Besides being responsible for many cases of backache, high heels add
greatly to the danger of tripping and falling; for this reason alone
they should not be worn. Improper foot-gear and not the joints
themselves deserve the blame for weak ankles. To prevent "turning the
ankle," it is not necessary to restrict oneself to high shoes, but
merely to see that the shoes that are worn have low heels and broad
soles. Such shoes provide a sure, firm footing, and this the
prospective mother particularly needs.

CORSETS.--No question connected with women's dress has provoked so
much discussion as the use of corsets. "Are corsets necessary to
health?" has been differently answered by those who would appear to
be equally competent authorities. In the time of our savage ancestors
we may safely conclude that they were not used; and, therefore, it is
really a question as to whether their continued use for generation
after generation has finally made some support of this kind
indispensable to the average woman. While that matter has not as yet
been settled, it is obvious that custom is really responsible for the
conviction of many women that they appear slovenly without corsets.
On the other hand, not a few women, unmindful of fashion, never wear
them; they testify that they are healthier for doing so. Whether this
be true or not, no one can honestly believe that corsets will soon be
banished; and the practical problem is to distinguish between those
that may do good and those certain to do harm.

During pregnancy the abdomen tends to fall forward and slightly
downward, and though it is in pregnancies after the first that this
tendency is most marked, every prospective mother will be more
comfortable if she wears some sort of support to counteract what