OUR BABIES

Stratford Evening Post, Issue 32, 8 February 1929, Page 2

OUR BABIES

BY HYGEIA. Published under the auspices <sf the Royal New Zealand Society for the Health of Women and Children (Plunket Sooiety). "It is wiser to put up a fence . at the top of a precipice than. ' to maintain an ambulance at the bottom." SUNLIGHT. Outing and exposure to sunshine is as necessary for the proper growth development, and health of human beings throughout infancy and childho Kl as it is. for the young of the rest of the animal kingdom. Fortunately in New Zealand we have abundance of sunshine, but, in spite of this, few babies get as much as is good for them. From the end of the . first: month onwards the baby should be habituated to, a gradually increasing, play of the direct rays of momentary'exposure of hands and of sun on the skin, starting with forearms, feetj and legs, and extending in due course to the upper aims and thighs, and including later on more or less of th e surface of :he b;. dy.

SKIX-SENSFFIVEXESS. It is no use attempting to give definite directions as to the extent of surface to expose or the best time allowance. These, "will vary not only with th e age and general health and strength of the particular baby, 'out' also with the sensitiveness t)f his skin to solar radiation. In babies, even more than in the case of adults, there are very great differences in the sensitiveless of the skin to the direct action f the sun's rays. Taking two norlal healthy babies Who (up to say,. bree months of age) have been reard side by side on precisely the kme lines, it' might be found that in Hie cjo'arse, of a month rtJhe one [oUiid benefit by duly graduated ex- , posure of the limbs and. part of the body up to five to ten minutes twice a.day, while in the case of the other baby undue reddening and irritation would have indicated that only a half or even a quarter of this rate of progress could be tolerated. The safest and best procedure in this, as in other matters affecting the baby, is to go cautiously and to err on the side of advancing too slowly rather than risk going too quickly. When a normal baby is about a week old he may be taken out info the sunshine for a short time if the weather is mild and genial. His eyes can b e shaded from the glare by turning his head, wtihout putting any covering near his face. The leather hood of an ordinary perambulator affords a very ■ unhealthy shelter for the baby. (Se e "Feeding and Care of Baby," page 72.) Yet many infants live in a leatherlined perambulator during the greater part of their first year.

SUjS" baths. When the temperature 'of the day is not under about 60 degrees Fahrenheit a healthy haby who has been properly reared should hava become accustomed towards the end of the second month to having his arms and legs and part of the adjacent skin surface of his hody bared to the sun for, say, five to ten minutes before the 10 a.m. feeding, and' in the course of another week or two before the 2 p.m. feeding also. The mother should hold the baby on her kene, if possible,. so that! while he is being sunrayed she can give him stimulation and passive 'exercise by ;stroking his legs and arms gently but firmly, starting at the hands and feet and working systematically towards the trunk, so as to drive the blood in the right direction and thus promote increased activity of the circulation. As the baby grows older his legs and arms may he bared to the sunshine for, say, 10 minutes or a quarter of an hour before his 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. feedings. Even longer exposure may prove heneficial on specially favourable days. If the weather is warm a healthy haby in his second month may have his morning bath on the open veranda, where the sunshine can play on his body. Later, when he can arawl and run about, exposure of the whole body in the open sunlight for from 10 to 15 minutes or more may be allowable. BEACH PLAY. If baby lives by the seaside the mother may safely let him run about' on the beach for a time on a warm

summer's day with little, if any, covering tor ihe body—provided, of course, that he has been reared sensibly and n'ot coddled and spoiled. Babies habituated to daily exposure of the skin t'o open air and sunshine do not catch cold Easily and do not feel the changes of weather—they become practically "weather-proof" and almost diseaseproof. Such children are a joy to themselves and 'to everyone connected with them; they radiate happiness, as the sun radiates light, heat audi health. Their [circulation will be good, and their feet and hands will glow with warmth even on cold days. Of course, if a baby has not been habituated t'o exposure to sunshine, the mother must proceed very cautiously, accustoming him gradually, little by little, to fuller exposure of the skin surface.

A BED TO HIMSELF, j To ensure pure air day and night! j the baby must have a bed to him- | self. "A baby must never sleep in bed with his motjher.? Only fa short time ago there was a case of death through "overlying" in the North Island. The Coroner at the inquest l condemned this foolish and utterly unjustifiable practice,' which is still quite common among careless', self4ndulgent mothers. "K the cot is kept in the room in which the parents or other persons sleep, it 1 should' be placed on the side of the r'oom opposite to where the other bed or beds stand, and there should he a current of pure outside air flowing across the room between the cot and the hed, so that the baby may not rebreathe the air which the °the r occupants of the room have used up and poisoned." Every mother should make herself quite familiar with" the illus-, t'rations and instructions given on pages 65 to 69 of "Feeding and Care of Baby." If she hears these in mind she cann'ot go far wrong in the placing of baby's cot, and the other provisions for ensuring pure 1 air in the night as well as in the j daytime.

SUNLIGHT ESSENTIAL. Parents and nurses should be brought to realise that 1 , during the last five or ten years, a series of highly important and very striking investigations have proved conclusively that deficiency of exposure of the skin surface to direct sunlight is one of the leading causes of delicacy, debility, and disease. The first practical discoveries were mainly in the direction of proving that children suffering from Various forms of tuberculosis qould be cured and made strong and healthy by gradually habituating them to spend some hours every day in the open air, clad with nothing but a loin cloth —the other factors of healthy living (suiltable food, adequate exercise, rest and sleep) being also provided. Seeing what wonders direct sunlight can do for young children in general, it is becoming. more and more -apparent that we have all of us been too sparing of sunlight for babies: practice is proving that they benefit as much,as the older children of the family from a more liberal exposure of the skin to direct' solar radiation.

WARNING. While it is highly beneficial to the normal baby to be gradually habituated to the moderate exposure of the arms and legs, and later t'o more or less exposure of part at least of the body to sunlight, parents ought to realise that, like other beneficial agencies, the sun's rays are liable to do far more harm than good if any attempt is made to proceed quickly, especially if sun baths are begun in hot weather. In this, as in other .matters affecting the baby, the golden rule is to advance slowly and watch .results. In some babies the tendencies of "solarisation," as in the case 'of some other children, is to cause irritation and freckling instead of the rich,. ruddy brown which may be regarded a» the normal and healthy reaction wo aim at inducing. In all cses it is safest and best' to expose tin limbs and outlying parts of the body first, and to only .resort to exposure of the trunk itself latter, and for a shorter period. Special cars should be exercise,! with regard to the protection of the head and eyes, especially in hot weather. The beat had covering in summer is a loose, white perforated soft! linen hat or a similar cap with a brim all round, such as boys sometimes wear when playing cricket. This keeps the head reasonably cool, and the brim sladet; the eyes and the back of the neck, which is a danger point, in connection with sunstrilce. Bear in mind that! the "golden mean" is always best. It is possible to have too much of a good thing, even sunlight. Dr. Saleeby says: "The socalled sun cure sounds simple and fool-proof. It is nothing of the sort. Great care should be exercised, beginning with only a few minutes and increasing very gradually."