take a tablespoonful of olive oil, a cup of cream, or a glass of rich
milk fifteen or twenty minutes before meal-time_.

On the other hand, fatty food eaten with the meals prolongs the stay
of food in the stomach and causes an increase in the secretion of
hydrochloric acid. An excess of the acid, as we have just learned, is
favorable to the development of heartburn. Therefore, as a further
precaution against this source of discomfort, it is advisable not to
use a large amount of butter or of salad oil, and to refrain from
fried food, rich desserts, or any other article of diet known to
contain a relatively large amount of fat.

Once it has developed, heartburn will be aggravated by taking cream
or olive oil. The most rational _curative measures_ then consist
in diluting the acid by drinking a couple of glasses of water and in
counteracting (neutralizing) the acid by taking a teaspoonful of
baking soda (bicarbonate of soda) or a tablespoonful of limewater;
and, if necessary, either of these doses may be repeated. Patients
often adopt the very sensible habit of carrying with them a block of
magnesium carbonate, which they nibble whenever the symptom appears.

FLATULENCE.--The distention of stomach and intestines with gas,
technically called flatulence, may be associated with heartburn or
appear independently. The gas arises from the action of bacteria upon
the food. There can be little doubt that flatulence occurs so
regularly during pregnancy because the pressure of the enlarged womb
prevents the contents of the intestine from moving along as rapidly
as they have done previously.

To be relieved from this source of discomfort, it is necessary, in