OUR BABIES.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18674, 31 January 1929, Page 4

OUR BABIES.

By

HYGEIA.

Published under the auspices of the Royal New Zealand Society tor the Health of Women and tnudren (Plunket Society). “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 childhood 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 the sun on the skin, starting with momentary exposure of hands and forearms, feet and legs, and extending in due course to the upper arms and thighs, and including later on more or less of the surface of the body. Skin-sensitiveness. 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 the age and general health and strength of the particular baby, but also with the sensitiveness of his skin to solar radiation. In babies, even more than in the case of adults, there are very great differences in the sensitiveness of the skin to the direct action of the sun’s rays. Taking two normal healthy babies who (up to, say, three months of age) have been reared side by side on precisely the same lines, it might be found that in the course of a month the one would benefit by duly graduated exposure of the limbs and part of the body up to five or ten minutes twice a da>', w’hile 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 ad\-ancing too slowly rather than risk going too quickly.

When a normal baby is about a w r eck old he may be taken out into the sunshine for a short time if the weather is mild and genial. His eyes can be shaded from the glare by turning him on his side in his cot and shading his head, without putting any covering near his face. The leather hood of an ordinary perambulator affords a very unhealthy shelter for the baby. (See “Feeding and Care of Baby,” page 72.) Yet many infants live in a leatherlined perambulator during the greater part of their first year. Sun Baths. When the temperature of the day is not under about 50 degrees Fahrenheit a healthy baby who has been properly reared should have become accustomed towards the end of the second month to having his arms and legs and part of the adjacent skin surface of his body bared to the sun for, say, five or 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 knee, 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 to-

wards 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 be bared to the sunshine for, say', ten minutes or a quarter of an hour before his 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. feedings. Even longer exposure may- prove beneficial on specially favourable days.

If the weather is warm a healthy baby in his second month may have his morning bath on the open verandah, w'here the sunshine can play on his body. Later, when he can crawl 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 for the body—provided, of course, that he has been reared sensibly and not coddled and spoiled. Babies habituated to daily exposure of the skin to 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 arc a joy to themselves and to everyone connected with them; they radiate happiness, as the sun radiates light, heat, and 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 to 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. To ensure pure air day and night the baby must have a bed to himself. “A baby must never sleep in bed with his mother.” Only a short time ago there was a case of death through “ overlying ’’ in the North Island. The Coroner at the inquest condemned this foolish and utterly unjustifiable practice, which is still quite common among careless, self-indulgent mothers. “If the cot is kept in the room in which the parents or other persons sleep, it should be placed on the side of the room opposite to where the other bed or beds stand, and there should be a current of pure outside air flowing across the room between the cot and the bed, so that the baby may not rebreathe the air which the other occupants of the room have used up and poisoned.” Every mother should make herself quite familiar with the illustrations and instructions given on pages 65 to 69 of “ Feeding and Care of Baby.” If she bears these in mind she cannot go far wrong in the placing of the baby’s cot, and the other provisions for ensuring pure air in the night as well as in the daytime.

Sunlight Essential. Parents and nurses should be brought to realise that, 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 tiould 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 (suitable food, adequate exercise, rest, and sleen) 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

fa mil v from a more liberal exposure of the skin to direct solar radiation. Warning. While it is highly beneficial to the normal babv to be gradually habituated to the moderate exposure of the arms and legs, and later to more or less exposure of part at least of the bodv to sunlight, parents ought to realise that, lik* other beneficial agencies, the sun’s rays are liable to do far more harm than good if any attempt. is made to nroceed 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 slowb* and watch results. In some babies the tendencies of “ solariation.” as in the case of some older '/Ildren, is to cause irritation and freckling instead of the rich, ruddy brown. which may be regarded as the normal and healthv reaction we aim at inducing. In all cases it is safest and best to expose the limbs and outlying parts of the body first, and to onlv resort to exposure of the trunk itself later, and for a shorter period. Special care should be exercises with regard to the protection of the head and eves, esnecially in hot weather. The best head covering in summer is a loose white perforated soft linen hat or a similar cap with a brim all round, such as bovs sometimes wear when playing cricket. This keeps the head reasonably cool, and the brim shades the eyes and the back of the neck, which is a danger point in connection with sunstroke. 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 so-called 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 gradual ly.“