How to Bring Up Baby.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XLVII, Issue 26, 26 June 1912, Page 59

How to Bring Up Baby.

(By

HYGEIA.)

Published under the tawspices of the Society for the Health of

Women and Children.

"It is tciser to put up fence at the top of a precipice fnan io maintain an

ambulance at the bottom.”

'Addresses of Plunket Nurses aud Secretaries.

Dunedin—Plunket Nurses Laing and Torrance. Tels. 1130 and 2057. Offices of the Society, Health Department Room*. Jj verpool-street, Dunedin. Office hours, Monday, Wednesday and Friday, from 3 to 4 pan. Brandi office at Cargill road, South Dunedin.—Office hours, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, from 3 to 5 p.m. Hon. sec., Mrs Edmond, Melville-street. Tel. 53. Christchurch" —Plunket Nurses Hickson and Hansard. Office of the Society, 847 Chancery-lane. • Tel. 847. Office hours’, 9 to 10 a.m. and 2 to 3 p.m. daily (except Saturdays and Sundays). Hon. sec., pro. tem., Mrs C. Reid, Knowles-etrcet, St. Albans. Tel. 1071. Wellington.—Hon. sec., Mrs M’Vicar, 27 Brougham-street, City. Tel. 2642. Auckland. —Plunket Nurses Chappell and Brien, Park-street. Tel. 851. Office of the Society, 2 Chancery-street. Tel. 829. Office hours, Tuesdays and Fridays, 2.30 to 4 :p.m. Hon. sec., Mrs W. H. Parkes, Marinoto, Symondsstre'et. Tel. 240. (Napier.—-Plunket Nurse Donald, Masonic Hotel. Tel. 485. Hon. see., Mrs H. E. Oldham.’ Telegrams, “Oldham,” Napier. Tel. 585. (New Plymouth—Plunket Nurse Morgan, Imperial Hotel. Tel. 123. Office, Town Hall, Wednesdays and Fridays, 2 to 4 pan. Hon. sec.', Mrs J. R. Matthews, Fitzroy. Tel. 104. Uimaru.—Plunket Nurse Campbell. Office of the Society, Arcade Chambers. Tel. 314. Office hours, 3.30 to 4.30 and 6.30 to 7.30. lion, sec., Mrs Ernest Bowden. Invercargill.—‘Plunket Nurse O’Shea, Alien’s Hall, Kelvin-street. Hon. sec., Mrs Handyside, Gala-street.

Ashburton.—Plunket Nurse Hickson. Office of Society, Bullock’s Arcade. Nurse in attendance every Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Hon. sec., pro. tem., Mies Standish. Society’s Baby Hospital, Karitane Harris .Hospital, Anderson’s Bay, Dunedin, Tel. 1985. Demonstrations on points of interest to mothers are given every Wednesday afternoon from 2.30 to 3.30. All mothers are invited; Messages may ‘be left at any time at the Plunket Nurses’ offices or private addresses. All other information available from the hon. secretary of each branch. PLUNKET NURSES’ SERATCES FREE. The New Book A little book entitled “What Baby Needs ” has been issued by the Society in response to urgent requests from all directions for an authoritative pamphlet to take the place in the meantime of the Society’s guide-book for mothers and nurses, “The Feeding and Care of (Baby,” which is out of print. “ What Baby' Needs ’’ contains feeding tables, recipes, the main essentials for the rearing of healthy children, is quite up-to-date, and will form a good introduction to the Society’s larger book, which will be issued in the course, of the year. “ What ‘Baby Needs ” can be obtained from the lion. Secretaries of the Society, the Plunket nurses, and the leading booksellers; price Gd., posted 7d. The Bran Bed (continued).

. Dr. Coinby gives the following as the disadvantages or inconvenience that may

arise in connection with the use of the bran-bed:—■ k

(1) However careful one may be. it is impossible in practice not to scatter a little of the bran around the cradle when one lifts the infant. (2) Some scales of bran adhere to the baby’s skin; these have to be washed off from time to time.

(3) The excreta being formed into dry odourless balls, and kept out of sight, the mother or nurse does not notice any changes in the motions which might warn her that the baby’s digestion was becoming upset—in other words, there are no tell-tale napkins to act as timely warnings. (Memo, by “ Hygeia”: — this is certainly a drawback. However, it rarely happens that a baby becomes seriously ill without other warnings, such as wind, failure of the bowels to move, or undue frequency of motions, pain, crying, restlessness, and other evidences of discomfort. Directly. smell tiigns were noticed the mother using a bran bed could resort to ordinary napkins for a day or two.) (4) The use of the bran-bed must be restricted to the first year of life at longest. If continued it is found that babies play with the. bran, picking up handfuls and scattering it in all directions, or putting it into mouth, nose, eyes, etc. (Note by “ Hygeia”:—One fancies that there are. few babies who would wait until they are a year old to indulge in tricks of this kind. Indeed, my correspondent found herself nonplussed when her baby was five months old:—‘We used the bran-bed referred to in the Society's book, and found it a great success and convenience. We attribute to this form of bed her strength of back and straightness of limbs, and would most certainly use it at future times. At five months we discontinued the branbed, as baby seemed to outgrow it, but would have liked to keep it up lonaer; but she got restless, and kicked the brim about!’ ”) Conclusion. In conclusion Dr. Conibv savs: — This system of rearing babies is very economical and very simple, and for these reasons mav be specially recommended in households where for any reason a large amount of time and attention cannot be devoted to the babv —- in other words, in homes where there

would lie a risk of H.e Itaby Ix’ing left stagnating in soiled garments through their not being changed or cleansed often enough.

Comment. Personally 1 am inclined to think tnat the strongest arguments in favour of the bran-bed from a hygienic point of view are, first, the fact that the baby is never left revoltingly poulticed by remaining wrapped up for hours soaked and choked up with its own excreta, and secondly, the fact that while in bed he can freely move and exercise his trunk and lower limbs unhampered by exasperating swaddlings, and restrictions—in other words, the baby is encouraged, not thwarted, in his natural efforts to stretch himself and take exercise.

These considerations apply as much to the baby in a palaeo as to the baby in a collage, t.ouni Tolstoy was nobly born, but this did not save him from the distress of being swaddled; on the other hand, the sensitiveness of his organisation made the restrictions peculiarly aggravating and harmful, as would be lhe ease with all children of nervous tem

perament. As Dr. Leonard Guthrie remarks in his book on the “Functional Nervous Disorders in Children": —

“The principles to bo observed in the clothing of neurotic children are ‘that, the garments should be light, warm, , loose and non-irritating. Clothes slw.dd be made to fit the child; the child should not be forced to lit the clothes.

l.eo Tolstoy thus describes his early resentment al his swaddling clothes: — “Here,” he says, “are my earliest reminiscences : 1 am hound. I wish to free my arms and 1 cannot do it, and I scream and cry, and my cries are unpleasant to myself, but I cannot ecase. Somebody bends down over me; I do not remember who. All is in a half-light. But I remember that there are two people. My cries affect, them; they are disturbed by my cries, but do not. unbind mo as I desire, and I cry yet louder. They think that this is necessary (i.e. that 1 should, be bound) and whereas I know it is not necessary, and I wish to prove ti to them, and am convulsed with cries, distasteful to myself, but unrestrainable. . I feel the injustice and cruelty, not of human beings, for they pitv me. but of fate, and I feel pity for myself. This was my first and most powerful impression in life.”