OUR BABIES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2934, 8 June 1910, Page 86

OUR BABIES.

Br Higkia.

Published under the auspices of Sha 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.”

THE LETTER FROM HAWEA. As some of our readers may have missed last week's artiole, in which we .gave the text of Question 111, we shall repeat it now: Question 111. Is it possible to relieve the pain little infants often suffer from through teething otiher than by giving cooling medicine and paying special attention to the child's food," etc? Learned doctors I know affirm sometimes- that if infants are correctly fed they will not suffer, also that teething, being a natural process, there should "be no pain. I am sure this is wrong, for babies nursed by their mothers often show great discomfort, as also do those fed on humanised milk, and they received cooling medicine and were 'treated in as scientific a manner as babies could be treated. Reply (Continued). We are inclined to agree with the " learned doctors" who affirm that " teething, being a natural process, there should be no pain." In support of this we quote the following from " Our Teeth: How Built Up, How Destroyed, How Preserved," by Dr R. D. Pedley, dental surgeon, Evelina Children's Hospital, London, and Dr Frank Harrison, lecturer on dental surgery, Sheffield University, 1908: The whole process of teething is normally a physiological or natural one, and should be accomplished without the manifestations of oonstitutiorAl disturbance, beyond fretfulness on the part of the child, with slight swelling of the gums and an increased flow of saliva. If any reflex irritation occurs during- absorption and the escape of the tooth, it is reduced to a minimum from the fact that the teeth' are cut in groups with intervals of rest between, instead of all coming through about the same time. This arrangement is decidedly in favour of the child. FOOD NOT EVERYTHING While we agree that teething, being a natural process, there should be little or no pain, we dissent from the proposition that correct feeding alone will suffice to bring about this hapny condition. It is extraordinary, that many people cannot see beyond the feeding question when dealing with babies. Nothing can be narrower than the outlook of those who imagine that the needs of babies can be met by merely supplying them with the right kind of food. Of almost equal importance are outing and sunlight; cool, fresh, flowing air day and night; proper unre6trictive clothing ; a sufficiency of warmth without excess; regular habits, especially in regard to sleeping, feeding, exercising, bathing, movement of bowels, etc., and, in fact, all those simple but essential requirements which are almost universally attainable, but which the modern mother, unless fjpecially guided, almost always fails to provide in one direction or another. MAKE HAY WHILE THE SUN SHINES. Almost all the simple ailments' of babyhood may be regarded as -/ending to arise from defective food or neglect of ANY of the factors which contribute towards perfect health. Most mothers and nurses cannot advance beyond the stage of regarding everything as all right so long as the baby is growing and behaving well. Provided this is the case they feel that <tihey c*.n safely- cease to trouble about the nature of the food; they tend to allow the baby to lie and indolently imbibe its food (if bottle-fed), and they probably do not bother much about securing adequate stimulation, exercise, etc There is no idea of making hay while tne sun shinesno idea of getting the baby imtj> such splendid form and nutrition when he is doing well" that teething or any other common disturbing factor may find him capable of throwing off the trouble without any interruption of progress. Perfect nutrition, perfect vigour, perfect fitness all round are the things to aim at in rearing a baby, and in our experience they follow as the night follows day, under intelligent care and attention. SEEMING TRIFLES. Of course, there are numbers of little minor ea'-es and attentions which make all the difference' in .keeping a baby comEcrtable arid healthy. Thus in the case

'of wind or colic, the- (picking up of the baby and dispersing the wind by holding him against the chest And patting the back in the best way, the application of warmth to the feet or abdomen, or the giving of an ounce or mere of hot water, —any, or several of these may bring rest and comfort if attended to judiciously at the proper moment. Or, better still, the onset of colic can be prevented by proper attention to all the hygienio conditions. The omission of a single faotor may make all the difference. Take, for instance, the temperature of the fcod. During winter especially little flannel coverings should be made for the feeding-bottle to = ensure throughout the feeding a uniform proper warmth of the food. Nothing is more g|pt to contribute to wind than cold food. If "Ethel" will take the trouble to investigate thoroughly every case in which j a baby, nursed by hi* mother or fed on jjiumanised milk, shows .great discomfort, we are certain she will find that one or more of the essentials for health are completely neglected or inadequately carried out. The essentials are practically the same for mother and child. We cannot quite understand what "Ethel" means by cooling medicine; but wo say again, as we have frequently said before —" Never use Soothing Powders or Patent Medicines. If drugs are needed they should be ordered by a doctor." AN APPRECIATION. "Ethel" concludes her iete,r thus:— Like many other women I feel very grateful to the Plunket Society, and hope it has come to stay. If only the waitings by "•Hygeia" could be published by the daily papers all over the Dominion I am sure there would be less suffering and fewer deaths amongst infante. I cay daily papers, because they reach a greater number of people. Of course, the weeklies do jrood work, but I am convinced that if the dailies were to take up the subject they would revolutionise the work of rearing infants. Women- do not know they are ignorant; therein lies the trouble. They have seen babies fed on patent foods grow fat and healthy-looking, and naturally concluded that that was as good a way to feed them as any other. What is wanted is some way of reaching every woman in the Dominion, and I cannot see any better way of doing so than through the daily papers. Once women come _to see that certain methods ar& injurious to their babies, they'll eoon look for something better. Very few nurses —.even ■hospital nurses—can tell us how to make Humanised Milk—in fact, they seem to shirk it, as far as I can see. If they would do their duty in this respect and "mpart their knowledge to every mother they nurse, things would eoon begin. to mend', and fewer deaths from improper feeding would occur. MEMO BY HYGEIA. We are pleased to meet with still another reader of our column who appreciates the work of the Society. Needless to say, we : entirely agree with "Ethel" when she speaks of the far-reaching benefit which would accrue to the Dominion if all our nurses — not only the Plunket Nurses —were practically trained in the needs of babyhood. We should, however, wish them to do much more then merely demonstrate the preparation and use of Humanised Milk. I They should carry with them into the homes they visit such a keen, practical i knowledge of all the essentials for health | that whether their work lies among the ] adult sick or among healthy babies their first instinct would be to place the entire household under the most favourable hygienic conditions. Then, indeed, would ' they be bringers of health, and their influence for good would be incalculable. " OUR BABIES' " COLUMN. We should be glad to seo "Our Babies' " ■ column published in eveiry daily newspaper in the Dominion, because we believe that the simple knowledge we are trying; to convey cannot be too widely diffused. Meantime it may interest our readers to know that the articles appear regularly every week in the following 22 newspapers:— Otago Witness. Wellington Evening Post. Otago Daily Times. Marlborough Herald. ; . Christchurch Press. W»-nganui Herald. . . Christchurch Weekly Press. Gisborne Times. Canterbury Times. •, . : Nelson Colonist. Timaru Herald. Westpoxt Times. Man&watu Standard. Westport Star. Napier. Telegraph. Asihburton Guardian. Wairc.rapa Daily Times. Thames Advertiser. Grey River Argus. .Southland News. Taranaki Herald. Patea County Press. The following with reference to the column is extracted from the annual report of the- Dunedin Society, which has just been (published': This weekly column is not only of immense service to those mothers in the country who are beyond the reach of doctors and nurses, but is widely read and looked for even in the large centres of population. We have testimony from all directions as to the quickening- of interest that has been aroused throughout the Dominion in all problems bearing on the welfare of mother and child by the Society's publications and the personal educative work carried out by its members and nurses.