OUR BABIES.

Otago Witness, Issue 3418, 19 September 1919, Page 54

OUR BABIES.

By Hygeia

Pub!l«h«d undar tna auspice* ef tna Itcya: New Zealand S(.clety lor tlia Healtn CI We;nen 2nd Children. "II It wltsr to put up s iens« at tha Up ot o precipice Ut*n la niiuitain ai amuuianca at li.e oattem."

FIVE FEEDINGS ONLY IN THE 24 iiouiis jjiiuai taux'H. A fc.v weeks ago \v,e gave a list of the resolutions ro intact feeding and me teaching ol pediatrics winch were passed unanimously at a ermterence ot experts neiu, at the instance ot tne Local uovemment board, in London last Feoruary. Last wet-K we arew special attention to two of the resolutions dealing witn tne teeaing of imants, and we quoted some JsngusJi and American experiences. Hu weeic we shall illustrate tne points by some JNew Zealand examples, bin first ot all we snail repeat the resolutions m order to impress upon our readers tne latest autnontutive pronouncement on tne matter. RESOLUTIONS PASSED UNANTThat, with very tew exceptions, nubbin u OAIiX KVEBY. 'jfOVK lluUltS ViiOU UlteXH Js best lor aiotner ana eniicl, UiougJ in a few,.cases more, litquenl leeumg may be desirable That, in general, there should be AN IN'fKBVAIi OH' SEvli.N ok'elUuT HOUUS BETvYEE.f THE LAST FEEDING AT NIUHT AND THE I'lUSr rBBDINO l.St THE IIOKNING. It must be obvious that if a baby thrives better when mere are longer intervals between its leadings, tne beuent to tne mother uuisc be very-great indeed. JJirst oi all, she has more leisure. Feeding- every tnree hours means that the motner has an interval of about two and a-nah hours only Irom the end of tidying up after one feeding until tii3 beginning ot preparation tor tlio next. Four-hourly iceumgs give an interval of at least three and a-n'au hours— really quite a long t.mc. Again, uninterrupted sleep during the night is a great boon to the mother. It tends to save her from much nervous strain, and to keep her milk supply good and suilicient., A tnrivmg baby is usually happy and contented, it sleeps well, and is a constant source of joy and pleasure not only to tho mother, but to tne whole family; a peevish, ailino- infant, on the other hand, keeps tho household in a state of great discoimort and anxiety. A FEW NEW ZEALAND EXPERIENCED. Family I. The first two children in this family were ted three-hourly irom birth, with no night-feeding. They grew wall, and were strong, heaithy .children, but during the early months they had from tour to s.x movements oi tne Dowels daily, and they suffered a great deal witn wind, show : ing that hhey were overfed. The third child was fed only five times in the 24 hours from birth, and he did exceedingly well, his mother saying he was the flower of the flock. % ■ When there was a fourth arrival it also was fed only five times in the 24 hours from Lirth. It gave no trouble at all, and throve well, and is a* fine sturdy child. All the children slept out ot .-doors. from birth snd they were given all the essentials for health in full measure The babies gavo so little trouble that, on one occasion a friend, who visited their nurse frequently, declared that she did not believe there was a baby in the house. She said there was a baby in the heme where she was employed, and it gavo them very little peace and quiet. • ' In this family all the children were breastfed for nine months. The first two, who were fed six times in the 24 hours, did well; but the next two, fed only five times, did oven better, and, of course, the mother had much more rest and leisure, and therefore better health. Family 11. In this family both the children have been fed four-hourly from birth, and only five times in the 24 hours. They have given very little trouble, have thriven well, and are bright, inppy, intelligent children. Both were breast-fed for over nine months, and the milk supply was superabundant till the end of the nursing period. TESTIMONY FROM NURSES. Case I. A few months ago we _ met a maternity nurse in a private family—tho baby was about 10 days old. The mother told us her nurse was a real treasure —that sho. looked after the other children, saw that they changed their shoes and stockings when it was wet, and altogether relieved her of many domestic worries which might have tended to retard her. progress. The nurse looked as if she belonged to the old school, and one somehow expected her to look upon such innovations as regularity of feeding and four-hourly intervals as fads. Imagine our surprise when this nurse; showing* us the bonnie, healthy, baby* with great pride, told us it "had been fed only five times in the 24 hours from birth. She said her last six cases had all been on fourhourly intervals, and that they were the best babies she had tended in a long experience. Case 11. The following is an extract from a nurse's letter: — "Mrs told me some time ago that you would like to know how the babies get on under the four-hourly feeding with no night feeding; also if this system tends to decrease the mother's milk supply. "I t.m pleased to tell you that I, have tried it now several times with great success. I shall tell you of one case in the back-blocks. The mother has six children under seven years of ago. She does all her own work. I have nursed her three times. Two' of the babies were brought up on three-hourly feedings and no night feeding; the last one, a boy. has been on four-hourly since birth, and has always slept in his basket seven or eight hours at night. The mother had enough milk for two babies. Baby is now three months old. I stayed with" tho mother for six weeks, and have had two letters since my return. In the first the mother says: ' Baby is still doing well on his four hours, and it seems to give me such a Jot of time to do my work; he still sleeps all night, and there is plenty of milk.' The second letter was equally satisfactory."