OUR BABIES.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVI, 15 January 1927, Page 17

OUR BABIES.

(By Hygeia.)

Published under the auspices- of the Royal New Zealand Society for the health of women and children (Plunket Society). SUMMER DIARRHCEA. As a disease affecting babies, summer diarrhoea is a most serious and deadly scourge. In New Zealand it occurs mainly from Christmas to the middle or end of March, the number of deaths depending on the temperature. During a cool summer the number is comparatively low; if the summer is hot the number of deaths may rise very high. Why should summer not be the safest instead of the most dangerous time of year for infants ? The reason is simple. Most babies are fed on liquid food, which is specially liable to ferment m hot weather. Milk becomes infested with germs in other words, goes bad and becomes poisonous, more readily than any other food. The hotter the weather the more tlio germs grow and flourish in milk, and if we are not careful in selecting a milkman, the cleansing of billies and ; U tr S and the place where the milk is Kept. It may go bad in hot weather even before we are ready to use it. Tainted pasteurised milk is even more dangerous than unheated milk which has" gone sour in the ordinary w*iv Therefore we must be even more careful to keep bottled city milk cool and looselv covered (not capped ano sealed from access of air) than we are with ordinary dairyman’s milk.

Babies who die from summer diarrhcea die because they are poisoned mainly by germs contained in tainted milk acting on babies who have not been kept in such a state of first-rate health and condition as will ena^ 1 '; them to resist the attacks of germs. All epidemic diseases, including summer diarrhcea, tend to attack the bodily •••unfit” rather than the ‘"fit;” but babies who are perfectly well may fall \ictims. In warm weather the young ot horses, pigs, dogs, cats, and the rest are almost uniformly healthy, while cab es are the victims of “scouring.” and babies still suffer or die from the same scourge under the name of “summer diarrhcea.” Why? Calves sacrificed because man takes the cow’s milk for himself and feeds the calf out of the bucket. The baby is sacrificed because the mother’s breast is denied to it, and improper food, contaminated with germs, is substituted for the puie. perfect, blood-warm, vital stream diiecu from the proper source. For babies properly prepared humanised milk supplies by far the nearest approach to the mother’s milk, and if kept cool and clean and given accordto the directions issued by the Society there is little risk of trouble. Even 'breast-fed babies may contract the disease, but immediate suitable treatment of such, or those who have been judiciously fed by artificial means, soon brings about complete recovery m the great majority of cases. On the other hand, among babies who have been improperly fed the risk of death is very great indeed, and lasting weak ness and debility is often left, even if the baby does not die. This is a point, which should never be forgotten. Infantile ailments leave lasting ill-effects, even if they are not fatal. We cannot afford to expose our babies to the risk. First-. —We must see that every baby has “the 12 essentials” in his daily life. We. must see that every baby has what every baby needs. The first two pao-es of the societ-vs book, ‘‘l ceding and Care of .Baby,”' should be perfectly familiar to every mother in the land. If the baby who has lived in fresh air who has been naturally fed, trained in regular habits, and lias received all the other essentials for good health chances to get ill. he “throws off the germ as the bow of an ocean liner throws off the spirav—he is pretty well germ-proof.” Second lv. —)We must specially consider the matter of food. Natural feeding is the great preventive. Professor Budin has shown that in Paris, out of 250 deaths of infants occurring in one midsummer week; less than .10 were of breast-fed babies. As we have. said, humanised milk is the best substitute: but in hot weather special precautions are necessary in the preparation and keeping of milk.

MAKING AND KEEPING MILK IN HOT WEATHER. It may be best to bring the baby's milk to the boil, and keep it hot for 10 minutes, instead of only pasteurising it —i.e.. keeping it at a temperature ot 155 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 minutes. Whether boiled or pasteurised the milk must be cooled quickly and at once to well below 60 degrees Fahrenheit 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 the towns it may be impossible to get tap water below 60 degrees Fahrenheit. A.pailful of water left outside in the air all night away from the early morning sun will be quite cold for some hours. Select the shadiest, drauglitiest. cleanest place for the milk safe, and stand the jug of cooled milk in a shallow dish of the coldest water available in the safe. He sure the damp muslin dips into the 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 doubt as to whether the milk has remained below 60 degrees Fahrenheit always rescald what is left of the day's supply in the evening, and again cool quickly, and place in co.ldest place available tor Hie night . Naturally if it is possible to obtain fresh milk twice daily it is best to make the humanised milk morning and (‘veiling. There are various kinds of safes and coolers, details, of which may be obtained if wished from the Blanket nurses or Karitane hospitals, but the simple, easily available methods suffice in the great majority' of cases if carefully carried out. Thirdly.—Extra special care must be taken with regard to cleanliness during hot weather. .Billies, jugs, bottles, and teats must be washed absolutely free 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 makes it difficult to remove. Beware of flies. Keep everything under cover. Remove soiled napkins at once, and coyer. Wash the hands after changing haby, before again handling him or his food. Wash the nipples thoroughly before nursing baby. Fourthly—Be extra careful to ensure regularity of the bowels, and see that baby has freedom of movement in the open air as much as possible. Let him be 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 be overtoil the watch for warning symptoms of trouble, and ready to take prompt measures.