OUR BABIES

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3065, 28 April 1917, Page 15

OUR BABIES

fB? HYGEU.I

■ Published under tho auspices of the Royal New Zealand Society for the • Health of Women and Children. "It is wiser to put up a fenco at tho top of a precipice than to maintain an ambulance at th© bottom." ABOUT LIME WATER,. Question: Why is lime water used in preparing humanised milk, seeing that thero is no limo water in human milk? Answer: Though there is no lime water in human milk, lime salts are pwsent. Cow's milk is, slightly acid, whereas mother's milk is practically neutral. By adding lime water in tho proportion of loz. to tho pint we reduce the acidity. Question: If lessening the acidity of cow's milk is tho only object aimed at when lime water is added, could this not bo more simply brought about by means of a pinch of baking soda? Answer: Nothing is. more effectivo for counteracting acidity than baking soda, and. this is sometimes added to milk instead of lime water; however, lime water doe 3 much more than merely lessen the ncidity. It Tenders • the milk ■ slightly viscous or gelatinous, and this tends to make the curd, formed in the baby's stomach, much softer and more delicate. Soda is not nearly to efficacious in this respect; further, tho continued use of soda, even in very small quantity, always interferes more or less with digestion. Question: Is there any harm in the use of limo water? Answer: The addition of lime water to cow's milk for babies is beneficial, not harmful, provided that tho proportion added does not exceed about loz. to the pint. Sometimes soz. or mora to tho pint are given to check diarrhoea; but if such a mixture were continued it would tend to produce constipation and to interfere with digestion. Question: Can lime water be made at home, or must it be bought, ready made? Answor: Limo water can easily be prepared in tho home, as Bhown by tho following extract from the society's book, "Feeding nnd Care of Baby":Thoroughly stir'a heaped teaspoonful of : freshly-slaked lime (i.e., burned limestone, to which sufficient water hasboch added to causo it te become hot, swell iip, 'and then . crumble into fine powder) into Jgal. of boiled water; cover to keep out falling particles. After 12 hours, pour off tho water and throw it away, as it : contains any impurities present. A thick cream of limo will lemaia at the bottom' of tho vessel, Again add $gal. of boiled water;stir for three minutes, • and allow it to stand, covered as before, for 12 hours. Tho clear fluid is lime water, and should bo caTefully pouTed off and bottled for future use It will keep if the bottles aro filled and well cork- ' ed. Green glass-stoppered bottles aro best, but thoroughly-cleai>6ed small beer bottles will do if filled, and corked with sound, well-cleansed corks, which havo been scalded just before use: Lime water deteriorates ill the presence of air; therefore tho bottles should not bo larger than pints, and the one in use should always be well corked immediately after pouring out. Further, it is a good plan- to lie limo water bottles on their aider to mako sure that air is' exclndod and tho corks are kept swelled. The exact quantity of lime ia not important, provided sufficient is used, because water will dissolve' only a certain proportion. Question: I havo heard it said that tho proper way to use lime water is to add what, is needed to tho baby's bottle just before each feeding. Is. this right? Answer: Yes, it would bo qui to right if you prepared each feed sparately just beforo.use; but a much simpler and more convenient way is to prepare a' supply of humanised milk for the 21. hours, adding tho lime water to the other ingredients before heating tlie mixture up to ]55deg. Fahr., which is needed for killing the microbes which aro found moro or less abundantly in all ordinary fluids. Question: But seoing that limo water is made with boiled, water, is it not free from germs? . Answer: Not if it-'has been kept for more than a fow_ days. If the purost, clearest artesian water bo kept standing for any length of timo • in a water bottle it may contain a considerable number of germs; and so it is with limo water. The germs present in such cases would be so comparatively fow that no harm would result from the baby swallowing them;, but if loz. of lime water were stirred into a piut of milk, and the precaution was not taken to heat the mixture to at least 155decr. ■ Fahr., and then coolit down rapidly, a million germs miprht have developed from a mere half-dozen present i.'i the lime water.,' Lord Lister said he never came across a germ which would not flourish nnd run riot in milk. , Question: But L have been told that if- milk- to which lime water has been added be heated, tho limo Incomes insoluble nnd turns into n fine powder,, which may accumulate in the baby's stomach or bowels. Is thero any truth in this? ' Answer:' Nrine whatever. Even if some of the lime did turn to an insoluble powder, the powdor would be quite harmless,' nnd would pass through the baby like any other inert matorial. However, tho fact is that the quantity of lime nresent in lime water is ihfinitosimally small.. The quantity of limo water uaedin making a day's supply of humanised milk for the ordinary baby is 13oz. This contains less than a single grain of lime. Question: To there no 'circumstance whatever in which it would be inadvisable to hoi' a baby's milk, after' adding liino water? Answer: In the fi-rst place, I may say a baby's . milk should liever bo boiled unless there is some special reason for doing so temporarily, as in tlie case of doubtful milk and hot weather. Ordinarily tho heating should not bo carried beyond 155dcg. Fahr. , . ' . Secondly, so far as tho limp water is concerned, the boiling of humanised milk does no harm; but boiling would be Bomowhat prejudicial if from five to ten times the proportion of lime water were present. The lato Pro- ! feasor Rotch, of Harvard University, specially pointed out that if a large proportion of lime water is added to milk boiling causes tho mixture to becomo somewhat brownish, and there' is a verv pronounced chango in the taste. Hence it is that if a doctor prescribes for a baby, say, one part of lime water to two or three parts of boiled milk he would naturally give the, instruction to add tho lime water at each feeding, and not to boil it with the milk.