OUR BABIES.

Otago Witness, Issue 3829, 2 August 1927, Page 68

OUR BABIES.

By

Hygria.

Published under the auspice* of the Re>al New Zealand-Seciety tor the Hoalth Of Women and Children (Plunket Sociaty). "It Is wiser to put up a fence at the Up of a preclplro than to maintain an ambulance at the bettom."

PLUNKET NURSES, ETC., DUNEDIN ' • BRANCH. NURSES' SERVICES FREE. Nurses O’Shea (telephone 23-348), Isbister (telephone 10-866). Thomson, Scott, and Ewart (telephone 10-216), and Mathieson (telephone 23-020). Society's Rooms: Jamieson’s Buildings, 6 Lower Stuart street (telephone 10-216), Office hours, daily from 2 to 4 p.in. (except Saturday and Sunday) and 10 a.m. to noon on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays; 315 King Edward street. South Dunedin, 2 to 4 p.m. daily (except Saturday and Sunday), and 10 a.m to noon on Fri- . days; also 125 Highgate, Roslyn—Monday and Thursday from 2 to 4 p.m.; and at Kelsey-Yaralla Kindergarten Monday and Friday from 2 to 4 p.m.; and at 99 Musselburgh Rise, Wednesdays, 2 to 4 p.m. Out-stations: Baptist Church, Gordon road, Mosgicl, Tuesday afternoons from 3 to 4 o’clock; Municipal Buildings, Port Chalmers, Wednesday afternoons from 2 to 4 o’clock. Secretary, Miss G. Hoddinott, Jamie son’s Buildings, Stuart street (telephone 10-216). Karitane-Harris Baby Hospital, Anderson’s Bay (telephone 22-985). Matron, Miss Fitz-Gibbon. Demonstrations given on request every Wednesday afternoon from 2.30 by Plunket Nurses and Karitane Baby Nurses. Visiting hours: 2 to 4 p.m., Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.

THE DISADVANTAGES OF WHOLE COW’S MILK FOR ENFANT FEEDING. Whole cow’s milk is still advocated for baby feeding here and there. So clear and definite are the objections to its use that it seems difficult to realise how anyone could fail to grasp the argument, which, we feel, may well be restated in this column. Nature’s Plan. The whole matter of correct infant feeding condenses down to a realisation of the significance of Nature’s plan for the nourishment of all young animals, and the paramount importance of following this plan as closely as possible in the hand rearing of babies. The fact that babies may “ tolerate ” the food which was meant for the calf—• unfortunately, one might almost say—blinds parents to the fact that although the digestion may not be obviously upset, it must be overtaxed, and, worse still, the delicate growing kidneys must b e subjected to strain.

“Hut,” it is frequently argued, “ baby is thriving, petting big and fat. and he is never sick. How can the food be wrong t ”

We must answer this question bv asking another:

■ “How long is baby likely to live—to require all his organs and faculties in. fullest possible health and vigour ? Is it enough to plan his baby food just for this year or next year, and for gain in weight alone ~ Surely and emphatically the answer is “Ao.” We must look ahead, ourselves still another Question: Will he wear well ? ”

Cow’s milk is meant for the calf. The calf doubles its birth weight in about six weeks; the human baby takes six months to double his. Therefore Nature, in her wonderful wisdom, lias seen to it that cow s milk contains between two and three times as much of the body-building material in food—protein—as does s milk. Nature has also seen to it that the calf is provided with a huge stomach, specially designed to deal with this large amount of protein (which we see in the form of coarse, tough curd when whey is made). This excess of curd may be rendered more or less easily digested by prolonged boiling, or by the addition of citrate of soda, and one or other or these measures is usually used when whole cow’s milk is ordered or given. a Boiling and Citbating of Milk. When treated in eitlfer of these wavs whole milk may not cause any signs of actual indigestion to develop, but both are open to objection in themsehes. Prolonged boiling destroys, for all practical purposes, one of the all-ini-ortant vitamins.” however carefully the boiling is carried out. Citrate of soda is ton rUg ’ - an > d ,S "furious if continued for long periods. The, fundamental .objection to the use of whole cows milk for babies, whether rawdti-ated. boiled, or condensed, lies i the excess of the protein element, " -l ch r en ?, a "’ s tl,e Si,n,e m quantity, in The Body- and Protein Waste Products. The body is so adjusted that it has no means of storing up protein in excess ot what is needed for daily growth and repair. Excess must be got rid of, and the organs chiefly concerned in getting rid of the waste products of excess protein are the kidneys. In infancy these are extremely delicate, and yet possessed of a marvellous reserve of strength. This is meant by Nature for a possible “rainy day. The baby’s kidneys mav apparently deal successfully with two or three times as much protein waste as Nature intended, but in the process ’ reserve strength must be used up, and undue strain result. There is nothing left for the rainy day” of illness, which is almost sure to come sooner or later Consequently, however well the “whole milk baby nuy appear to thrive, he is in reality c»p->sed to the possible suffering and danger of kidney trouble in later life.

The Fallacy of Building fob Weight Alone.

Weight is not everything. We want our babies to be firm, sound, and healthy right through. Babies fed on whole cow’s milk or on starchy patent foods may be fat and heavy, and occasionally firm' too. but long experience has proved without doubt that these babies show signs of having been “ built out of poor materials,” as it were, as soon as they fall ill. Such babies tend to catch whatever is going, and readily succumb to any illness. Even when they recover, they pick up slowly, and tend to make imperfect recoveries, whilst, as we have seen, the kidneys may be more or less strained or damaged for life. We must build for good bone and muscle, sound organs and functions, and normal resistance to disease; and the best way to do this is to ensure abundance of pure, fresh air and the food that Nature intended, or the ’nearest possible imitation to it at which we can arrive. A food which brings about a big gain' in weight is not necessarily a good food for a baby. “ The scales alone are not a safe guide.”

Some of the Effects qf Feeding on Whole Cow’s Mii.k.

In actual fact, it is rarely that a baby fed on whole cow’s milk does not show some signs of the effect of the badlybalanced diet—he will not stand the scrutiny of an experienced observer or measure up favourably on all points beside the baby carefully reared on a wellbalanced food.

Constipation is one of the most noticeable troubles; this may be most obstinate and marked. On the other hand, the motions may be regular, but instead of soft, and yellow they tend to be large bulky, pale, constipated in consistency’ and ot a very offensive odour. These motions are not normal, and they indicate overtaxing of the digestion, and decomposition of the protein element in the food, which jnay later lead to svmptoms or poisoning. Restlessness and excitability is, also common with these babies, who tend to sleep less restfully and peacefully than is natural and right.