OUR BABIES.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 16555, 14 October 1921, Page 9

OUR BABIES.

(By

“HYGEIA.”)

Tnbiiahed und«* the auspices of tbs Boyel New Zealand Society for the Health of Women and Children, " It is wiser to put up a fence si the top of a precipice than to maintain as ambulance at the bottom CONSTIPATION ON WEANING BABY, Tho following extract from a mother’s letter will be of interest to others who may have met with a like difficulty:— EXTRACT FROAJ. MOTHER'S LETTER. ee Babe is as fit as can be, except that these last, few days he has been constipated. T used a soap stick with good results on the second day, and as during the next twenty-four hours nothing happened I used it again, but it hurt him so much that I left it alone. He passed a little blood the first time T used it, so I don’t like to use the horrid thing again. Since then I have given him magnesia, in his bottles with the desired effect. “ I can't account for the suddenness of if . He has had quite a lot of orangejuice, loo—about a tablespoonful three times a day. He gets any amount of exercise and fresh air. of course. The only thing 1 can think of is that he is quite on the bottle now—five days ago he had the last breastfeed. “ I am giving him one teaspoonful of NX. Emulsion, with the ounces per feed. 1 expect that when he gets over this first hold-up he will be better. He is perfect]v good and sleeps very well. He is still the best behaved of the family.” REPLY SENT TO AIOTHER. You were quite right not to continue the use of the soap stick. A much less objectionable measure is the use of a tiny enema with one or two ounces of plain water or “ normal saline” in.iection, made bv adding rather less than a 'level teaspoonful of common salt to a, pint of water. The best temperature would be about 70deg or 80deg Fahr. If given at blood heat normal saline solution is so bland and unstimulating that it may fail to cause evacuation of the bowel. Indeed, it is often found better to use plain water rather than normal saline, because plain water is more stimulating. Probablv you will not have to resort to anything of the kind. EMULSION. The allowance of NX. Emulsion may be increased gradually, if it agrees well, until tlie daily allowance is two level tablespoonfuls. Of course, this would mean a considerably stronger food what you are now giving, and about 1 35 oiinoes in the twenty-four hours ti.e-., 7 ounces per feed) ought to suffice. You know, of course, the universal tendency to overfeed. OR ANGE JUICE. Regarding the orange of which you are giving a full allowance, Dr Gerstenberger, oue of the leading American authorities, has recently made careful observations as to the value of this fruit juice in the feeding of babies. a.nd has come to the definite conclusion that, while it- should be given on account of its vita-nnnes content, and as a preventive of scurvey. and other nutritional defects, orange juice has practically no relaxing tendency, and may even act rather the other SPINACH. As you always have good spinach, it would* probably lie bettor to limit, the orange juice to, say, a tablespoonful a day, and to give in addition an allowance of very finely pureed spinach--starting Vith a tea spoonful in the twenty-four hours and working up gradually to a tablespoonFul or mote, if needed. In Germany the highest, an thorities hare made the daily tine of spinach a matter of routine lor praoticnlly all artificially fed babies. They do this on the following grounds : fll The high vitamin© content of green leaves. (2) The fact that spinach has more organic iron than am* other vegetable, and iron is very p°^ r b ? represented m cow’s milk compared with human (3) Spinach is an excellent laxative, and lias no griping or purging tendenov unless given in excess, or pushed on too quickly in the case of a baby who hns not been in the habit of taking any green food. MAGNESIA. There is no objection to the use of a little magnesia, which, you say, i* ino- satisfactorily: but it would be hotter to discontinue this saline as soon [ ns you have srot the Ixiwcls properly j regulated by tho simple means dei scribed. ... ! Of course, yon see the special atjvant- | ago of spinach as an allround wliolosomo vegetable for continued use. T’er- ; haps half a level teaspoonful would be 1 enough to rommence with.