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The Care of Babies: Hence

Hence, a wet nurse should never be hired unless she is known to be reliable and of good moral character and is pronounced by a competent physician to be free from disease.

Inquiries should be made as to the circumstances surrounding her own child. Reasonable assurance should be had that she is likely to be free from anxiety or worry.

The same care should be devoted to the nurse's habits of life and diet as the nursing mother should exercise in her own behalf. As a rule it is necessary that the nurse should have the sort of food and the amount of exercise to which she has previously been accustomed, rather than that she be fed upon rich foods and suffered to lead a life of idleness.

ARTIFICIAL FEEDING All doctors of experience agree that the problem of the artificial feeding of infants is one of the most serious which they are called upon to face. Some babies have to be put on the bottle at birth or during the first few weeks or months of life. All must be weaned sooner or later.

Hence, this is a problem which must be worked out for every single child.

There are certain facts and principles which every mother should know, because they are of equal importance in all cases. But every mother should clearly understand that no set of rules can be laid down which will be adapted in all respects to any child.

Each baby needs a combination suited to his digestion. The mixture upon which some other baby is thriving may be too strong or too weak for your baby. The only way to learn what food will agree with your baby is by experience. The facts and principles herein stated are condensed from the official publications of boards of health throughout the United States. They may be relied upon as the consensus of the best medical opinion. But if your baby does not thrive upon artificial food prepared as here suggested, you should consult your family physician and be guided by his advice.

It is much better for her own health as well as that of the child for the mother to nurse her own baby. It is also much easier and cheaper. Milk and other artificial food is expensive and so is the ice to keep it properly. And much time and trouble is required for preparing the food. Hence it is almost a criminal folly for a mother to refuse to nurse her baby, unless the physician advises her that it is unsafe for her to do so. Good artificial food is, however, better than bad breast feeding. Sometimes the mother or the infant may be actually unable to nurse. The milk may continue to disagree with the infant; it may be insufficient in quantity or deficient in quality properly to nourish the child; or the health of the infant's mother may require weaning.

If the milk is good in quality, but insufficient in quantity, it is far better to continue the breast feeding and to give the baby some artificial food in addition, to help the mother out. Mother's milk is not only the most easily digested and the most nutritious of all baby foods. It contains a ferment such that a very small quantity helps to digest a larger quantity of cow's milk. It also contains certain antitoxin substances which afford a large degree of protection against diarrheal diseases, the ordinary infectious diseases, and some others. Hence, even if the supply of breast milk is not sufficient for the total nourishment of the child, this partial supply is of such great value that it should be kept up as long as possible.

Even when the mother's milk has nearly disappeared it may sometimes be brought back. If the inclination of the child has not been spoiled by feeding from a cup or spoon it will, by regular application to the breast, help to stimulate the secretion of milk. The flow can also be encouraged by proper attention to the diet. But if the mother is suffering from disease which impairs the healthfulness of the milk, breast feeding must be wholly discontinued and artificial food adopted. When Not to Nurse. - When the mother is consumptive or suffers from any other chronic disease or is very delicate, nursing may be too severe a drain upon her and may be unwholesome for the child. Nursing a consumptive mother is not only dangerous to the child; it may hasten the progress of the mother's disease and make fatal its termination.

Breast feeding is also out of the question when serious complications follow the child's birth, such as severe hemorrhage, childbed fever, blood poisoning, kidney disease, or when the mother suffers from epilepsy or St. Vitus Dance, or other chronic nervous affliction.

Contrary to common opinion the nursing mother may become pregnant, in which case her baby should be promptly weaned. The milk is then deficient in quality and to continue nursing may work irreparable injury to both mother and child. The importance of this fact cannot be over-estimated, as some mothers from a mistaken opinion to the contrary nurse their children for several months after they should be weaned and suffer the most unfortunate consequences.

The menstruation of the mother does not affect the milk as much as usually believed. It may cause slight indigestion, but is not sufficient reason to stop nursing. Extreme sensitiveness of the breasts to the point of intense pain in nursing is not a good reason for discontinuing. Persistence for a few days will allow nature time to effect a cure.

MILK MODIFICATION Cow's milk undiluted and unmodified is entirely unfit for infants under one year old, but when properly diluted and mixed it is the best substitute for mother's milk. Cow's milk must be diluted on account of its richness in curds. The cheesy matter it contains forms large curds in the child's stomach which are harder to digest than the smaller curds in mother's milk. Hence it is necessary to dilute the cow's milk, both to lessen the amount of cheesy matter and to break up the curds into small particles so that the child can digest the milk more easily.

When diluted, however, it contains too little fats and sugar. Hence after dilution, it is necessary to add cream and sugar to the milk. This process imitates the milk of the mother as nearly as can be done. It is commonly known as milk modification. Milk so treated is called modified milk. This is now accepted by all authorities as the best food for the infant deprived of breast milk.

Cow's milk can be diluted either by water, by decoctions of cereals such as barley or oatmeal, or, toward the end of the first year, by beef or mutton broth. Both oatmeal and beef broth have a tendency to loosen the bowels. Changes have to be made from time to time to suit the infant's digestion. Your physician will advise you as to how this can be done. Good cow's milk contains about four per cent of butter fat and may be called 4% milk. After standing UPPER THIRD 10% b ALL 4% C (a) Upper third 10% milk; (b) upper half 7%; (c) whole milk 4%. Courtesy State Board of Health of Illinois. until the cream rises to the top, the upper third of a bottle of good milk THE CARE OF BABIES contains ten per cent of butter fat.

This is called 10% milk, or cream.

The upper half contains seven per cent of butter fat and is known as 7% milk. Always buy whole milk, i. e., 4% milk, never skimmed milk.

Materials Required for Milk Mixing. It is good economy to equip yourself at the outset with a full set of proper utensils for mixing the baby's milk. The best are none too good. The whole cost will hardly equal the doctor's fees which may result from a single illness due to improper feeding. You will require an eight-ounce glass graduate, a glass funnel, a cream dipper, a dozen nursing bottles, a half dozen black rubber nipples, and three bottle brushes for washing out the bottles. If you buy milk in bottles and measure it in a glass graduate you will not need to use pitchers, cups, or other measures.

But whatever utensils you do use for mixing the baby's food should be kept by themselves, washed separately, boiled and drained without wiping, and not put into the dish water or wiped with a dish towel in the ordinary way.

The Materna Measure. - This is a sixteen-ounce measure with six panel sides. It affords a simple means of milk mixing in the home. On each side is marked the exact amount of sugar, lime water, water, milk and cream to be used in feeding. The six panels are labeled to measure the food suitable to as many ages of infancy. If your druggist does not carry this measure in stock ask him to order one for you. It will help you to avoid making mistakes.

All utensils used in preparing baby food should be of glass, china, porcelain or granite-ironware. These will not rust nor present crevices for the accumulation of dirt. Never use vessels or utensils which are cracked or have rough edges or surfaces. Select nursing bottles with round bottoms and free from angles. The best bottles are marked with a scale of ounces so that the exact amount given may be measured at each feeding. It is advisable to purchase a dozen bottles because it is much more convenient to mix in the morning the food for the entire day. Put enough for each feeding in a sepaa 2 3 FAT 2% 25% 3% 6.6% 6% 6% POT 0608% 1% 3 TO 14TTO 6TH WH/6TH TO THWK MILK MILK CREAM EAM CREAM WATER WATER WATER WATER L WATER LWATER CREAM M SUGAR b (a) Best style of nursing bottle; (b) materna measure. rate bottle and then place the bottles on ice. Ten feedings will be required for small infants and it is well to have extra bottles on hand in case of breakage. Fewer bottles may be used, but no mother should attempt to get along with less than two. It is better to have plenty of bottles so that the same bottles will not have to be used too frequently.