OUR BABIES.

Otago Witness, Issue 3292, 18 April 1917, Page 52

OUR BABIES.

By HvOEIA-

Publlshed under the auspices ol thß Royal New Zealand Society lor the Healtl? ol Women arrt) Children. "It is miser to put lip a fence at ths top of a precipice than to 'uaiotaln *•-> umt,ul:it>co ut the bottom."

ABOUT LIME WATER. Question : Why is Lime Water vised in proparing Humanised Milk, seeing that there is no Lime Water in Human Milk? Answer: Though there is no Lirno Water in Human Miik, lirne salts are present. Cow's Milk ia slightly acid, whereas Mother's Milk is practically neutral. By adding Lime Water in the proportion of loz to the pint we reduce the acidity. Question: Jf lessening the acidity of Cow's Miilc is (he only object aimed at when Lime Water is added, could this not be more simply brought about by means of a pinch of baking soda? Answer: Nothing is more effective for counteracting acidity than baking soda, and this is sometimes added to milk instead of Lime Water; however, Lime Water does much more than merely lessen the acidity. It renders the milk slightly Viscous or gelatinous, and this -tends to make the curd, formed in the baby's stomach, much softer and more delicate. Soda is. not nearly so efficacious in this respect; further, the continued use of soda, even in very small quantity, always interferes more or less with digestion. Question: Is there any harm in the use of Lime Water? Answer: The addition of Lime Water to Cow's Milk for babies is beneficial, not harmful, provided that the proportion added does not exceed about loz to tiie pint. Sometimes soz or more to the pint are given to check diarrhoea; but if such a mixture were continued it would tend to produce constipation and to interfere with digestion. Question: Can Lime Water bo -made at home, or must it be bought ready made? Answer: Lime Water can easily be prepared in the home, as shown by the iollowing extract from the Society's book, "Feeding and Care of Baby": Thoroughly stir a heaped tablespoonful of tresnty-siakod lime (i.e., burned limestone, to which sufficient water has been added to cause it to become hot, swell up, and then crumble into line powder) into igal of boiled water; cover to keep, out tailing particles. After 12 hours, pour off tiie water and throw' it away, as it contains any impurities present. A thick cream of lime will remain at the bottom of the vessel. Again add £gal of boiled water, stir for three minutes, and allow it to stand, covered as beiore, for 12 hours. The clear fluid is lime water, and should be carefully poured off and bottled tor future use. It will keep if the bottles are filled and well corked. Green glass-stoppered bottles are best, but thoroughly-cleansed small beer bottles will do if filled, and corked with sound, well-cleansed corks, which have been scalded just before use. Lime Water deteriorates in the presence of air; therefore the bottles should not be larger than pints, and the one in use should always be well corked immediately after pouring out. Further, it is a .good plan to lie Lime Water bottles on their sides to make sure that air is excluded and the corks are kept swelled. The exact quantity of lime is not important, provided sufficient is used, because water will

dissolve only a certain proportion. Question: I have heard it said that the proper way to use Lime Water is to add what is needed to the baby's bottle just before each feeding. Is this right? Answer: Yee, it would be quite right if you prepared each feed separately just before use; but a much simpler and more convenient way is to prepare a supply of Humanised Milk for the 'M Hours, adding the Lime Water to the other ingredients before heating the mixture up to 155 deg Fahr., which is needed for killing the microbes which are found more or less abundantly in all ordinary fluids.

Question: But seeing that Lime Water is made with boiled water, is it not freo from germs? Answer: Not if it has been kept for more than a few days. If the purest, clearest artesian water be kept standing for any length of time in a water bottle it may contain a considerable number of gersms; and so it is with Lime Water. The germs present in such cases would be so comparatively few that no harm would result from the baby swallowing them; but if loz of Lime Water were stirred into a pint of milk, and the precaution was not taken to heat the mixture to at least 155 deg Fahr. and then cool it down rapidly, a million germs might have developed from a mere half dozen present in the Lime Water. Lord Lister said he never came across a germ which would not flourish and run riot in milk. Question: But I have been told that if milk to which Lime Water has been added bo heated, the lime becomes insoluble and turns into a fino powder, which may accumulate in the bath's stomach or bowels. Is there any truth in this? Answer: None whatever. Even if somo of the lime did turn to an insoluble powder, the powder would be quite harmless, and would pass through the baby like any other inert material. However, the fact is that the quantity of lime prosent in Lime Water is infinitesimally small. The quantity of Lime Water used in making a day's supply of Humanised Milk for the ordinary baby is ljoz. This contains less than a sing-lc grain of lime. Question: Is there no circumstance whatever in which it would be inadvisable to boil a baby's milk after adding Lime Water? Answer: In the first place I may say a baby's milk should never be boiled unless there is somo special reason for doing so temporarily, as in the case .of doubtful milk and hot weather. Ordinarily the heating should not be carried bevo'nd 155 deg Fahr. ■ Secondly, so far as the Lime Water is concerned, the boib'np: of Humanised Milk does no harm; but boiling would bo somewhat prejudicial if from five to 10 times the proportion of Lime W-iter were present. The late Professor Rotch, of Harvard University, specially pointed out that if a large proportion of Lime Water is added to milk, boiling- causes- the mix-

lure to becomo somewhat brownish, and there is a very pronounced chango in the taste. Hence it is that if a doctor prescribes for a baby, say, one part of Lime Water to two or three parts of boiled milk lie would'naturally wive the instruction to ;\(\d the Lime Water at each feeding, and not to boil it with I lie milk.

HEALTH OF WOMEJJ AND CHILDREN,

'lho monthly meetihg oi the committee of the" Society tor the Health of Women and (Jnikk'en was held at tiie Plunket office, when Mrs Carr occupied the chair. 'iho Matron of the Karitanc-Harris Hospital reported as follows: —Admissions (babies), 12; mothers, 5; discharged, 17. Of the 17 admitted during the month, eight came from Dunedm district, two from Petonc, one from Oamaru, two from Mosgiel, two from Middiernarch, one from Balclutha, and one Ironi Southland. All babies discharged were very well or making good progress. There were live Plunket nurses and 11 Karitano nurses in training during March. Two Plunket utilises and two Karitane nurses passed their -fina! examination on March 10 —Misses Graham and M'Rae, and Misses Peach and Hendry. Many gifts of jam, cake, fruit, etc., were much appreciated, and thanks are due to Mrs 11. W. Gibbs for babies' jackets, and to Mrs M'George for bootees. The Plunket nurses report: —Babies under care, '911; new cases for the month, 48; babies wholly breast-fed, 76; babies partly breast-fed, 67. The majority of new and old cases are doing very well, but several emaciated babies suffering from severe indigestion require daily attention. It was decided to apply for space at the Winter Show and arrange for the Plunket and Kar'tane nurse's to bo'in attendance for tho purpose of bringing the society's methods to the notice of the visitors. Appreciation" was expressed at the very generous gift from the Invercargill branch of the society of £IOO towards the endowment fund of the Karitane-Harris Hospital. A hearty vote of thanks was accorded the Hawera branch for a donation of £5, Timaru branch of £25, and the Gisborno branch of £lO towards the expenses of the same institution. The committee appointed to organise tho Mothers' Helpers League reported that a few names had been handed in as helpers, and several mothers had, through the Plunket nurses, welcomed the scheme. Miss Hancock was appointed plunket ntirse at Mnsterton from May 1, and Karitano Nurse Honeyfield was appointed actingPlunket nurse at Waimato from April 16. The resignation of Mrs Gilkison as a member of the executive was received with regret. Miss G. Horldinott was appointed joint secretary for the Dunedm branch and the Central Council The maintenance for the month was £69 19s lid.

Tho following business was dealt with at the eroneral conference of the society held in Wellington last month: Tho following resolution was passed and forwarded to the general manager of railways:—"That the society make representation to the'Hon. the Minister of Railways that tho nurses' pass he made out for use by any nurse emploved bythe pnrt : cular branch." Mr E. H. Ililoy re'plied that ho regretted that the request could not be acceded to. The following resolution was forwarded to tho Minister of Agriculture:—" That a closer inspection should bo made of all cattle in the hope of reducing tuberculosis, and that this resolution be placed before tho Government for consideration."

A reply was received to the effect that the matter had in the past received the most careful consideration of the department, and was being- given close attention at present, notwithstanding the difficulty of doing so during the war. A of the department's activities in this direction would be prepared and forwarded at a later date for the information of the council. The appended resolutions were forwarded to the Minister of Education: —"That representations be made to the Minister of Education with a view to securing to the fullest extent for infants in licensed homes the advantage conferred on the more fortunate children of New Zealand through the agency of the Plunket Society its nurses." " That this conference is of opinion that, in the certificate of domestic hygiene which every girl must present before she can sit for matriculation, a knowledge of the care and feeding l .of the baby should find a place." The Minister stated that the society's representations would receive his consideration. The following resolutions were forwarded to the Minister of Public Health:—"That an anneal be made to the Government to bring in more comprehensive legislation with a view to combating the insufficiency and impurity of the milk supply in many parts of the dominion, and to ensuring a purer milk supply for infants, especially in the The following remit was by the conference, with the recommendation that it be placed before the Government:— 'The Hawera branch being strongly of opinion that greater benefit to the communities would accrue, and that money would be saved at this time when economy is of such importance, if the matron of each St. Helens Hospital and State maternity hospital was a trained Plunket nurse, recommends that in future, where practicable, the matrons appointed to such institutions should have had a course of training at the Karitane-Harris Hospital in addition to their other hospital experience. This ought to ensure that student nurses would receive instruction in the best methods of protecting child life, and the knowledge thus acquired would tend to be widely disseminated." With reference to the employment of a travelling Plunket nurse, remits were received from Dunedin and Wanganui, and the following resolution^ was passed:—"That it be a recommendation_ to the Central Council to take into consideration the employment of a capable, tactful, highly-trained Plunket nurse who would keep in_ intimate touch with Karitane-Harris Hospital, visit all the branches from time to time, and confer with and help the committees and resident Plunket nurses regarding the society's work and its extensions. The salary of this travelling nurse to bo defrayed by contributions from all the branches."