OUR BABIES

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXI, 13 January 1928, Page 7

OUR BABIES

IN THE SUNLIGHT By Hygeia. Published, under the ajwspiccs pf ' tfic-' Royal Nbjv • S6ciety" fbr the Health of Wdftlch and Children (Plunket Society). "It is wiser to put up a fence at the top of a precipice than to maintain an ambulance at the bottom." Outing and exposure to sunshine is as necessary for the proper growth., development and health of human, beings throughout infancy and childhood as it is for the young of the rest of the animal kingdom,....Jlor.tunn.tely'. in New. Zea-

land we have abundance of' sunshine, but, in spile of this, few habit* gut as much as is guud for them. I'Voni the end of the firs.l month onwards Ihe baby should In- habituated lu a gradually increasing play of tin! direct rays of Ihe sun on the skin, starting with momentary exposure of hands and forearms, feet and legs, and extending in duo .'course to the upper arms and thighs, ;uiJ 'including iiiter on more or lfes'S of llh isurfeoo of the \lotiy.

SKIN-SENSITWENESS It is no use attempting to give any indication as to the extent of surface to expose, or the Jbest time-allowance. These will vary not only with the age and generai health and strength of the particular baby, but also* with the sensitiveness of his .skin to solar radiation. In babies, even more than in the case of...adults.,..there are. very great differ-

fiices in the sensitiveness of the skin to the direct action of the sun's rays. Inking two normal healthy babies who (up 10, say, three, months of age) have been reared side by side on. precisely the same lines, it might he found Hi at in the course of a mouth the one would bciieJit- by. .duly' graduated exposure of the limbs and 'part of the body up to live or ton minute:; twice a. day/ while ill the case of the other baby undue •reddening; and irritation would'have itidicatca-'-that only a half or even a quarter oi this rate of progress could be tolerated. The safest and best procedure in this, as ill other matters affecting the baby, is to go cautiously and to err on the side of advancing too slowly rather than risk going too quickly. When a normal baby is about a week old he may be taken out intoi the sunshine for a short lime if the weather IS mild and genial. His eyes can be shaded from the glare by turning him on his side in his cot and shading his head, without putting any covering near his face. The leather hood of an ordinary perambulator affords a very unhealthy shelter for the baby. (See "Feeding and Care of Baby," page 72.) Yet many infants live in a' leather-lined perambulator during the greater part of their first year. SUN BATHS

When the temperature of the day is not under about 60 degrees Fahrenheit a hcalMry baby who has been properly reared' should have become accustomed towards the end of the second month to having his arms and legs and part ot the adjacent skin-surface of his body bared to the sun for, say, five or ten minutes before the 10 a.m. feeding, and in the course of another week or two before the 2 p.m. feeding also. lie mother should hold the baby on Jim knee, if possible, so that while he. is being sunrayed she can give him stimulation and passive exercise.by stroking his legs and arms gentlv but firmly, starting at the hands and feet and working systematically towards the trunk, <*o as to drive the" blood in the right direction and thus promote increased activity pi the circulation. As .the baby grows older his legs and arms may be bared to the sunshine for, say, ten minutes or a ouarter of an hour before his 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. feedings. Even longer exposure may prove beneficial on specially favourable' days. If the weather is warm a healthy ban} in his second month may have hi:-, morning bath on the open veranda, where the sunshine can play on his body. Later, when, he can crawl and run about, exposure of the whole body in the open sunlight for from 10 to 15 minutes or more may be allowable.

BEACH PLAY

If baby lives by the seaside, the mother mav safely let him run about on the beach'for'a'time on a warm summers day with lit fie, if any, covering or the body-provided, of course, that he has been reared sensiblv and not coddled and spoiled. Babies habituated to daily exposure of the skin to open air and sunshine do not catch cold easily and do not feel the change* of weather—they become practically 'weather-proof and almost disease-proof; Such children are a ioy to themselves and to everyone connected with them; they radiate happiness, as the sun radiates light, heat, and health. Their circulation will be good, and their feet and hands will glow with warmth even on .cold days. Ut course, if a babv has not been habituated to exposure to sunshine, the mother must proceed very cautiously, accustoming him gradually, little by little, to fuller exposure of the skin surfacft. / A BED TO HIMSELF

To ensure pure air day and night the baby must have a bed to himself. "A babv must never sleep in. bed with Jus mother." Only a few weeks ago there was a case of death through overlying in the North Island. The Coroner at the inquest condemned this foolish and utterly unjustifiable practice, which is still ouite common among careless sell indulgent mothers. "If the cot is kept in the room in winch the parents or other persons sleep, it should be # placed on the side of the room opposite to where the other bed or beds stand, and there should be a current of pure outside air flowing across the room between the cot and the bed, so that the baby may not jebreatbe the air which the other occupants of the room have used up and poisoned." r • , Every mother should make herselt quite familiar with the illustrations and instructions given on pages Go to 69 .ot "Feeding and Care of Baby." If she bears'these in. mind she cannot go tar wrong in the placing of the baby s cot, and the other provisions' for ensuring pure air in the night as well as in the daytime.

SUNLIGHT ESSENTIAL •Parents and nurses should be brought to realise that, during the last five or ten years, a series of highly important and ' very striking investigations have proved conclusively that deficiency ot exposure of the skin surface to direct sunlight is one of the leading causes ot delicacy, debility, and disease. inc first practical discoveries were mainly in the direction of proving that children suffering from various forms of tuberculosis coud lie cured and made strong nnd healthy by gradually . habituating them'to spend some hours every day in the open air, clad with nothing but a ]oin cloth—the othe.r factors ot healthy living (suitable food, adequate, exercise, rest, and sleep) being also provided. Seeing what wonders direct sunlight can do for young children in general, it is becoming more and more apparent thai we have all of us been too sparing nf'sunlujht for babies: practice is proving that they benefit as much as the older children of the family from a more liberal exposure of the skin to direct solar radiation.

"WARNING While it is highly beneficial to the normal babv to be gradually habituated to the moderate exposure of the arms and legs, and later to more or less exposure of part at least of the body to sunlight, parents might to realise that, like other beneficial agencies, the, sun s ravs are liable to do far more harm than good if any attempt is made to proceed quickly, especially if sun baths are begun in hot weather. In this, as in other matters affecting the baby, the- golden rule is to advance slowly and watch results. In some babies the tendencies ot •sclarisation," as in the case of some older children, is to cause irritation and freckling instead of the rich, ruddy brown which may be regarded as r the normal and healthy reaction we aim at inducing. In all cases it is safest and best to expose the limbs and outlying parts of the. body first, and to only resort tr» exposure of the trunk itself later, and for a shorter period. Special care should be exercised with regard to the protection of the head and eyes, especially in hot weather. The best head covering in. summer is a loose white perforated soft linen hat or a similar cap with a brim all round, such as Boys sometimes wear when playing cricket. This keeps the. head reasonably cool, and the brim shades the eyes and the back of the neck, which is a danger point in connection with sunstroke. Dear in mind that the "golden mean" is always best. It is possible to have too much of a good thins, even sunlight. Dr. Saleeby Fays: ''The so-called sun cure sounds simple and fool-proof. Tt is nothing of the sort. Great care should be exercised, beginning with only a few minutes and increasing very gradually."