development of 
her infant. HOW MY BODY WAS ADORNED 
113 
For additional protection and charm some 
cells have already formed little solid cylinders 
which are sprouting all over me. With the 
exception of very few areas, these hairs are 
to cover the whole exterior. Some are to 
grow rapidly in length; others are to remain 
short and invisible. 
The hairs, which are to assist the scalp and 
the skull in the protection of that vital and 
delicate organ the brain from dangers that 
arise from excesses in temperature of the at- 
mosphere, began to come by the fifth month. 
I understand they are to keep my brain cool 
in warm countries and comfortably warm in 
cold climates. 
The hairs forming my eyelids and eyelashes, 
besides their esthetic value, are to prevent 
foreign elements from entering the precious 
organs of sight. 
Around each hair cell hair follicle there 
are little groups of cells which are to secrete 
an oily substance to keep the root of each hair 
clean, moist and soft. They are the sweat 
glands. At certain regions where there is 
more hair, they will be more numerous. 
The color of the hair depends on the color 114 
MY BIRTH 
chromosomes, which were the victors in the 
first battle, when the pattern of my future 
life was drawn. I notice that in my case 
chromosomes carrying dark haired tendencies 
were the victors. My scalp is already covered 
with little dark hairs. 
However, there is a little area right over my 
ear which is showing a large number of very 
light hairs, strikingly different from all the 
others. Does this mean that some color 
granules bringing light-haired tendencies sur- 
vived the first battle and were deposited at 
this region to develop with the dark hair 
follicles? Whatever the reason may be, I am 
suspiciously certain that this one spot has not 
received as much pigment or color substance 
as the rest. 
Hence I am to be born with a light patch 
of hair on the one side of my head. The friends 
of my mother will surely call it a “ birth- 
mark.” My parents may not be quite satisfied 
with this part of the great creative work within 
me. 
But it seems to me that such a birthmark is 
not quite as offensive looking as moles on the 
face, which are also due to the misplacement HOW MY BODY WAS ADORNED 
115 
of the original pigmented or colored hair 
follicles. Unfortunately such stray hairs, like 
weeds, grow rapidly and are often accompanied 
by a number of color cells forming a ring 
around such a hair colony. 
It is remarkable that this beautifying feature 
of the human body the hair can be so 
disfiguring if it appears where Nature did not 
intend it to be, and where it is absolutely 
useless. 
Other beautifying as well as useful structures 
which owe their existence to the cells of the 
Ectoderm are the nails. Every finger and every 
toe is supplied with a nail by the fourth month 
to help them in the performance of their great 
work. 
When the fingers were well divided from 
each other some of the cells of Ectodermic 
origin came closer together and formed a 
dense but thin plate at the end of each finger. 
At first they were small, soft and almost in- 
visible, but by the fifth and sixth months 
they had developed into real nails and were 
well protruding over the finger tips. 
Thus the last three months of my fetal life 
are devoted to the completion of the various 116 
MY BIRTH 
organs and especially to the beautifying and 
modeling of my exterior. Mother Nature 
seems to be busy pushing in here, pulling out 
there, adding little beautifying touches every- 
where. 
The growth of some parts was for the time 
being retarded so that others could grow up 
to the required size and establish a pleasing 
proportion among all the members of the 
human body. For instance, my head was 
asked to stop growing after the fifth month 
so that the neck part could have a chance. 
The arms, which about the third month were 
very much longer than the legs, had to wait 
until the legs had grown proportionately. Also 
a little painting was done by Mother Nature. 
But as my eyelids are still closed I am unable 
to say much about the coloring of my eyes, 
which was decided during the great act of 
maturation of each primary cell and later 
in the act of fertilization. It will be interest- 
ing to see just which color granules survived 
the first battle of life. CHAPTER XIII 
THE EVIDENCES OF LIFE BEFORE BIRTH 
Until recently the wiser and more enlight- 
ened men of your world who no longer were 
satisfied with the story of the creation of man 
as told in the first chapters of the Bible thought 
we little fetuses spent most of our precious 
days and equally valuable nights in a con- 
tinuous “dreamless sleep.” 
This is not altogether true. We do some- 
times sleep. But such a period of rest always 
and necessarily follows a longer period of 
physical and often even mental activity. It 
may be true that a vague and an obscure will 
intervenes in the production of all our body 
actions; but it is also a fact that I can already 
differentiate between friendly and unfriendly 
influences and interventions. 
I kick with as much force as I can spare at 
the time when I suspect the presence of an 
unfriendly element about me. When I was 
only 15 or 16 weeks old I could flex and extend 
my head or withdraw my hands and feet when 
117 118 
MY BIRTH 
they were touched. At any time I can change 
the strained position of my body into one more 
comfortable. 
It was the mystery of these early body move- 
ments which disturbed the peace of mind of 
my mother. Fortunately they also aroused 
her curiosity and made her feel more hungry 
for true knowledge regarding my coming. 
These movements, called by you “ Quickening,” 
can be felt, heard and even seen through the 
abdominal wall by every mother, provided 
the wall is not too thick, as it is in the case of 
fat women. 
There is hardly an intense thought or feeling 
crossing the mind and soul of my mother which 
is not felt by me, although they in no way 
do or can interfere with the great work; but 
I am somehow aware of the character of her 
thoughts as well as her actions. 
I try to share her periods of work and rest 
as much as I can, but sometimes it is not 
possible for me to change from one into the 
other as rapidly as she does. Therefore, at 
times my continued activity and movements 
disturb her when she has already gone to sleep. 
Often she is disturbed by my body efforts to THE EVIDENCES OF LIFE BEFORE BIRTH 
119 
obtain a more comfortable position or to escape 
the pressure exerted on me by her overloaded 
intestines. Otherwise we live in perfect har- 
mony and companionship. 
Even the different systems are not inactive 
all during these months. But as soon as they 
were installed, they began to devote just so 
much time of each day for practice and tuning 
up. A great many body motions, especially 
those of my extremities, are performed just 
to practice each muscle for its future particular 
task, whether it be to pull, to stretch or to 
support. 
The respiratory system has begun to do 
mock-movements at regular intervals. The 
respiratory actions can be felt and even heard 
by an attentive observer. This of course is 
not accompanied by the regular inhalation of 
air, but it is performed only to strengthen and 
prepare the mechanism of the diaphragm and 
the chest for the function of future respiration. 
My primitive heart began its great work of 
preparedness soon after the formation of the 
main chambers. Since then fetal pulsation 
may be felt with little difficulty through the 
abdominal wall of my mother. 120 
MY BIRTH 
My nervous system was alertly on the watch 
very early. It would not allow any outside 
force or foreign body to interfere with the 
great creative work within me. As soon 
as the outer openings of the main channels 
the digestive or respiratory tubes—were formed, 
and foreign elements tried to enter my body, 
this remarkable protective mechanism the 
nervous system would somehow effect gently 
or forcefully the expulsion of the intruder. 
, For instance, the fluid about me, called 
Amniotic fluid, seems to possess the great 
desire to pass into my mouth and from there 
to enter the digestive tube. Fortunately my 
self-protective system will not stand for it. 
The nerves of the larynx immediately begin to 
contract and forcefully expand until most of 
the troublesome fluid is thrown off. Such 
“hiccoughing” is of daily occurrence. In fact 
lately I have been hiccoughing a great deal. 
Sometimes it may seem to my mother I hic- 
cough just for the fun of it. 
In the last two months, since the little 
fingers came, I have been very much amused 
by the way they can bend and open. I must 
confess that sometimes I spend happy hours 121 
THE EVIDENCES OF LIFE BEFORE BIRTH 
just sucking them. This is to tune up the 
sense of taste, often at the expense of the 
finger. My right thumb is really swollen. 
I hear mothers dislike to see such a fad among 
us children. Hence I shall try not to put my 
thumb into my mouth the minute I am born, 
like that infant who was seen by Dr. A , an 
eminent obstetrician of recent years. 
All my other senses are also in perfect pre- 
paredness and full of life. If I were to be 
born during the seventh month, my sense of sight 
will surely recognize light from darkness. I 
am sure even then I would turn my face toward 
the light if I were brought in contact with light. 
I know I should make a wry face if a solution 
of quinine were placed on my tongue. You 
will see that very soon after I am born I will 
be able to distinguish cow’s milk from my 
mother’s own milk. Fortunately my whole 
mechanism possesses wonderful powers of adap- 
tation. I can get used to cow’s milk if it has 
to be for the sake and comfort of my mother. 
Don’t you once believe that I shall not 
know the difference between my father and 
the attending doctor. My nose will tell me 
soon who is who. Of course I shall have my 122 
MY BIRTH 
eyes to help me in this matter. But my sense 
of smell, perhaps due to the more frequent 
usage of my remote ancestors, will be more 
advanced and more active at birth than my 
sense of sight. This fact will be demonstrated 
if I be born a month or two before the normal 
time. 
Every cell is already alert and ready to take 
up its work whenever it is given the opportunity. 
Of course it will be a little while, even after 
my birth, before all forces within me are in 
perfect harmony with those I find in your 
world but I am sure you will see when I 
come that I am pretty adequately prepared 
to take up the duties of living as I may find 
them in this twentieth century my time. 
I can think of no one body act that will be 
absolutely new to me. Even my sound ap- 
paratus the larynx and the vocal cords 
I have used to make little sounds. I wonder 
if my mother ever heard me? Some mothers 
have reported having heard their little ones 
murmur, when still tucked away under their 
hearts. 
When I began to communicate with my 
mother, my talking apparatus was not ready THE EVIDENCES OF LIFE BEFORE BIRTH 
123 
to help me in my intercourse. Therefore I 
had to use my extremities, making jerky motions 
until her soul and my soul met in silent com- 
munion. 
Since that glorious day we have needed no 
sounds to hear and understand each other. 
As soon as she closes her eyes, excluding dis- 
tractions from without, I can make her think 
what I wish her to think. In her soul she 
hears me speak, though I am absolutely silent. 
Her thoughts are so different during such 
dreams of motherhood that she is convinced 
that I am the speaker and she the listener. 
Thus this little narrative came to be. CHAPTER XIV 
AN EXPLANATION AND A PLEA 
As the day is approaching when this chapter 
of my life will close, to open the next in a world 
of joys and sorrows, hopes and realities, I 
cannot help but let my mental eyes wander 
to that world which is soon to be mine. Oh, 
how wide is that wide, wide world, yet how 
narrow to them who are bound down to one 
custom, to one idea. Men and women 
they all seem to be slaves of custom, fashion 
and man-made and man-enforced laws. 
As I focus my eyes on your world, I see that 
cities are nothing but gigantic beehives, where 
money is the queen and the countless drones 
are struggling, crushing each other to have a 
glimpse of that irresistible mistress of man. 
Now I can understand why so much thought 
and energy was spent in the fortification of 
my body and mobilization of my self-defensive 
forces. In that gigantic chaos I shall certainly 
124 AN EXPLANATION AND A PLEA 
125 
need all my native tools of self-defense but 
God grant no other. 
Wrongly it has been said that the human 
being is the only animal born without a weapon. 
I may be the most helpless vertebrate at birth, 
but I shall be equipped with a weapon which 
has no equal. I will possess a human voice, 
not one that spells words of a language, but 
one that is inarticulate but more expressive 
and a thousand times more impressive. In 
your parlance you call it “ crying.” 
Who can resist an infant’s prolonged crying, 
especially if delivered with will-power and 
temperament ? 
In my immediate helplessness I shall become 
quite powerful through the effective use of my 
sound apparatus. I am told that an infant 
is safe as long as it can make itself heard. No 
normal being, man or beast, can resist the 
forcefulness and soulfulness of an infant’s cry. 
In fact a child can obtain almost anything he 
wants if he knows how to cry for it. 
I am told that a great many homes are 
ruled more or less by the youngest member 
of the family, who through experience has 
learned to appreciate the power of its own cry- 126 
MY BIRTH 
ing. It takes an average child a few days to 
detect this weapon and become quite efficient in 
its use. In a few weeks a normal infant fully 
masters all the required tunes and modulations. 
Judging from the cry of a three months’ old 
baby it possesses all the varieties of emotions 
and is also conscious of all its physical needs. 
It can tell when it is physically uncomfortable, 
hungry, thirsty, too warm, too cold or when 
suffering from pain. Through volume and 
modulation of its cry, a child may describe 
the character and intensity of its needs. 
Who cannot differentiate between the cry 
of an infant who is suffering from colic and 
the one crying because of the pain caused by 
the sticking of a pin? How different is a 
hungry cry from a sleepy cry! 
In the first few months I shall do one of two 
things. I shall cry when lam not asleep, or I 
shall sleep when I am not crying. In that 
early period of infancy a child is not able to 
remain awake and enjoy the pleasures of your 
world, for it takes all of that time and more 
to adjust and tune its various mechanisms 
and systems to the demands of the new world. 
Therefore it sleeps or leads a negative life. AN EXPLANATION AND A PLEA 
127 
It only wakes up when in need of some assist- 
ance ; hence its crying. 
Unfortunately in the recent years we have 
been misunderstood by most so-called “edu- 
cated” parents. They have mistaken our 
self-defensive crying for an offensive attack 
on them. We have no intentions of spoiling 
the bliss of young domestic happiness. Our 
cry is nothing but a help call. 
One of the reasons, perhaps, why we are 
often misjudged is the fact that in the early 
months of infancy no tears accompany the 
act of crying. The young parent looks at the 
crying infant and says “He is not crying, he 
is just naughty.” It may help us perhaps if 
such parents were told that in the early months 
of infancy the tear glands (purposely) are not 
sufficiently developed to furnish tears for the 
effectiveness of crying. (Otherwise many a 
home would be flooded.) 
It seems to be apparent that our cry has 
lost some of its power over most highly civilized 
people —in fact a terrible fad is sweeping 
over them. Everybody but the grandmother 
preaches to a young mother with a first-born, 
“Let the baby cry out, it is good for its lungs.” 128 
MY BIRTH 
It is surprising how readily an educated 
mother becomes a victim of that modern 
disease called “up-to-date-itis,” which is caused 
by the bacteria of half knowledge and ill- 
advice. These deadly germs gnaw on the 
delicate bands of love that exist between mother 
and child and forever sever the bond of sym- 
pathy between them. 
Mother love comes with the birth of the 
infant, but child love to its mother and father 
must be called into being and must be culti- 
vated by untiring helpfulness and cherished 
by happy companionship (without “don’ts”). 
Otherwise it is exhausted long before the 
young one reaches the age of boyhood and 
girlhood, when love and respect to one’s parents 
are the only safety valves against the evil 
currents of temptation which flood the life of 
every normal man and woman. 
It was only a few days ago when I was given 
an opportunity to find out whether my mother 
belonged to such civilized and far advanced 
people, whose pity is not to be reached by our 
help-calls and pleadings. A neighborly grand- 
mother was calling on her to take counsel and 
to advise in her grandmotherly sweet way. AN EXPLANATION AND A PLEA 
129 
She was anxious to know whether my mother, 
like her two married daughters, who were also 
graduates of distinguished colleges, intended to 
disrespect her baby’s cry and deny it all old- 
fashioned expressions of mother love, or whether 
she would go to the assistance of the little one 
in need regardless of the hour and the day’s 
program. 
Oh, how happy I was to hear my mother 
promise to respond to my call. "I don’t 
want my baby to develop a cry habit,” she 
said; “that is the mother-germ of temper.” 
Still I am afraid from what I hear from the 
spirits of other children who were born before 
me that I shall have to use my weapon my 
voice very often in those advanced days 
when so much of our comfort is sacrificed for 
the sake of “looks and appearances.” 
They tell me that as soon as I am born the 
claws of fashion will take hold of me and will 
bundle me up in blinding snow-white robes of 
various thicknesses, sizes and shapes. I shall 
be tucked away in a narrow shining white 
bed, as tightly as possible, between layers and 
layers of smelly and starchy covers and ribbons. 
There I am expected to stay until next “feed- 130 
MY BIRTH 
ing time.” The length of that uncomfortable 
period shall depend on the notions of the 
attending doctor and nurse, neither truly nor 
seriously interested in the ultimate man, I, 
in the future. 
From two to four hours at a time I shall thus 
be forced to retain the unnatural position 
given to me. Under the circumstances surely 
breathing will be most difficult. With each 
inhalation of air my tender and inexperienced 
lungs will have to lift up all those gowns, rib- 
bons and covers that have been piled on me 
and around me by the cruel and commercial 
fashion and fad. 
Will you blame me then if I cry for help 
and only then fall asleep when I can cry no 
more? I wonder how my lungs are supposed 
to benefit from such a sad and exhausting ex- 
perience ! My mother is right when she says 
that such prolonged crying can develop noth- 
ing but temper (a most undesirable attribute, 
appreciated by no one and justly despised by 
every one in the world). 
Every mother must be held responsible for 
the presence of temper in her child. Surely 
it could not have developed in the peaceful AN EXPLANATION AND A PLEA 
131 
life it led before birth. Perhaps if every 
up-to-date mother could be made to lead the 
life we infants have to live for a few days, 
she would soon see the folly and cruelty of 
her new ideas in regard to the bringing up of 
her infant. 
I wish every mother could spend a day on 
Riverside Drive. She would be surprised to 
see how many white-gowned nurses, wheeling 
white perambulators with snow-white babies 
within, wear dark-colored goggles. This be- 
cause the whiteness all about them is actually 
painful to their eyes ! 
Who dare estimate the extent of the harm 
such glaring whiteness everywhere does to 
the children’s more delicate eyes ! All through 
infancy and childhood the pupils of these 
fashionable children are thus forced to remain 
contracted and the eyelids blinking, in an 
effort to diminish the number of strong light 
rays that radiate from glaring white objects 
everywhere about them. 
I often wonder why we children must be 
deprived of the pleasure that may be derived 
from the beautiful hues of other colors. Give 
us colors; give us sounds and smells; give 132 
MY BIRTH 
us the world as we shall find it when our wings 
have grown. The period of infancy and child- 
hood is the time when all our senses should be 
tuned to the demands of adult life. 
Give us love as it bubbles out from the tender 
mother-heart even if it has to be expressed 
by undue shaking and tossing about of our 
delicate anatomy. Our bones are soft; they 
do not break so easily; but our affections are 
hard they have to be warmed up and soft- 
ened. CHAPTER XV 
MY BIRTH TO YOUR WORLD 
The nine busy months are over. To-morrow 
I am to be born. The short space of time 
between this insignificant to-day and that 
great to-morrow is holding perhaps the most 
memorable event in my coming life —my 
birth to your world. 
To-morrow shall be the day which will re- 
main in the memory of my people to be re- 
membered to their old age either with joy or 
with sorrow and regrets. It is going to be a 
remarkable day, for no event in my life could 
possibly have more consequences than my birth. 
The most remarkable feature of this act is 
the fact that from the moment I am born the 
attitude of all people toward me will com- 
pletely change. To-day, while yet a fetus, 
I am thought to be a mere parasite, living 
on my mother, giving her nothing in return. 
But as soon as I am born I shall be considered 
an independent personality, and because of 
133 134 
MY BIRTH 
my sex, automatically all the rights of citizen- 
ship will be invested on me. I shall not have 
to beg or fight for them in later years. 
Yet to-day I am only a sweet but an un- 
speakable secret. To-morrow my existence and 
my arrival will be heralded among many 
people. To-day good form and good manners 
have barred me from the conversation of all 
well-bred people. To-morrow I shall be the 
only proper and interesting topic of their 
verbal intercourse. To-day only my mother 
takes me seriously and considers me in her 
actions. To-morrow I shall rule every mem- 
ber of her household. I will be the only one 
allowed to be heard and they all will surely 
and gladly obey my call. These and many 
more remarkable changes will be the conse- 
quences of my birth. 
In bare facts this incident consists mainly 
in my changing of temporary dwelling place. 
I leave my home within the body of my mother, 
which nature had prepared for me, and enter 
the home of my parents. Of course such an 
occurrence necessarily affects somewhat my 
mode of living. 
You may wonder just how I am to come to 135 
MY BIRTH TO YOUR WORLD 
your world. My departure and my arrival 
is just as simple as any one’s going and coming 
in your world. When I feel I am ready to 
depart, I order the assembling of my house- 
hold. Soon the outer envelope is dislodged 
and completely separated from the walls of 
the hospitable uterus of my mother. This 
separation of the ovum from the maternal 
tissues is the first notice given to the uterus 
that the fetus is in reality not a part of it- 
self, but a temporary tenant a foreign 
body. As soon as the uterus grasps this idea 
it begins to refuse to harbor it any longer. All 
forces available are then utilized to bring 
about the discharge of the ovum. 
The walls of the uterus begin to contract, 
first gently in ten or fifteen minute intervals. 
(Naturally such forceful contractions cause 
acute pains to the mother.) Gradually the 
contractions become more violent and more 
frequent, until the outer membranes of the 
ovum are unable to withstand the pressure 
exerted on them by the maternal walls. They 
break and the child is expelled. The child’s 
advent may be considerably facilitated by the 
free flow of the “waters” or amniotic fluid. 136 
MY BIRTH 
Soon after the successful birth of the infant 
the rest of its household appears. The after- 
birth consists of the different fetal membranes 
and the placenta. Sometimes it happens that 
only the chorion placenta ruptures, but 
the amniotic bag remains intact, so that the 
little infant is born with a “Caul” “in a 
veil” which is considered to be a sign of 
great luck. This accident is apt to happen 
when the uterine contractions are not strong 
enough to break this part of the shell of the 
ovum. It is unnecessary to state further 
that it is only a mechanical accident and can 
have no significance in the life of that individual. 
Its only attachment to the protective fetal 
membranes the umbilical cord —is then 
severed by the attending physician, who also 
generally assists the new-born baby to take 
in its first breath of air. The air fills its lungs; 
the excess air is discarded through the larynx. 
When the volume of air comes in contact with 
the vocal cords, the baby’s first cry is effected, 
which is usually the first audible expression 
of a new life. 
Under normal conditions this act of being 
born, known as labor, is accomplished in a MY BIRTH TO YOUR WORLD 
137 
few hours’ time. But lam sorry to hear that 
unfortunately normal labors with normal births 
are growing fewer as civilization progresses, 
perhaps due to the present mode of living of 
mothers their form of dress and occupation 
during and prior to the period of motherhood. 
Heredity and disease tend to produce unfavor- 
able conditions, which make our birth very 
difficult and extremely painful to the mother. 
It has been said also that the evolution of the 
head, due to the increased mental capacities 
of the race, has made normal births almost 
impossible. 
Knowing all these unfavorable conditions, 
I must make special effort to make the act of 
my coming as easy for my mother as it is 
possible. Evidently I have very little 
to say in this matter, as I am to be only the 
object of birth the passenger. The duration 
and the character of labor will depend on the 
powers which are to accomplish my transpor- 
tation or expulsion, and also on the conditions 
of the passage the cervix and the inter- 
ference I may encounter. 
Generally one differentiates three periods of 
labor. 138 
MY BIRTH 
In the first period the ovum separates from 
the uterus. 
In the second period the membranes break 
and the infant is delivered. 
In the third period the after-birth is discarded. 
Though I am to be unable to obviate much 
of the pain to be experienced by my mother, 
still at all times I shall endeavor at least not 
to make things more unbearable for her. I 
will try to assist nature whenever the oppor- 
tunity presents itself. For instance, the posi- 
tion of the child during the second stage plays 
an important part in the character of birth. 
Head presentation seems to be most advan- 
tageous. Hence I shall do my best to let my 
big head pass first through the narrow passage. 
The rest, I am told, will easily follow. 
It will be terrible to let a disfiguring in- 
cident take place after all the months of care 
and labor to make my body well proportioned 
and pleasing to look at. When I first meet 
my mother and perhaps also my father, I 
shall like to see them well pleased and well 
gratified for their efforts toward my coming. 
I wonder whether they will approve of my 
sex? I think mother will be pleased to see MY BIRTH TO YOUR WORLD 
139 
me a boy, as all the little garments she has 
so lovingly prepared are adorned with little 
blue ribbons. This is supposed to be the color 
for boys. Why? I shall ask her as soon as 
I can do so. 
Before that to-morrow is at hand I want to 
throw a last look on myself. How happy I 
am to see that the great creative work is com- 
pleted. All the internal and external organs 
are well placed and ready to take up their 
life work. 
The eyelids are now separated I can 
open and close them at will. The protective 
eyelashes and eyebrows are also there, though 
hardly recognizable. A great deal of the un- 
necessary hair has fallen off. It is only there 
where it should be. For instance, the hair 
on my head is several inches long but unfor- 
tunately of various shades. As far as I can 
see at present that light streak of hair is the 
only birthmark lam taking along. Consider- 
ing the great number of more serious types of 
disfigurements I escaped, I shall not complain, 
and hope my people will take a similar view on 
that only birthmark. 
The nostrils and the mouth are open; the 140 
MY BIRTH 
tongue is free and able to move about. I had 
to swallow many mouthfuls of the fluid about 
me just to make the tongue flexible and keep 
it in good practice. I think it is quite able 
now to take up swallowing, and with a little 
patience and practice it will be able to fulfill 
its other equally valuable duty which is 
to assist in the expression of my wants and 
later also of my thoughts. (I hope to have 
some.) 
The ears have moved upward, I am happy 
to say, and are open, so that they will be able 
to transmit to me my mother’s and my father’s 
first loving words. 
My extremities are well formed and the finger 
tips have each a nail to assist in their work. 
In short, I am ready to take up life and to 
battle with its problems as they may present 
themselves. Figure XXIV. 
Hark, orders for my removal have gone out. 
I hurry to close my story. And here ends the 
first chapter of my life and the story of my 
birth. 
Printed in the United States of America, Fig. XXIV. Fetus at Full Term. (Ahlfeld.) ' 1 ''HE following pages contain advertisements of a 
few of the Macmillan books on kindred subjects The Healthy Baby 
THE CARE AND FEEDING 
OF INFANTS 
ROGER H. DENNETT, M.D. 
Instructor in Diseases of Children in the New York Post-Graduate Medical 
School; Assistant Attending Physician to the Babies] Wards in the 
New York Post-Graduate Hospital; Chief of Clinic in the 
Post-Graduate Dispensary for Children; Fellow of 
the New York Academy of Medicine 
Cloth, izmo, si.oo 
This work makes clear to the mother just how to do best the ordinary, 
everyday things that every mother has to do for her child. The author 
believes that there is a definite need for a book which will describe in the 
minutest detail the daily care of the baby. The description or treatment of 
any but the simplest ailments has purposely been left out, because a book of 
this sort which attempts in any way to describe disease does more harm than 
it does good. A well-trained physician or a specialist in children’s diseases 
finds it difficult enough at times to diagnose the different affections, and it 
only confuses the mother or nurse to describe the different diseases to her. 
The chapter on feeding has purposely been cut down, and all complicated 
formulas omitted. Probably more harm has been done than can possibly be 
estimated, by giving to mothers sets of complicated formulas which she tries 
to use herself. In this way the baby’s digestion is often ruined. The 
author here describes the simplest kinds of milk, water, and sugar mixtures, 
and if these do not agree with the baby, he recommends seeking the 
physician’s help. There is no one but can be interested in the numerous 
and valuable suggestions which the book offers; parents and teachers alike 
will find in it a wealth of suggestive matter. 
Dr. Dennett is a well-known physician in New York City and is also a 
writer of reputation, his page in the Woman’s Home Companion called The 
Healthy Baby having made him the friend of mothers throughout the land. 
What he has to say, therefore, on such subjects as appetite, clothing, the 
bath, teeth, milk, the mixing and care of the food, and food for traveling is 
certain to secure wide attention. His book is divided into six parts, consid- 
ering, respectively, Development and the Bodily Functions, Hygiene and 
Treatment, Common Ailments, Care of the Special Organs, Feeding and 
Diet, and Lists. 
“A useful book to young mothers, young fathers, and older people of all 
ages.”—St. Louis Globe-Democrat. 
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 
Publishers 64-66 Fifth Avenue New YorK The Sexual Life of the Child 
Dr. ALBERT MOLL 
Translated from the German by Dr. Eden Paul, with an Introduction by 
Edward L. Thorndike, Professor of Educational Psychology, 
Teachers College, Columbia University 
Cloth, i27tio, 539 PaSes7 index, $1.73 
The translation of this book will be welcomed by men 
and women from many different professions, but alike in 
the need of preparation to guide the sex-life of boys and 
girls and to meet emergencies caused by its corruption by 
weakness within or attack from without. Dr. Moll’s book 
is a vital contribution to the awakening interest in sexual 
life, and an undoubted aid to the practicing physician. 
The Medical Times says: “After reading a great variety 
of trash on the subject of sexual education of the boys and 
girls of this generation, it is a pleasure to have the subject 
taken up in a frank, open, dignified manner by Dr. Moll. 
He leads one through the mazes of the sexual development 
of the child, and so cleverly analyses its real feelings that 
one instinctively feels one’s self well qualified to interpret 
child psychology and to apply the lessons gained there- 
from.” 
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 
Publishers 64-66 Fifth Avenue New York The Care of the Child in Health 
NATHAN OPPENHEIM 
A.B. (Harv.), M.D. (Coll. P. & S., N.Y.) 
Attending Physician to the Children’s Department of Mt, Sinai Hospital 
Dispensary; author of “The Development of the Child” 
and “ The Medical Diseases of Childhood,” 
Cloth, i2tno, $1.25 
“Ought to be read and heeded by every parent.” 
Home Journal. 
“The best and soundest of advice from the standpoint 
of an experienced, scientific physician.” Baltimore Sun. 
“A more useful book, coming from one authorized to 
speak, can hardly be imagined.”—Chicago Tribune. 
“No parents, certainly no mother, should be without 
this treatise.”—The Outlook. 
CHAPTER PAGE 
I. Introductory i 
CONTENTS 
11. The Pregnant Woman 23 
111. The Baby’s Outfit and Nursery 47 
IV. Feeding 70 
V. Bathing '.m 
VI. Sleep 128 
VII. Exercise 146 
VIII. Clothing from the Time of Infancy .... 163 
IX. Habits 180 
X. Relation of Parents to Clothing .... 204 
XI. Education 225 
XII. Defective Children 251 
XIII. Common Diseases 270 
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 
Publishers 64-66 Filth Avenue New York Diseases of Nutrition and Infant Feeding 
JOHN LOVETT MORSE, A.M., M.D. 
Professor of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Visiting Physician at the 
Children’s Hospital, etc., 
and 
FRITZ B. TALBOT, A.8., M.D. 
Instructor in Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Chief of Children’s Medical 
Department, Massachusetts General Hospital, etc. 
Cloth, crown Bvo, 346 pages, index, $2.50 
This important new work is based on the unique meth- 
ods of the Pediatric Department of the Harvard Medical 
School. By these methods the food is fitted to the baby and 
not the baby to the food, while all procedures are presented 
for a definite reason and on a scientific basis. There has, 
up to the present, been no book in English presenting in 
detail the physiology of digestion and metabolism in in- 
fancy— which must form the basis of all scientific and ra- 
tional infant feeding—and none describing in detail how to 
feed babies according to the indications in the individual 
case. The authors first present the scientific facts on 
which each condition is based, and then apply them prac- 
tically and in detail. 
This is a book which medical men in this country have 
long been looking for, in that it now makes available, in 
practical form, the best medical knowledge on this subject. 
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 
Publishers 64-66 Fifth Avenue New York