OUR BABIES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22708, 22 October 1935, Page 3

OUR BABIES

By Hyoeia.

Published under the auspices of th« Royal New Zetland Society for tlie Health of Women and Children (Plunket Society). "It ii wiser to put up a fence of the top of a precipice than to maintain an ambulance at the bottom ." RESTORING THE FAILING MILK SUPPLY. Restoring the failing milk supply is not a difficult or worrying task needing expensive requisites and perfect technique. It is a simple matter, really needing nothing beyond what the average home can provide and needing treatment which any mother can carry out. The mam essentials are ; 1. That the mother should be keen to feed her own baby, and confident of her ability to do so. 2. That she should have no undue worry or anxiety and not too much work. A happy, healthy, and loving mother who is determined to ensure a proper supply of the omy perfect food for her baby will most certainly be able to do so. 3. That the mother thoroughly and consistently carries out the routine treatment. (A week or ten days spent at a mothercraft cottage is invaluable in that the routine treatment for the restoration of the milk is commenced, and the mother becomes accustomed to the simple daily routine, which she can then so easily carry out in her own home.) The main points in the treatment arc : Regular stimulation by thorough emptying of the breasts at three or four-hourly intervals. Baby should obtain all lie can without prolonged ineffectual suckling. Any further milk should then be expressed by band. Tbe mother can quite quickly learn to empty her breasts by expressing the milk. THE METHOD IN BRIEF. Cleanse the hands and nails with soap, water, and a nail brush; then cleanse the nipples, and dry thoroughly. A clean glass may he used to receive the milk. Grasp the breast between the thumb (above) and the fingers (below), the thumb and first finger being placed .just outside the margin of the dark circle round the nipple. Press and squeeze the areola (or darker circular area round the nipple) with a firm but gentle followup action, converging on the base of the nipple. This pressure, ending with a slight pull behind the base of the nipple, coaxes out the milk. The milk obtained should be kept cool and covered, and given to baby as part of his next complementary feed.

To increase the blood supply to the breasts and so stimulate the milk secretion, breast stimulation, followed by hand massage, should be done twice daily, preferably immediately after the 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. feedings. For the stimulation two largo basins with a sponge cloth in each are required—one basin with water as hot as can be borne and the other with cold -water. Each breast is bathed alternately with hot and then with cold water for five minutes, finishing with the cold. Dry thoroughly with brisk friction, rubbing from the outer part towards the nipples. The breasts are then massaged, the direction being always from without towards the nipple, and particularly from -the underarm forwards.

The diet should be plain and wholesome, with plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables, whole-meal bread, butter, and a certain amount of meat, fish, and eggs.

Ample extra fluid must be taken — about six to eight glasses daily. Make a habit of taking a glass of w-ater (hot or cold) first thing in the morning, last thing at night, and at every baby feeding time. Avoid eating over-rich foods, twicecooked or fried foods, also too much cuke and sw-eets. Keep to regular meal times; three meals a day are sufficient.

Daily exercise and sensory stimulation should form part of the day’s routine—a cool or cold bath in the morning, followed by brisk friction with a good, rough towel, and a brisk walk in the open air for 20 minutes or half an hour. As much time as possible should be spent out of doors, and wherever possible expose the breasts to the sun’s rays for five to 15 minutes.

Daily evacuation of the bowels is essential, and will follow naturally ’-f the routine for health is carried out. It is absolutely necessary that the mother should enjoy seven to eight hours of undisturbed sleep at night, which she finds ouite possible when both she and babv have settled into a regular routine of life. A rest period with the feet elevated should be part of the day’s routine. This is best taken after the midday meal.

Does the carrying out of this treatment seem to be a great burden and hardly worth while ? Not if one realises that ‘in every work the beginning is the most important, and also that “ motherhood is a high and noble calling, at once a high art and a great science, calling for deep insight, subtle reasoning, warmheartedness, and patient endeavour.