OUR BABIES.

Otago Witness, Issue 3383, 15 January 1919, Page 52

OUR BABIES.

By Hygeia

Published under (he auspice* of the Royal New Zealand Society for the Health of Women and Children.

"It is wiser to put up a tence at the top* of a precipice than to maintain an amouiance at tt.e bottom."

HARDENING CHILDREN. INDISCRIMINATE CONDEMNATION. There are few matters on which "orthodox" opinion is more unanimous than it-is in condemning measures directed towards what is called "hardening" young children, especially babies, often without condescending to any definite details as to what it means by " hardening." Almost every book dealing with the care of infants inveighs unhesitatingly against the cruelty of attempting to "harden" them. I he _ following is the common style of warning: "When will mothers and nurses learn that the tender body of the child cannot be hardened and made more robust by exposure to oold or any other hardship, buch ill-advised proceedings undermine the constitution and sap the vitality of the young being, and thus exercise precisely the opposite influence to what is intended. We cannot insist too strongly that children are made less- resistive to disease and weaker, not . stronger, by being subjected to unnecessary stresses. However wellintentioned, nothing {3 more cruel or foolish _ than to run counter to Nature by doing just the opposite to what any tenderhearted mother would be inclined to do if guided by her own heart and common sense"—land so on, and so on. The mother, metaphorically speaking, is " warned off the course" on the mere mention of the word " hardening," and from that time forward she is "apt to turn a deaf ear to any suggestion, however sensible, if it countenances proceedings which she has seen dubbed foolish and cruel, and which in , any case run counter to her own "mother instinct" to coddle, shield, and protect her offspring. JUDICIOUS AND SYBTBMATIC HARDENING BENEFICIAL. In reality, as I shall show presently, the best way to "shield and protect" a baby is to. harden it judiciously and systemati cally. The whole crux of the matter lies in the question whether the steps taken are truly judicious and systematic or not. The woman who keeps a baby coddled all night long in a stuffy bedroom and proceeds to wheel it about the next morning, barelegged and bare-armed, in a go-cart, with a view to hardening its systeji by cxtensivo exposure of the skin to cool air is certainly acting in a dangerous, foolish, and cruel way—doing something neither judicious nor systematic—something, indeed, which foroiblv reminds one of the tendency of thoughtless mothers to pet their offspring unduly and then harshly to slap them—acting on the mere whini or passing feeling, or want of feeling, of the moment. It is just such mothers who. ooddling and "hardening" (as they call it) by turns, have driven sensible people almost distracted by their vagaries and inconsistencies, and who, in the last century, caused doctors and nurses to set their faces against anything in the name of " hardening" as applied to children. In order to illustrate the point, I shall give an extract from a generally sound and good book on " The Rearing of Healthy Children," written nearly 20 years ago by Dr Leroy Yale, of New York, which con veys what may bo called the orthodox medical advice of the Victorian era on the subject of hardening babies. Dr Yale gave the following question and answer under the heading: THE HAPDENING THEORY. [Question.] " 1 should like to ask you a question about our 14-months-old baby

daughter. She is doing very well in every way, and is considered by all who see her a strong and well-developed child. She'is. however, subject to colds. My husband is a believer in the hardening theory and thinks that it would be well for. her to get a cold bath every day, summer and winter, even when she seems to have a running cold. I should like your opinion on that subject befora cooler weather sets in. . .She enjoys the cold bath very much at present." DH YALE'S ANSWER. [Answer.] "To • begin with, wo have no opinion of the "hardening" theory except that, as generally interpreted, it IS A GREAT STUPIDITY. We do not, of course, mean to advocate foolish coddling. The 'hardening' method in any shape should not be begun on a little child. As to the cold baths, we note that you do not mention the kind of bath, but ■ "we presume you mean an immersion bath. .' Cold' bath Is used very vaguely in "common conversation, but to a medical man it means a bath between 50deg F. and 70deg F. Now, a bath drawn from the cold tap in New York City in the middle of a warm July day is about 70dcg F. (if there has been a prolonged ' hot spell' it will mark something higher). This even gives a distinct chill when one enters it, which is soon lost to a strong adult; but the baby's surface area is much greater in proportion to its mass than the adult's, and it is in the same proportion more' easily chilled. Suppose baby weighed 201 b and his father 1601 b; baby's mass to the father's is 1 to 8, his surface is 1 to 4-, and he chills twice as fast, making no allowance for the relatively greater impressionability of the child's nervous system, which still further exaggerates the disparity. As the temperature of the bath is lowered, the depression is proportionately greater. _ In fever the cold bath, used with discretion, and by those who know its effects, is a valuable remedy, but it is potent for mischief if used stupidly. "As to 'hardening,' once more we, wduld say that we do not think well of cold baths, in the. usual sense, for■ an infant or a little child.. If the immersions are only for a few seconds they may do no harm, but in our opinion, in cool weather, at least, a better bath _for the purpose is this: Stand the child in lukewarm water no more than ankle deep, and sponge it over with water of about 70deg F. from a bowl at hand. Any necessary washing with, lukewarm water and soap to cleanse soiled parts of the person is to be previously done. By this method all the advantages of the cold bath are gained, without its drawbacks." Dr Yale represented the old school, and, as I have said, the above was written abo-.it 20 years ago. I shall show next week that Dr Holt, the leading medical authority on children in New York to-day, holds very different opinions. He approves and advocates the use of. cold bathing for young children almost as strongly as Dr Yale condemned it. '■;■..'■

Meantime, I may point out that in general one would not be inclined to advise the use of the cold bath for infants before the age of 18 months or two years, and would stop it temporarily when a child had. a "running cold." However, apart from excess of zeal in commencing cold bathing rather early in life for the average child and proposing to continue* it during an active catarrh, the view of the father, whioh Dr Yale so unhesitatingly condemns, is in reality quite right and sensible. A healthy two-year-old child who has been sensibly and suitably trained to take a cold bath every morning, far from finding the plunge or shower a depressing hardship, generally derives keen stimulation and exilaration from it and the exercise which should always follow. Never is the word "hardship" or the phrase "passion for unnecesary hardship" more absurdly used than in connection with the habituation of young warm-blooded animals to the natural, pleasurable, _ and health-giving stimulation of the skin by fresh cool air and cold water.

The value of the cold bath in early childhood is as rational and sound in theory as it is beneficial and satisfactory in actual practice. I shall • enter into this matter more fully later on. The reader is referred, meantime, to page 81 of the Society's book, " Feeding and Care of Baby," -which conveys shortly what appears to me to be the sensible course in this very important matter.

HEALTH OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN.

A meeting of the Society for the Health of Women and Children was held on Friday; present —Mrs Truby King (in the chair), Lady Allen, Mesdamcs Johnstone, Theomin, Arundel, T. K. Sidey, AnsellHodson, and Miss Gow. The Hon. Treasurer reported the maintenance for the month £6O 6s 6d, also the receipt of a number of subscriptions and donations. The Matron of the Karitane-Harris Hospital reported:—Number admitted for months of October, November, and December as 19 babies, 1 mother—2o; discharged, 21 babies and 2 mothers—23. Owing to the influenza epidemic the hospital was closed to visitors from November 13 until December 20. Of the babies admitted one same from Oamaru, one from Hokitika, one from Oturehua, one from Seacliff, one from Morton Mains, and the remainder from Dunedin district. All babies discharged were making good progress. The Plunket nurses for north and central districts report to December 31 as under: —Number of babies on the list, 682; new cases (babies only), 44. The Plunket Nurse for South Dunedin reported:—Number of babies on the list, 336; new cases (babies only), 46. Owing to the influenza epidemic the work had been greatly disorganised, and there have been fewer' visits to the Plunket rooms. Influenza has not been as prevalent among babies in the district as among older children and adults. The month of December has not been such a busy one. A number of mothers are suffering fi-om the aftereffects of influenza, and in some cases it has been found necessary to supplement the mother's milk on that account. Miss Primrose, general organising secretary of the Australian Visiting Trained Nurses' Association, wrote asking if nurses from Australia might enter the Karitane Harris Hospital for Plunket training, as some centres are preparing to start work In Australia on the lines of the Royal New Society for the Health of Women and Children. Extracts were road from Dr Truby King's letters regarding the progress of the work' in Great Britain. Dr King had been lecturing in various cities in the United King-

dom. as well as in London and its neighbourhood. The Babies of the Empire Association is making real headway under the chairmanship of Sir Alexander Roger, and _ is now spending £IOO a week. Dr Fairbairn, the obstetric physician and lecturer on midwifery and diseases of women, St. Thomas's Hospital, London, and Dr King are most anxious to secure and promote the breastfeeding of all the babies in the maternity ward, and Dr King says: " Under the direction of Dr - Fairbairn and myself all the babies in the maternity ward (averaging 20 resident babies) are fed four-hourly from the start to five times only in the 24 hours, and no night feeding. The only exceptions are prematures weighing under 51b." The results so far are most satisfactory. Babies are being weighed before and after nursing in all cases where there is any doubt as to the sufficiency of the milk supply. Everything was going well at the Babies' Hospital, Earl's Court, and the babies progress just as well in London as they do in Dunedin. Some details of the work were read. The American Red Cross is doing a wonderful work for the mothers arid babies in France.