OUR BABIES.

Mataura Ensign, 30 January 1915, Page 3

OUR BABIES.

By Hygeia.

Published under the auspices of the Society for the Health of .Women and Children. “It is wiser to put np a fence at the top of a precipice than to maintain an uubulance at the bottom.” THE NEED OF SOME UNCOOKED FOOD FOR BABIES. Fresh milk, fresh eggs* 1 resh iruir, fresh vegetables, all ’ contain active “leavening'' substances which exercise a most important influence noi 01 ly over tlie digestion and absorption ol food hue also on the nourishing ami growth- of the body by means ol the various food substances alter they have become absorbed into the blood. ihe importance of this fact as bearing upon the feeding of infants can scarcely of* over-estimated. The omission from a baby's food ni fresh vital substances, the absence ol which is liable'to he followed by grave consequences', cannot be regarded as anything hut a -serious- wrong even where the harmful, effects l ;do not go the length of bringing on "actual disease. There are vital substances in fresh foods, •. especially in raw foods, which cannot. be left pub of the daily ration with impunity, either in, the easo of adults or babies. Scurvy is still .'the scourge of Arctic explorers .if their supply of, fresh food, runs. out.- '1 he late of- the Scott Exp edit 'on would have been quite, different hj id there been • a few dogs left on .the ior.u.iyi journey to afford, the men- a small d’iuly allowance of fresh moat.

THE BEST RAW' FOOD FOR •sabi'es. : [.—-MOTHER’'?'' MILF, 1 The-host of all raw foods ior_ babies is mother’s- milk. I emmg as it does warm and full -of bd- direel from the source, it stands pre-eminent holorn all other digestive ar.-<! .inih-itive tomes. This is why every drop oi mother’s milk is. precious -for the. baby, am! 'why partial .suckling should be i-ontniued for at least nine month,-; if possible- whore complete • breast-feeding fails-. An ounce of mother's • milk a day added to the 20oz or doo7. 'or more of prepared milk that a baby/ needs may make all' the •difference in ihe world. A great French am -lority i says : ••.Mother’s milk has lx-! -, called 1 the TMO-ESTIYE of cow’s m.ik. heeiause the presence of even a- small qualntity of human milk in the hah s daily; ft*".- ; facilitates the digesthu and abiso: ;*• -m of the rest.” ■ !1,-L:;’t d’Vs MM. Tins .tarn!-, i- -> fresh breast milk diawu. dir- oakling, and thus is- why the u ■- • ounces -of raw cow’s milk i; ■:O-'■ .-a-irsd on page 29 of the iSociet;. ham ’“I- ix -ding and Care of Baby,’' c .sen where ihe. main supply of fooo -to lie prepared witli the use of liea- however anoderate.

ITT.—RAW WHITE OF K(;(;. This .is another excellent addition to the daily food where artificial feed’ns' of babies has to bo re-sorted to; or v can be given two or three times a week. At first half the raw white of a perfectly fresh hen’s egg (laid at longest not more than a week) may he mixed with the day’s food, and this can he gradually increased until the whole white is taken in the 24 hours. Unless for some special reason-, it is better not.to al'ow more than the whites of three eggs per week to a baby in the first six months of life, as tho use of any larger proportion of albumen would disturb the proper balance of the food constituents. White of egg is specially valuable ami convenient as an adjunct in babyfeeding. because fresh eggs are cheap and readily got in summer, and the .slight increase in the proportion of albumen as compared-with fat is found to be frequently beneficial in hot weather.

'Care should be, taken to clean and scald the -outside of the egg by plunging it into boiling water for a few moments before breaking it. The basin or cup should, of course have been cleansed and scalded, and if the white of egg i.s not mixed at once -with the day’s allowance of milk it - must,- of course, bo kept covered and in a crol place. Some mothers- prefer to add a part of a- teaspoonfnl to each feeder* If this is done, tho .best plan is to thoroughly blend the white of egg with about an equal quantity of boiled water so that it will be no longer too “ropy" to take up and--mix unifonnlv with the milk.

iy.__FR.UTT OR VEGETABLE- JUICE Here tho choice is very wide, as is shown on. page 10 of “Feeding and Care of Baby,’’ to which tho vendor is referred for practical advice, I eh all have more to say on this subject later, but may mention la the meantime that we find potato juice (tlie expressed juice of a good, fresh, raw potato) forms a safe and useful sub■stituto for fruit juice where it is impracticable or too expensive to get fresh; fruit for tlie baby every day. There is ai little raw starch in potato juice but the quantity is not enough to do any harm provided’ the baby does npt receive mopp than two w three teaspoonfnls of tlie juice in, the course of the dav.