If a woman attempted to resist her feminine role, this mental conflict could emerge in a number of symbolic ways—particularly in disorders affecting her reproductive system. According to the textbook, in cases of dysmenorrhea (painful menstruation) “a thorough study of the woman’s attitudes toward femininity is often necessary.” Nausea during early pregnancy—the morning sickness experienced by the vast majority of pregnant patients—“may indicate resentment, ambivalence and inadequacy in women ill-prepared for motherhood.” Just as in the nineteenth century, women were still thought to bring
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