OUR BABIES

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 205, 24 May 1919, Page 5

OUR BABIES

IB'/ HrcF.u.l Published under the auspices of the Itoyal New Zealand Socicty for tlie liealth of Women and Children. "II is wiser to put up a foiKc at tnn top of a precipice than to maintain an ambulance at the bottom." A MOTHER'S LETTEU. . (Continued.) Last week wo were answering a mother s question regarding the pain aild trouble which frequently accompany the irruption of an infant's teeth. Wc shall repeat the question and contiuuc the answer. QUESTION HI. . Is it possible to relieve Iho pain littlo infants often suHer from through teethinc other than by giving cooling memi'ino and paying special attention to the child s food, etc.? Learned doctors 1 know alhjm sometimes that if infants aro correctly fea tlioy will not suffer, also that tocthins. being a natural process, there should bo no pain. 1 am sure this is wrong, for babies nursed by their mothers often show great discomfort, as also do those fed on humanised milk, and they received cooling medicine and wero treated in as scientilic a manner as babies could be treated. REPLY. Food Not Everything. While we agree that teething, being a natural process, there should be littlo or no paiu, we dissent from the proposition that correct feeding alone will suffice to bring about this happy condition. It In extraordinary that many people cannot see beyond the feeding question when dealing with babies. Nothing can bo narrower than the. outlook of those who imagine (mat the needs of babies can bo met by merely supplying them with the right kind of food. Of almost equal importancn are outihg and sunlight; cool, fresh, flowing air day and night; proper unreßtrictive clothing; a sufficiency of warmth without excess; regular habits, especially in regard to sleeping, feeding, exercising, bathing, movement of bowels, otc., -end, in fact, all those simple but essential requirements which are almost universally attainable, but which the modern mother, unless specially guided, almost always fails to provide in ono direction or another. Make Hay While tho Sun Shines. Almost all the simple ailmentß of babyhood may be regarded as tending to arise from defective food or negicct of any of the factors which coatribute towards perfect health. Most mothers and nurses cannot advance beyond the stage of regarding everything as all right so long as tho baby iB growing and behaving well. Provided this is the case they feel that they can safely cease to trouble about tho nature of the food; they tend # to allow tho baby to lio and indolently imbibe its food (if bottle-fed), and they probably do not bother much about securing adoquate stimulation, exercise, etc. There is no Idea of making hay while tho sun shines —no idea of getting the baby into such splendid form and nutrition when lie is doing well that teething or any other common disturbing factor may find him capable of throwing off the trouble without any interruption of progress. Perfect nutrition, perfect vigour, perfect fitness all round aro the things to aim at in rearing a baby, and in our oxperienco they follow as the night follows, day, under intelligent care and attention.

Seeming Trifles. Of course, there arc numbers of little minor cares and attentions which make all the difference iii keeping a baby comfortable and healthy. Thus in the caso of wind or colic, the picking up •of tho Baby and dispersing the wind by holding him against tho chest and patting the back in tho best way, the application of warmth to the feel, or abdomen, or tho giving of an ounce or more of hot waterany, or several of these, .may bring rest and comlort if attended to judicially at tho proper moment. Or, better still, the onset of colic oan be prevented, by proper attention to all hygienic conditions. Tho omission of a singlo factor may make all tho difference. Take, for" instance, tho temperature of the food. During winter especially little flannel coverings should Do made for the feeding-bottle to ensure throughout the feeding a uniform proper warmth of the food. Nothing is more apt to contribute to wind than cold food. If our correspondent will take the trouble to investigate thoroughly ovcry case in which a baby, nnrsed by his mother or fed on humanised milk, shows <:reat discomfort, we are certain sho will find that one o* more of the essentials for health are completely ncglccted or inadequately tarried out. Tho essentials are practically tho samo for mother and child. We cannot n.uitc understand what our, correspondent means by cooling medicine. If ' drugß~iiro needed they : should be ordered by a doctor." AN APPRECIATION. Tho mother concludes lier letter thus:— "Like many other women, I feel very grateful to the Plunket Socicty, and hope it has come to stay. If only the writings by 'Jlygeia' could be published by the daily papers all over the Dominion T am sure there would be less suffering and fewer deaths amongst infants. I say daily papers, because they reach a groater number of people. Of course, the weeklies do good work, but I am convinced that, if the dailies were to take up the subject they would revolutionise tho work of rearing infants. Women do not know they aro ignorant; therein lies the trouble. They havo seen babies fed ou certain foods grow fat and healthy-looking, and naturally concludcd that that was as (rood a way to feed them as any other. What is wantied is some way of reaching every woman in (lie Dominion, hud I cannot see any better way of doing so than through the daily papers. Once women come to see that certain methods ■ are injurious to tlicir babies they'll soon look for something better. Very few nurses-even hospital nurses—can tell us. how to malm humanised milk—in fact, they seem to shirk it. as far as I can .see. If they would do their duly in this respect and impart their knowledge (o every mother they nurse, things would c .oon begin to mend, and fewer deaths from improper feeding would occur." Memo by "Hygeia." We arc pleased to meet with still another reader of our column who appreciates the work of the socicty. Needless to say. we entirely . agree with our correspondent when she speaks of the far-reach-ing honefit which would accrue to the Dominion' if all our nurses—not only the Plttnket nurses—were practically trained in tho needs of babyhood. We should, however, wish them to do much more than merely demonstrate the preparation arid use of humanisod milk. They should carry with them into the homes they visit such a keen, practical knowledge of all tho essentials for health that whether their work lies among the adult sick or among healthy babies their first, instinct would be to place the entiro household under the most favourable hygienic conditions. Then, iudeed. would they be bringers of health, and their influcnco for good would be incalculable.