HEAT AND INFANT MORTALITY.

Otago Witness, Issue 3487, 11 January 1921, Page 51

HEAT AND INFANT MORTALITY.

Wht Do Babies Die In Hot Weather?

There is an appalling increase in the baby death-rate during hot weather. This has always been recognised more or less, but it is only of late years that the matter has received any serious attention. Looking into the death-rate of babies in Paris in the latter part of the reign of Queen Victoria', Professor Budin found that in one week at midsummer 250 babies died in Paris; whereas the average number who died per week at midwinter was only 20. This was an extreme case; but it is quite a common thing to find from five to 10 times as many babies dying in the hottest weather as compared with the coldest. Why should this be ? DIARRHOEA THE MAIN SCOURGE. First it was noticed that nearly all the summer deaths were due to diarrhoea, and the vast majority occurred in babies who were being artificially fed. Further investigation showed that babies fed on condensed milk, patent foods, etc., were not only prone to suffer from diarrhoea in hot weather, but they also tended to put up a poor fight against any disease they might catch, and that they readily succumbed. Babies fed with cow’s milk and water did better, if tolerably good milk could be secured, and if any reasonable care was taken to keep it cool. The risk was further reduced by scalding the milk during the hofest months, or on very hct days. Still better results followed on the use of milk properly modified and prepared so as to resemble human milk as closely as possible—in other words, by using Humanised Milk. However, in spite of every precaution as to artificial feeding—indeed, even in the case of breast-fed babies, —it was found that infantile Diarrhoea was much more prevalent and fatal in summer than in winter. This showed that the sole cause of “summer diarrhoea’’ was not the use of unsuitable foods for babies —patent foods, condensed or dried milks, —nor the use of cow’s milk unguarded by heating, cooling, etc., so as to keep down the rapid growth of microbes. Unsuitable and tainted foods were evidently mainly to blame; but some account must be taken of the harmful effects of heat acting not merely on the baby's food, but directly on the baby itself. We all know that very hot weather renders us languid and tired, and tends to upset us, even as adults. Recent investigations go to show that hot weather is liable to interfere very seriously with the digestive and nutritive processes in babies, unless great care is taken to give them plenty of fresh cool air day and night, and to modify their clothing or bed-coverings so as to prevent oppression and sweating when the weather happens to be unusually sultry. AN ABSURD FALLACY. I find that many mothers entertain the absurd notion that a baby’s clothing should not be lessened on specially sultry days. They think that any such change renders the baby liable to catch cold. In reality the reverse is the ease. Nothing tends to weaken and devitalise a baby and render it so liable to get colds and diarrhoea as being allowed to swelter and sweat overclot.hed in warm, muggv air for 24 hours When the inevitable change to a cooler day comes, a baby so treated is almost sure to _ suffer. If , on the other band, hn clothing and bedding had been adjusted to meet the temporary rise in the thermometer, there would have been no-

thing to fear when the wind suddenly veered round from the sultry nor’-wester of Can-

terbury or Otago to the sharp cold of the sou’-westar. WHAT THE PLUNKET NURSES FIND IN PRACTICE. The Plunket Nurses find that, however carefully the baby’s food is made and safeguarded, there is a general tendency of babies to be more or less upset on very hot days, and they find that the only effective means of combating this tendency is to give more outing and fresh air at such times, and to keep a sharp and intelligent watch on the bedding and clothing—not merely taking things off when + here is a sudden rise of temperature, but being always on tj>e lookout to resume immediately the ordinary coverings directly the wind veers round and the day becomes chilly again.