OUR BABIES.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1860, 20 September 1913, Page 15

OUR BABIES.

TBT Hiobii.l

Published under the auspioes of the Society for th» Health of Women and Children. "It is wiier to put up A fence lit the top of a, precipice than to mo.luti.in &n ambulance at the bottom." NOHE.— I Tho Society strongly disapmoves ©1 the mso ol artificial fooao , aa a substitute for mothers' or humanised milk. Full directions for tho preparation, of the latoor aro oontained in the Society'? pamphlet ' entitled "What Baby Needs." ADDRESSES OF PLUNKET NURSES AND SECRETARIES. iDunedin. —Plunket Nurse Laing. Tel. 1136. Plunket Nurso M'Laren. Tel. 2814. Office of the Society Post Office Building, Liverpool Street, Dunedin. Mrs. Jos. M'George, 54 London Street. Chris tchuroh.—Plunket Nurses Ellis, Hansard, and Kilgour. Office, Chancery Lane. Hon. Secretary, Mrs. H. Pyno, Bealey Avenue.., Wellington.—Plunket Nurse Morgan; assistant, Nurse Mackintosh. Society's Room, 8G Vivian Street. Tel. 2425. Hon. Secretary, Mrs. M'Vicar, 27 Brougham Street, City. Tel. 2642. Auckland. —Plunket Nurses Chappell and Morgan. Office, 2 Chancery Street. Hon. Secretary, Mrs. W. H. Parkes,' Marinoto, Symonds Street. Napier.—Plunket Nurso Donald, Marino Parade. Hon. Secretary, Mrs. Hector Smith. Timani.—Plunket Nurso Bowie. Office, Sophia' Street. Hon. Secietary, Mr. Ernest Howden. Invercargill.—Plunket Nurso O'Shea, Allen's Hall, Kelvin Street. Hon. Secretary, Mre. Cruickshank, Gala Street. •• Hastings (Hawke's Bay).—Plunket Nurse Purcell. Office, Mr. Bates's Pharmacy. Hon. Secretary, Mrs. T. W. Lewis. Tel. 285; Wanganui District: —Travelling Plunket Nurse, Wanganui, Marton. Patea, Nurse Hursthouse. Tel. 949. Secretary and Treasurer, Miss B. Cummins. Tel. 377. Oamaru District.—Travelling Plunket Nurse Donniston. Hon. Secretary, Mrs. Haines, Bank of New Zealand. Dannevirke.—Plunket Nurso Wright. Hon. Secretary, Mrs. Bickford, Bank .of Now Zealand. Ashburton.—Plunket Nurso Kilgour. Hon. Secretary, Miss M. Moore, . Society's Baby Hospital, Karitane Harris Hospital, Anderson's Bay, Dunedin. Matron, Miss Campbell. PLUNKET NURSES' SERVICES FREE.

THE SOCIETY'S BOOK. Tho Society's little book, entitled "What Baby Needs,", can bo obtained from tho Matron, Karitane Harris Hospital, the Plunket nurses ; the honorary secretaries, ajid the leading booksellers throughout the Dominion. Price, 6d.; posted, 7d. ' THB ESSENTIALS FOR HEALTH. -In concentrating attention on one point, such as mastication, we must never lose sight of the otlher essentials for health. We lave repeated these over and over again, and it is needless to recapitulate them now. Our readers will also -find these and all other essentials for childhood in the little book "What Baby Needs," and also in tho new illustrated edition of the book on. "Feeding and care of the Baby," which is about to bo issued by the society. / •

There is one essential, ihowever, which nearly everyone "believes in"_nowadays, but which, on investigation, is found to receive scant attention, a,nd that is— fresh, free-flowing outside air. How many children have as much pure air as they ought to have, especially during the night? Mothers say: "The children have plenty of fresh air: they are out all day long; indeed', tney are never in"—quite oblivions of the fact that they are crowded together iii close rooms for 10 or 12 hours in each 24. Thus all night long they are breathing polluted air, and a large portion of the vigour audi energy stored up during the Bay is taken from them by the devitalising action.' of the poisoned air which they breathe during the_ night. It cannot be too strongly insisted iipon that merely airing a bedroom only provides enough fresh, air for half an hour. If mothers could be brought to realise this the ohildirehi would be great gainers in the race of life. The following instance which occurred recently'illustrates what I mean.

ILLUSTRATIVE CASE. , A small hiiy of four was nearly always "peaJcy." Ho tended to catoh colds, to have heat spots, and generally to be somewhat delicate, soft, and pasty. Ho slept in the same room with his parents ana a' younger child. The window of. the room was' open a few inches at the top, the blind) was fixed below the open space, and there was an open fire-place; but the air current waa quite insufficient, and l I suggested that the window should be opened wide and the children should have a separate room, with a proper air current passing through it. Tho mother said tho younger child wa9 too young, and the other would' be afraid to sleep alone. I saidy "Try, and see how he gets on." A few days later I saw them, and, said', "Well, has Jacky got his room yet?" His mother said, "I tried him. but he wouldn't sleep by himsolf." Tho little boy was standing by, audi I said to him, "Why, Jacky, you svro not going to bo a little coward. Annie (mentioning someone lie knew) had a room to herself long before ffhe was your age—she liked to have her own room."

About a fodaMfeht later I saw them again, and the little boy appeared quite transfigured—ho was so bright, freshcoloured), and radiant. I remarked how well 'he looked, .andl his mother .replied, "Yes, he is very well." Then turning to the little boy, I said, "Well, Jacky. have you a room to yourself yet ? Rather to my surprise he answered with evident pride, "Yes, come and see," and he showed me his room and all its contents. I said) to his mother, "You seo what a difference.it has made already" ; but she looked sceptical, and evidently thought tho improvement a matter of chance.

The above case is typical of what has happened again and again in my own experience. Delicate, ailing children have become strong and healthy when thoy have been given a full supply of pure, fresh air, and tho few other simplo essentials for health. It is hard to get mothers to realise that there is such a thing aB air, and I must say here that many of the fathers are almost as bad. Tho fathers are often nruoli more reasonable and accurate with regard l to tho feeding of the baby, but thoy seem to bo just as soeptical as tho motlhora with regard to air. One would have thought that the value of a froo, full supply of fresh air would have been forced upon them by the way in which consumptives pine and die if tiiey dwell in ordinary, what are oalled "well-aired" rooms, but often recover health when thoy sleep on a verandah or in an, open shed. Tho society strongly disapproves or tho use of artificial foods as a substitute for mother's or humanised milk. Full directionis for # the preparation of the latter aro contained in the society s published pamphlet, entitled ""What Baby Needs."