OUR BABIES.

King Country Chronicle, 8 November 1913, Page 6

OUR BABIES.

Published under the auspices of the Society for the Health of Women and Children. "It is wiser to put up a fence at the top of a precipice than to maintain an ambulance at the bottom." EVIL EFFECTS OF EXCESS OF PROTEID IN BaBYS' MILK. In dealing with Gla;o =nd other forma of dried and condensed milk in connection with baby feeding, I. left off. at the point of turning to the injurious effects on the digestive organs and system generally whii:h have been found to accompany the use of sterilised cow's milk, especially when not properly modified in accordance with the needs of the young human being. Twenty years ago the late Professor Budin, of Paris, commenced So advocate the use of pure cow's milk, sterilised by boiling, but otherwise unmodified, for the feeding of infants. This procedure, is extremely simple, and backed by the authoritative name of Budin, soon gained many adherents in the medical profession and the use of pure, sterilised cow's milk spread throughout France, but not without marked attention being d;awn to its injurious effects on the ultimate welfare of the babies. How ever, protests were .in vain. Many years had to elapse before the evils incidental to the feeding of babies with pure cow's milk were clearly demonstrated by the publication of classified records of infants 30 treated. It must be borne in mind that this course of events has been repeated over and over again in the disheartening and humiliating history of the artificial rearing of babies. Ordinary Condensed Milk, dozens of Patent Baby Foods, Peptonised Milk, and Pure Cow's Milk Sterilised have each been hailed during the last 40 yearß as solving the difficult question of "How best to bottle-feed a nursling?" Each preparation in turn has had its run, it* enthusiastic advocates, and the multitude of victims, and each has been ultimately discredited o* rellegated to its proper place, only when time and experience had shown the sacrrifice of life and health incidental to its continued use. There is no reason to to suppose that it will be otherwise with Dried Cow Milk (the panacea of the moment), or with any other form of nutriment which departs widely from Nature's standard (human milk) in composition and fundamental properties. Indeed, a considerable number of the so-called "Baby Foods" which have been patented, during the laHt 15 years have consisted mainly, or almost entirely, of dried milk. But though the medical journals have teemed with references to the injurious consequences observed on the extended use of such preparations, each new competitor coming heralded with new pretensions is virtually aasured of a good sale, especially if it be well "got up" and easy to use. Now let us return to Professor Budin and his confident advocacy of Sterilised Cow's Milk. How did it come to pass that erroneous views gained such wide acceptance? The answer is simple. Budin kept alive the class of babies that* came under his card mor- successfully than most of his contemporaries. This also ia easily explained. 1. Tbe'vaU majority of Budin's babies were suckled by members of a wonderful organisation of trained wet-nurses, and were not artificially fed at al! until they ha.J grown to the stage of being able to cope more or leas successfully with pure sterilised cow's milk. Professor Budin says expressly in "The Nursling," published just before his death: "As regards artificial feed ing from birth, my experience is as yet too limited to warrant any dogmatic etatemenet: as to the most advisable method during the first week of life" As 1 always endeavour to insist on breast-feeediug, my cases are not numerous enough to base any definite opinion upon." 2 Budin centred his attention on keeping down the death rate —that is, sustaining the life of the baby, not ensuring normal growth and development. "HEALTH AND VIGOUR," not mere "existence," should be the goal of every rational system of rearing infants. One may search in vain through the pages of "The Nursling" for any reference to the fate of the baby after leaving Professor Budin's hands—indeed, his remarks are confined for the most part to mere increase in weight of infants while under his immediate care and supervision, noc to evidence of health and fitness then or afterwards. Professor Marfan, of Paris, is today the greatest authority in France on the rearing of infants. The following is a free translation from his great work (of 450 paget*). Jevoted solely to the "Milk - feeding of Babies": — EXTRACTS FROM PROFESSOR A. B. MARPAN'S BOOK. ("Traite de L'Allaitement," page 135.) "From hia first communication in 1892 Budin advanced the idea that young babies (les nouveaux-nes) are capable of digesting pure cow's milk when it is well sterilised. He has renewed his sasertionn more or less formally in his later works. Obviously it Was a statement calculated to attract lively attention. Fancy, what

3, simplification it involved for all doctors charged with directing crechca and dispensaries, or dealing with collections of babior, not iO need in the future to bother themselves with modifying or preparing cown' mill; in any way. beyond mere "isrilising" MA FRAN ON THE FATE OF BUDIN'S BABIES. "The babies (healthy babies) who are fed with sterilised pure cow's milk before th? fourth or fifth month may be divided into three categories :- "1. The first present evident signs of chronic inflammation of the stomach and bowels with emaciation and cachexia, i.e., malnutrition and general bad health characterised by a waxy or sallow complexion, as in cancer or consumption. "2. Others present no apparent anomaly. "3. The greatest number, and particularly thoße who have received pure cow's milk from birth, have an appearance of comparatively good health; but if one examines them closely one finds among them tha following anomalies:— THE STATE OF THE MAJORITY. "There is more or less obstinate constipation—say a motion once a day, sometimes every second day, sometimes only once jn thres days—tho infant expelling with pain a great quantity of firm, pasty matter of very pale colour, almost white, resembling gummastic. From time to time this constipation gives *place to diarrhoea, with liquid yellow stools, spotted with white and green. The diarrhoea is accompanied by vomiting. Very often these infants are ravenous. Nevertheless, their weight increases. sometimeß rapidly, the child becomes fat, and one would be satisfied if one passed unnoticed the fact that the flesh is soft and very pale. "Usually the belly is somewhat protuberant and flabby. The baby Buffers from a special form of infanti e dyspepsia, which it is legitimate toname 'the dyspepsia of pure cow's milk/ because the malady cannot be attibuted to microbes in the milk seeing that it ha; been sterilised. There is apparently a slight inflammation of the stomach and bowels, the large, flabby belly being associated with elongation of the intestine, and an abnormal state of the gastric juice. SKIN DISEASES AND RICKETS. "In addition to the above there is often present prurigo—an itchy affection of the akin —nettle-rash, or eczema. Sometimes these babies have rickets: the 'soft spot' in the head is libale to be late in closing, the cutting of the teeih is usually delayed. "In the majority of cases the baby reaches the eighth or ninth month without showing any symptoms specially calling for notice. Provided this is so, the troubles to which I have referred tend to become less marked, and ne may regard the child as out of danger. But this ia not always so. What I have already described may be succeeded by the typical signs of chronic confirmed inflammation of stomach and bowels. "The above assemblage of ailments is attributable to the composition the of milk of the cow. The proof that this is so ia to be found in the fact that these troubles do not occur—or, in the few cases met with, are present only in a very minor degree—when one give's cow's milk modified in such a way to approximate its composition to thatof woman's milk." In other words, the grave affections described by Professor Marfan may be avoided by using "Humanised Milk." It is the old story. The milk of the cow ia the only proper food for a calf, but it is quite unsuitable for a baby unless carefully and properly modified. I shall have something to say further next i>eke about the effects of pure cow's milk, boiled or otherwise sterilised I mean regarding the effects attributable mainly to proteid being present in gross excess. Finally, on the ground of their being "devitalised,"l shall go on to consider the undesirablenes.9 of all forms of dried or streilised milk as food for nursslings, except where good, fresh cow's milk cannot be procured, or where prescribed, by a doctor, with a special purpose in view.to meet, say, some abnormal condition of the organism present at the time.