The Management of Infants

Timaru Herald, Volume LXXXI, Issue 12480, 17 September 1904, Page 3 (Supplement)

The Management of Infants

The Jersey Medical Society having recognised! tie necessity of giving advice as to t-he'irianagement of infants from their birth, appointed a- sub-committee, consisting oi Dj A. C. Godfray, .Dr Chappuis, and D; •Voisin, the secretary of -the Society, to draw up a list of suggestions which would be printed, and copies thereof delivered to •'Hie different Registrars in the island. Ttfeee will no doubt prove exceedingly' •useful to mothers, and we have much, pleasure in publishing the following, full report- of the "f ■ sub-committee's valuable hints as to the treatment of infants.

-'Fresh "Air—Sunlight—Ventilation. Baby needs plenty of fresh air and sunlight" fbr development and growth. . Thoroughly air and ventilate the room in which he* lives at least twice a day. Allow as much direct sunlight as possible to come into the room.

Don't keep the room hot and close, as this helps to give colds and bronchitis. Whenever the weather is fine, wrap baby lip "and take him out; unless the weather be too' hot walk in an open' space where, there" is sunshine. • Don't take baby out at jnight; nor expose frit" to cold and damp air. Never let baby sleep in bed with you; but always in a cot; by himself. Washing and Clothing. Baliy should be washed all over with wahii water and soap every day, and dried thoroughly with a clean soft towel. : All soiled napkins should be immediately j removed and washed—not merely dried •before the fire—before being used again. Baby's clothes should be warm arid light. ; A- woollen binder should be" loosely applied next the skin. The stout cotton binder usually worn quite useless, and prevents baby from breathing freely. ■< .JDon'jfc roll .the binder tightly over the stomach, as it interferes with digestion and may .'rupture. '' - A wbolTfilf'shirt or vest should' be worn. .The bend'should be lightly and the feet warmly covered. Don't leave the arms and legs bare. 'To allow a child to be cold is as bad as. to deprive it of food. ( ; Feeding. Baby's best food is the mother's milk. Breast fed babies thrive better than" those fed on the bottle. . Whenever possible baby, should be giveif the' no other food whatever—for' qt least six months. During the first 24 hours after l>irth no •nourishment, of jur£-kind is required. . Baby- be 'given tie breast -every two hours by day, and every four hour? by night; during the first"three months; after that period the intervals should! be ' increased., ■ • ' ' 7 Ten t minutes is ample ime for a child, to taKe J ' : a sufficient supply of milk; it should; never be allowed to sleep at the toressk

). The nipples should be washed and dried r S each time after suckling— will pre;r vent sore nipples. Nipple shields are not to be lecomia mended, and are not required if this pie- ; caution is taken. ,y Don't let i baby such' "comforters" or 1- empty tubes, crusts of bread, sugar in e bags, "sugar plums," etc.. 16 If the mother have but little milk slu d should try to get more by taking plain r, nourishing, and easily digested food, anc is she should drink a. cupful of wann mill i- before suckling. it Wines and spirits do not increase thi y flo.w of milk, and should not be indulgec in by nursing mothers, n Spirits taken by the mother are a fre g quent cause of convulsions in the child, e., ' -If' there is not sufficient :breast. milk ,ti n fully nourish' ; the 'childv. cow's nulk, pre s . pared in the manner described below, ma; s 'be-given in addition.- ' ■ r •: Artificial Feeding. ; r'r- When it is possible to suckle an infan »' it -should be fed on cow's milk ,prepare< - 'as follows : s Half a pint of fresh milk and one pin 1 of water, with a teaspoonful of sugar, am , mixed together and boiled in a cleai r saucepan. I This mixture must be poured in a cleai : jug which has previously been scalded- , covered over with a clean cloth, and aJlowei I to stand in. a basin of cold -water in i i cool place. i Barley water or lime water (mixed witl as much or twice as much water), may b substituted for plain water with advantage Four tablespoonfuls of this " preparei ■ milk and water " should be placed in th feeding botle and given to baby every tw hours by djiy and every four hours b; , night. ; . The food must be warmed by standinj the feeding bottle in hot water for a fet minutes. This is*all the food that baby requires u; to the age of six weeks. At six weeks of age, one pint of cow' milk should be added to one pint of wate or barley water, and prepared in the sain manner as before. Of this, six tablespoonfuls should b criven at each meal, and longer interval allowed between the meals. At three months of age, two pints o cow's milk should be added to one pin of water or barley water and prepared it the same manner as before. Of this, eight tablespoonfuls should b> -criven at each meal. It is sufficient, at this age, to feed babi ••avjery...three or four Ihours, and, at.night he will require no food during six hours. At six months of age, pure _ cow's mill .may be given, without the addition of an; water. It must be prepared by boilinf as before. No other food of any kind whatsoeve sli cuild be given until baby is at least sine or ten months-old. At this age, :he may begin to have hi milk thickened with. some good " Infants Food." Caution: Don't give baby Beer, Wine nor Spirits; tea, coffee, currants, brcid pastry; cheese, unripe fruit, nor " just wha you have "yourself."

Remember that children under the age of three years cannot digest the same food is gro\vi>-np persons. Don't give baby teething powders nor soothing, sirups. Don't feed baby whenever he cries. Remember that a new-born baby's stomach only holds as much as. an egg cup •md is easily overloaded. Do not allow the nurse to manipulate eiflier the head or the breasts of an in-U-nt. . _ . -

j Feeding Table. The following is a feeding table For a child 1 day to 6 weeks old. half a. pin' of milk, one pint of water or barley water. 1 tabJespooDfuls of each meal; 6 weeks to Y months. one pint of milk, 1 pint of wate> barley v.ttor, 6 tablespoonfuls at a tiirr? • ' months to 6 months, 2 pints of milk, 1 ;int of water, 8 tablespoonfuls at a time: 3 months to 6 months, pure milk, no water.

Feeding -Bottles. The oM-fashioned boat-shaped bottle with icdia .rubber-teat and stopper should be iisecT. The teat can be turned inside out for cleaning. • . Bottles - with lubes should not be to-

The tubes cannot be cleaned and are a frequent cause of diarrhoea and vomiting. The bottle should be well scrubbed with hot" water, in which-i fpinch of carbonate of soda has been dissolved. The basin should be covered' with a clean cloth. The bottle must be rinsed with fresh cold water when required for use. All milk left in the bottle after feeding must be thrown away. On no account whatever must it be offered to the child a. second time. .. A" little; careful watching will soon discover'the exact amount required at each •feeding, so that there need be no waste. . To make Barley Water. Barley water must be mad? fresh each Take one ounce of'sound pearl barley and wash it well in cold water.* Place in a saucepan with one pint of water and bring to the boil. Strain and throw away this water. _ Add another pint of water, bring to the boil and allow to simmer for half an hour Strain for use. General Hints. The commonest causes of death in infants and young children are diarrhoea vomiting, and convulsions. These diseases are nearly always due to improper feeding and can generally be pre vented. „ , . Improper feeding is the result of ignorance. . / Mothers, especially young mothers, are cautioned not to listen to the advice o friends when it is at variance with these rules. • • . . , It cannot be too strongly insisted upnr that tjie stomach of an infant under eight or nine months'of age cannot digest starchy foods. The fact that a child has been fed or ' pap' or other starchy food, and has survived, or has even appeared to thrive upor It. .is not evidence to the contrary. JCumbers of infants die every year fm no other reason than that they are unab I .' to digest it. It. is not sufficient, to take precautions against indiuestion by feeding an infan* carefully if' its clothes are allowed to remain dirty.

If the child has vomited over its clothes thev should be immediately changed. If its fingers are unclean it 'will suck the dirt off them and destroy all the benefits of careful and clean feeding. Tf these instructions are carefullv carried out it will generally be found that the infant will keep in good health and increase steadily in weight. At' the ase o f five months 'it should its weight at birth.

Tf in spite of every precaution, the infa.n f appears not to flourish, the mother should consult a medical man, who will advise her how to act.