HEALTEC HINTS.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXVII, Issue 72, 24 March 1906, Page 10

HEALTEC HINTS.

THE FEEDING OF INFANTS

The mother's, breasbfc" isr"""the* "best;! source of food" supply imr the. nourish-J----trrent of the infant.-Tt is~_is(> the 'best* from the mothers point of view-. In? the first place, anything which con- \ duces to the health and well-being .of the ohild tends to make at sleep peace-; ably during the greater pa_rt of the day; and night for the 'first six months, and: the mother has less active "nursing" ■ to do, whereas anything which is i against the child, -and especially any~thing which, is injurious to its digestion, causes much, fretting and even; crying, and leads the mother to spend much of her time night and day trying to sooth the pierping voice, of the \ child, "with no language but a cry'" to indicate it is in pain or discomfort, hut just how much or where the discomfort is can only be surmised. To a mother at all sensitive and , hiotherly, the difference -between a. ohild healthy and placid and one fretful and crying is like the contrast associated with Paradise and Hades. We do not by this wish to suggest that all babies nursed on their mother., milk are healthy and _ll others-a ro unhealthy, but the chances of even a careless mother upsetting her child by her milk are small compared with the risks of even a careful mother who feeds her child artificially, and the risks of careless artificial feeding are enormous, and the source of a vast proportion of infant mortality. The discomfort, -however, may be so severe as to lead the mother to give up "nursing." When for any reason it is found impossible to. feed .the . child . with its mother's milk, the question of a proper substitute arises. Milk of-the coav is the only form of -milk which can be. readily obtained, and although asse.' milk has points in its favour,, it cannot in practice be used as a substitute. Now cow's milk contains about three times, as much casein (the substance thrown down by curdling into a white clot) a? is present in human milk, and this could readily be rectified-by diluting it but for the fact that cow's milk contains only the same- amount of -"alas the mother's milk, and if it is. diluted with two parts of water the fat -will be greatly deficient in amount. Cow's milk is also deficient in sugar, and it will be more strikingly so if diluted. Sugar can, however', be readily 'added. It is preferably milk sugar, but most; children have to be. content with the less, expensive,-iL less suitable, cane or beet sugar in common use in the household.

The source of serious difficulty is the making the casein of cow's milk readily acted on by the digestive juices of the child's stomach. This is- in part, at least, owing to the fact "that file casein of cow's milk curdles in large pieces, whereas the stomach is fitted to act on curd in fine flakes. The dilution of the milk helps to reduce the size of the casein in masses, but it is not enough to render them quite readily acted upon, and it will be. necessary to keep the motions of the artificially-fed child under constant observation to detect the presence of masses of curd. The3e white masses show that the child is not obtaining the nutriment it should from the milk, and they are apt to iritate the intestines and set up a catarrhal condition highly injurious to the health- of the child, and tending to induce diarrhoea on the slightest provocation.

The young infant will have a much better chance if it can be fed, even- for the first- few weeks, of -its on, mother's milk, but failing this it should have one tablespoonfui of milk, with a teaspooniul- of cream and one - table. apoonful of warm water, with a tablespooniul of barley vvater. These spoonfuls should not be heaped, at first. _nd the food should be made slightly sweet with sugar, df curd is .ftbserved with motion a littlft less milk should'be given. No more food than the _bove should be prepared at one time for the child, and a fresh supply should be prepared every two hours. Ft will be. well-to boil the milk as it. arrives, in the house-—it will only need a quarter of a pint for the first few -weeks—and then it should be kept cool till aibout to be used, and the hot water added to the milk will make it pleasantly warm.—Exchange.