OUR BABIES

Otago Witness, Issue 3003, 4 October 1911, Page 66

OUR BABIES

By Htgeia.

Published under the auspices of the Society for the Health of Women and Children. , ... " It is wiser to put up a f&noe at tn» top of a precipice than to maintain an ambulance at th» bottom"

SPHAGNUM MOSS. One of our correspondents, whose letter we quoted from last week, wroteas follows with regard to the use of sphagnum moss ior babies: I iried the sphagnum moss mentioned in the Society's book, and found it practically of no use. Do you know of anyone who has used it successfully? REPLY. Of -courEe we have successfully used sphagnum moss, or it would noib have been recommended in the Society's book. Our correspondent'a failure may have been due to one or more of several causes: (1) She may not have procured sphagnum moss. (2) She may not have dried it thoroughly before using. (3) She may not have used a sufficiency. (4) She may not have escured the pad in proper position, (5) She- raay have used some less absorbent material to encase the moss. Whatever the explanation, sphagnum moss is one of the best absorbents. It ha» been used at the Karitane Harris Hospital with most satisfactory results, and if it w-oro more readily obtainable it would be aised even more. , A pad weighing .an ounce will completely absorb and retain soz of urine—say, as much as would be passed in the night.. About six months after our advocacy of sphagnum moss appeared in the Society's book Mr Hamilton, the director of the Museum in Wellington, drew our attention tot an article on the inhabitants of Northern Asia contained in the memoirs of the American Museum of Natural History, and the reports of the Jessup North Pacific Expedition, page £52, Vol. VII, which contain illustration^-, of the -garments worn by the inhabitanfe at all stages of life. Referring to »_ picture of an infant's dress is the following: passage:— THE CHUCKCHEE DIAPER. A square diaper is sewed on at the back. It can be tucked between the child's legs, and its ends fastened in front by strings. With small infant* this diaper is filled with a mixture of reindeer moss and hair, which absorbs the excreta, and is changed several times a day. This diaper with moss ha 6 been adopted by all the tribes of NorthEastcm Siberia, including the Russians, because of its practical convenience. Its Russian name, "maka«" is taken from the Chuckchee. Moss is used in much the same fashion by the Indians in -North America, as the following extract, taken from a modern novel which I waa reading the other day, indicates: " I have been taking some notes of Scotch characteristics," she said. . . . "I think those gravo-faoed babies and their staggering little nurses and the bandy-Jogged children are the saddest things in Scotland." "I saw a sadder thing yesterday," said Wyldo. "It was one of these bandylegged children grown-up and put into a kilt. The Indians do better than that when thev strap their babies into mossbags. The poor little beggars grow up straight, anyway."—(From "The Honourable Peggy," by G. B. Lancaster, page 336.) Nothing seems more extraordinary than the manner in which we so-called civilised

peoples have gone out of our way to cause the abstraction of the maximum of heat from babies by compelling them to soak a napkin covering a large surface of skin, instead of ensuring direct absorption by using a porous bed such as is now being advocated in France in the form of r bran bed (see page 67 of the Society'; book), or, by the use of a highly absorbent pad which restricts the fluid to a small area and confines it there; , On grounds of heat-conservation, cleanliness, and saving in the washing of napkins there is no receon to doubt that in the future methods based on the above considerations will com© to be more and more generally adopted. There are other poinis against our present methods which I have not -touched on. Most important among these is the lack of. freedom of the hips and lower limbs while the baby -is in bed. This freedom is attained in the bran bed by havnsr no garment extending lower down than the-haunch bones. INQUIRIES REGARDING SPHAGNUM MOSS. A The -following letter received ibis month from one of the Society's nurs vs f.hows that many people satisfied with napkins. We have had a great many inquiries about sphagnum moss lately, and though we have been to all the florists in town, none,of them seem to use it. We would be so grateful if you could let us know if it> is to be bought in Dunedin. and, if eo r _ where and at what cost. We have 'promised some of the mothers to find out definitely if it is procurable. -Sphagnum moss is found in many districts in Otago, and, no doubt, there are other parts of the Dominion where it can be readily gathered. In such a region we can hardly imagine a more delightful kind of outing than a picnic to the moss hag, where the children could collect the moss, squeeze out the moisture, and pack it in sacks ready to take home fpr the baby. It must then be spread out in the sun to dry thoroughly, and, of ooua-se, any twigs or other harsh vegetation which may have been gathered with it must be picked out. I have myself helped to gather sacks of sphagnum on Mihiwaka Hill, and also in the Catlins district, and I am told there is abundance on the hills around Dunedin, The moss _ can be ' bought from the nurserymen in Dunedin. The price is 7s 6d a sack, or, 6d for a bag (such as would hold 141 b of flour) full. The weight depends on the amount, of moisture in the moss—so that tho price per Jjb would be useless. It is needless to repeat that before being used for the baby it must be thoroughly dry. and, of course, it must be made into a pad with gauze or buttermuslin, as shown on page 67 of the Society's book. If the moss has to be purchased and got from a distance, it is probably cheaper to use wood wool for pads. Wood wool can be bought from any chemist for 2s 6d Eer lb. It is- loose in a bag. and must o teased out, and made into pads with butter-muslin or pjauze. If preferred, wood wool tissue at 3s 6d per lb can be used. In this the wood wool is sandwiched between layers of gauze, and all that has to be done is to out off! a portion the required size. For a young or delicate baby wo .recommend the use of wood wool, as it is softer and more comforting than the dry mces. 1 ■■' .. 3