OUR BABIES.

Gisborne Times, Volume LXXIII, Issue 11533, 9 January 1932, Page 11

OUR BABIES.

By Hygeia. Published under the auspices of tho Royal New Zealand Society for the Health of Women and Children (Plunket Society). “It is wiser to put up a fenco at tho top of a precipice than to maintain an ambulance at tho bottom.” SUMMER DIARRHOEA. What can we do to prevent summer diarrhoea ? First—We must sec that every baby has “the 12 essentials” iu his daily life. We must see that every balry has what every baby needs. The first two pages of the Society’s book. “Feeding and Care of Baby”, should be perfectly familiar to every mother in the land. If the baby wTio has lived in fresh air, been naturally fed, trained in regular habits, and has received all the other essentials tor good health chances to got ill, he “throws off the germs as the bow of an ocean liner throws oif the spray’’—he is pretty well germ-proof. Secondly—We must specially consider the rnattqr of food. Natural feeding is the great preventive. Professor Budin has shown that in Paris, out of 200 deaths of infants occurring in one midsummer week, less than 30 were of breast-fed babies. As we have said, humanised milk is the host substitute; but in hot weather special precautions are necessary in the preparation and keeping of milk.

MAKING AND KEEPING MILK IN HOI’ WEATHER.

Instead or pasteurising baby’s milk bring it up to the boil, and kqep .it about that temperature for five minutes.

Whether boiled or pasteurised, the milk must he cooled quickly and at once to well below COdeg. Fahr., if possible. Germs multiply with extreme rapidity in.warm milk. Cover the jug loosely with damp butter muslin, and stand in running or frequently changed,, cold water. (Needless to say, if ice is available, the problem is solved.) In the country a running stream or artesian well may be handy, but in tlio towns it may bo impossible to get tap water below COdeg. Fahr. A pailful of water left outside in the air all night qway from the early morning sun will Ik quite cold for some hours. Select the shadiest, draughtiest, cleanest place for the milk safe, and stand the jug of cooled milk in the safe in a shallow disli of the coldest water available.. Be. sure the damp muslin dips intq tho water all round, so that it will keep damp and so cool by evaporation. This method always ensures some cooling, especially in hot, dry weather. When there is any dpuht as to whether tho milk has remained be’ow 60deg. Fahr, always rcscald what is left, of the day’s supply in the evoning f aud again cool quickly, and placoin the coldest plaeo availab'e for tho night. Naturally, if it Is possible to obtain, fresh milk twice daily, it is bcs.t to make the humanised milk morning and evening. There are various , kinds of safe.s and coolers, details of which-may bo obtained from the Plunket nurses or Karitane hospitals, but the simple, easily available methods suffice in the great majority of cases if carefully carried out,.

Thirdly.—Extra special caro musts bp taken with regard to c’eanliness during hot weather. Billies, jugs, bottles,' and‘teats’ must be washed absolutely freo of all traces of stale milk. An almost invisible amount of stale milk may render a whole day’s supply of fresh milk poisonous. Vessels which have contained milk should always be washed in cold water first, .and then in hot water and soap. Hot water “sets” the milk on the utensil, and makos it difficult to remove.

BEWARE OF FLIES. KEEP EVERYTHING UNDER, COVER

Remove soiled napkins at once, and cover. "Wash the hands after changing baby before again handling him or his food. Wash the hippies thoroughly before nursing baby. Fourthly.—Be extra careful to ensure regularity of tho bowels; and see that baby has freedom, of movement in tlie open air as much as possible. Let him he out of doors practically all day, and all night, too, if it can be arranged, but avoid overheating him. Lastly.—Do not worry about baby, but bo on tho watch for warning symptoms of trouble, and ready to take prompt measuresWEANING. If possible do not wean baby during tho hot season, especially if the weathqr is very hot.' If weaning cannot he avoided it should bo done gradually, with great care in the preparation and diluting of the artificial food, which should be' humanised milk, made and graded according to tho directions in “Feeding and Care of Baby” or tho instructions of the 1 Plunket nurses. Even one breast feed a day during tho hottest weather is bettor than none, delaying complete weaning until cooler days come. INDIGESTION. Indigestion, due to overfeeding or to unsuitable food or irregular feeding, is the main predisposing cause of ’ diarrhoea; therefore mothers should bo eternally vigilant, especially during summer. They should be perfectly regular, and should give the children notlung unsuitable or likely to disagree. Unfortunately, it is just during the summer holiday months—the warmest time of the year—that the feeding of both babies and older children tends to become irregular and unsuitable. When travelling or away from home the usual routine is broken, often with disastrous results. Many a child makes no progress during January or February for this reason. The disordered digestion and lowered resistance leave him easy prey to any infection —ripo for au attack of diarrhoea- He may not die, ho may com-

pletely recover, but at least hi 3 progress will be checked, perhaps., for months, and there is grave risk of lifelong damage. Some hints on food for children when travelling will be given in these columns in a week or two. When away from homo make every effort to secure good pure milk. Always boil it before use for the first few days, and continue to do so if there is any doubt as to tho freshness of the supply- Spare no pains to keep all feeding utensils scrupulously clean. For the older children beware of “pieces” of unsuitable food —cakes, sweets, bananas, and other unripe of over-ripe fruit, etc. Next week we shall go into the simple treatment of a threatened attack of diarrhoea.