A DAY WITH THE PLUNKET NURSE.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VII, Issue 591, 6 August 1913, Page 7

A DAY WITH THE PLUNKET NURSE.

(By N.)

I was interested in the work of the Plunkec Nurse, and anxious to know something of her method of procedure, so it was arranged that I should accompany her on a certain day, as she went round. We set out at 9 a.m., and first went to a house in which the baby had been circumcised the day before. The mother was nervous, and nurse had undertaken to call in and bath the baby. This was duly done, and fresh dressing placed on the wound. We left the baby clean and comfortable, quietly taking his drink, and the mother content that baby was doing weil. In an adjoining street we saw a baby two months old. The mother's milk had never come, and he had been started on humanised, in weak solution (on part of humanised, in two of boiled water), on the third day. The first week he lost lib, remained as he was the second, and gained 4oz the third, and had put on ilb each Week since. He had reached full strength hunianispd by the time he was one month old. Nursu weighed him. and his mother said he was as good as gold, perfectly content, and sleeping splendidly; so we passed on. "I wish I could get them all from the commencement like that," said Nurse; "it saves so much unnecessary trouble."

"But what about the breast-fed babies?" I asked.

"They have the best chance, of course, and generally escape the sad adventures of so many of the other poor wee mites. But even so, one can do a good deal on their behalf, and there are lots of little things the mothers want to know, especially the case of a first baby."

"The baby here," continued Nurse, as we went into another gale, "is a case in point. The baby was cross, and the mother worried, and imagined all sorts of things were wrong with the child. That, of course affected the milk, which upset her baby, making her a great deal worse. When I explained this to the mother die was greatly surprised. I also found that hei' original crossness was due to unsuitable clothing. She had an irritating woollen garment next the skin, and was bound so tightly in one of those horrible, stiff birders that the poor wee thing could hardly breathe. Both wrong 3 were righted. A silk-and-wool vest was put under the other, and the binders were discarded. The result is a 'good' baby." Both mother and baby were well, so our visit was short. It was a good long way to the next house, and meantime Nurse told me about the little patient there. In her case the mother's milk was insufficient, and the baby, when two week's old, was given cow's milk and water, half and half, to make good the deficiency. She became very sick, and the stools were green and curdy, so it was decided that the two milks didn't agree, and the mother's milk was abandoned. The baby became worse, so they said milk did not suit her, and tried a patent food. The stools continued to be green; she was habitually cross and restles?, and did not thrive. When she was seven weeks old Nurse was called in. Under her directions the baby wa3 given nothing but boiled water for 12 hours, and sugar solution for the next 12 hours. Then she was given humnaised milk No. 1, to which two parts of boiled water had been added. She was restricted three-hour-ly feedings, and allowed a little.sugar solution between times when she seemed hungry. She lost b'oz the first week, and gained nothing the second; but the sickness stopped, and the motions became normal. By the end of the third week she had reached full-strength food, and had gained ilb. For some weeks now she had gained lOoz each week. We found her in her pram on the verandah, looking quite bonny. "How has she been this week?" the Nurse asked her mother. • "Just splendid, thank you, Nurse. She sleeps all night now and is so contented. Really, you wouldn't know her, had you not seen the change. She is so different! I hardly know myself, either," she continued, "I feel so well. But how I wish I had known about humanised milk before!" "Yes," said Nurse, "it would have saved both you and baby a lot of suffering, and you needn't have put away your milk, a? mother's milk and humanised milk agree excellently. However, it's no use crying over"but the sentence was interrupted by a crow from the baby. She was weighed, and showed her usual gain, and smiled to us as we said "Goodbye." "We're going now," said Nurse, "to a home where I haven't been able to do much so far. The mother is afraid of fresh air, will persist in keeping windows shut, and lets the baby sleep in a hot kitchen." "Then why do you continue going?" "Because 1 have hopes yet of being able to convince her that he would thrive far better if hel got sufficient oxygen, and if I succeed it means so much to him." To Nurse's delight we found the baby sleeping outside! "Oh, yes, he's been out several times now," said his mother, with a smile.

"And you don't find him any the Worse?"

"Well, no. I think he sleeps better! Do you want to weigh him?'' "No, don't disturb him," said Nurse, he's better where he is. The air will give him a good colour."' "He's breast'fed," she told me, as we went on, "and his greatest need is fresh air. I wouldn't have him brought in unnecessarily on any account." "I'm so glad to Nurae!"

j said the next mother. "I've been I worried about baby, he's so constipated." ! "Is he having his orange juice regujlarly?" j "Yes, and he likes it, too." l "And you rub his abdomen with j warm oil?" ! "Yes, every day: but he hasn't had i amotion for two days, and he's been j dreadfully cross." j "He'd certainly be cross while in ! that condition. We'll give him an ! injection right away." I Thi3 was successfully done, and I baby was relieved. ! "We'll try him with some Malt ExI tract," said Nurse. "Give him the ! fruit juice in the morning, and a teai spoonful of malt in the afternoon, either before, or in his food. That j should help him." ; "I'll get it tc-day," said the j mother. "Thank you. Nurse." j "Constipation is a frequent trouble J in the cold weather " Nurse told me, I "but we can generally ovecome it one \ way or another. It doesn't do to let babies continue like that.'* i Our next call was at the Society's ; oiiice, where Nurse found a couple of ! letters from country mothers, who ! wanted advice, and a message from I another mother who wanted her to ! call in'the afternoon. "1 must be in the office from 2 till i o," she said, "and will go to that i other case afterwari?. I will probi ably have to shorv the mother there ! how to make humanised, but in the meantime we will go and get some ! dinner."