OUR BABIES.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 12755, 26 September 1919, Page 9

OUR BABIES.

(By HYGETAJ Published under the auspice, of tbiy Royal New Zealand Society for th# Health of Women and Children. ‘Mi i. wiser to put up a fence at the top of a precipice than to maintain an ambulance at the bottom.” five feedings only IN THE 24 HOURS FROM BIRTH. A few weeks ago wo gave a list of the resolutions re infant feeding and the teaching of pediatrics which wore passed unanimously at a conference of experts held, at the instance of tho Local Government Board, in London last February. Last week wo drew special attention to two of tho resolutions dealing with tho feeding of infante, and wo quoted some English and American experiences. This week we shall illustrate tho points by some New Zealand examples, but first of all wo shall repeat the resolutions in order to impress upon our readers the latest authoritative pronouncement on tlie matter. RESOLUTIONS PASSED UNANIMOUSLY. That, with very few exceptions, nursing only every four hours from birth is best for mother and child, though in a few cases more frequent feeding may be desirable.

. That., in general, there should bo an interval of seven or eight hours between the last feeding at night and the first feeding in the morning. It must be obvious that if a baby thrives better when there axe longer intervals between its feedings, the benefit to the mother must be very great indeed. I* irst of all. she has more leisure. Feeding every three hours means that the mother has an interval of about two and a half hours only irom the end of tidying up after one toedipg until the beginning of preparation for the next. Four-hourly feedings gl u 6 iQt ' erval of at least three and a half hours—really quite a long time. 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 sufficient. A thriving baby is usually happy and contented; it sleeps well, and is a conslant source of joy and pleasure not only to the mother, but to the whole family; a peevish, ailing infant, on the other hand, keeps the household in a state of great discomfort and anxiety. A FEW NEW ZEALAND EXPERIENCES. Family I. The first two children in this family were fed three-hourly from birth, with no night-feeding. They grew well, and were strong, healthy children, but during the early months they had from lour to six movements of the bowels daily, and they suffered a great deal with wind, showing that they were overfed. . The third child was fed only five times in the twenty-four hours from birth, and he did exceedingly well, his’ mother saying he was the flower of tho flock. When there was a fourth arrival it also was fed only five times in tho twenty-four hours from birth. It gave no trouble at all, and throve well, and is a fine sturdy child. All the children slept out of doors from birth, and they were given all the essentials for health in full measune. The babies gave so little trouble that, on one occasion, a fiicnd. 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 tho home where she was employed, and it gave them very little peace and quiet. In this family all the children were breast-fed for nine months. The first two, who were fed six times in the twenty-four hours, did well; but the next two, fed only five times, did even better, and, of course, the mother had much more rest and leisure, and therefore better health. Family 11. In this family both the child req have been fed four-hourly from birth, and only five times in the twentyfour hours. They have given very little trouble, have thriven well, and are bright, happy, 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 ten days old. The mother bold us her nurse was a real treasure—that she looked after the other children, saw that they changed their shoos 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 npon such innovations as regularity of feeding and fourhourly intervals as fads. Imagine our surprise when this nurse, showing us the bonnie, healthy baby with great pride, told us it had been fed onlv five i. 1 / 11 ® 3 In the twenty-four hours from uv She said her last six cases had all been on four-hourly intervals, and that they were the best babies she had tended in a long experienceCase 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 I am pleased to tell you that 1 have tried it now several times with great success. I shall tell you of one ease in the backblocks. The mother has six children under seven years of ago. She* does all her own work. I have nurfed 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 'to eight hours at night. The mother bad enough milk for two babies. Baby is now three months old. I stayed with the 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 mo such a lot of time to do my work; he still sleeps all night, and there is plenty of milk.’ The second letter was equally satisfactory ”