OUR BABIES.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VIII, Issue 628, 17 December 1913, Page 6

OUR BABIES.

Published under the auspices of the Society for the Health of Women and Children. " It is wiser to put up a fence at the top of a precipice than to maintain an ambulance at the bottom." BATHING AND EXERCISE. Dealing with the bathing of the infant, Professor Rotch says:— "The question of the bath is of a good deal of importance in the early months of life. Unless there i 3 some definite contra-indication. an infant should be bathed every morning. The contra-indications are if the skin or nails turn blue, or if the infant seems in any way to show symptoms of weakness or lowered vitality after bathing, such as are represented by colJ extremities and nose, or an unusually quickened respiration. In these cases sponging, merely sufficient for cleanliness, is to ba substituted for the bath. The bathing should be done with celerity, the tub being placed on the side of -the fireplace opposite from the window, and fronting the latter, so as to avoid draughts and ensure good light. The nurse Ehould sit with her face to the light, and have the infant on her lap, wrapped up in a warm blanket, with its feet towards the fireplace and its head in such a position as regards the window as to avoid having too much light in its eyes. There should be a rack for the towels, which should be kept warm in front of the fire while the infant is being bathed. The clothes should in like manner be neatly spread out on another rack, ready to be put on as soon as the infant has been dried. TEMPERATURE OF BATH. "The water should vary in its temperature somewhat with the age of the infant, but should never be so cold as to cause biueness or cold extremities. We must also b8 careful not to have t'.i? water too hot, as this has sometimes proved to be injurious. Each infant, however, must have the temperature of its bath adapted to its own vitality. A convenient bath thermometer is one which is guarded from breaking by a wooden frame, which alßo allows it to float in the water, and th 6 nurse is thus enabled to Bee at a glance that the bath water is of the right heat. The temperature recommended for the bath during the first few months of life is from 98deg. to lOOdeg., and then a gradual reduction until a year old it may be given at 90deg. With the average baby it is better to maintain the temperature of the bath at 98 until the baby is a year old because a tepid bath iB enervating, and liable to leave the child chilly. At a year old, or earlier, if a baby is robust and active, it is a good plan to wipe or douche the surface with a rubber sponge or cloth, commencing with water at between a 70deg. and 80deg., and reducing the heat by a degree every day or so until a temperature of between 50deg. and 60deg. is reached. This should be commenced while the baby is sitting in the warm bath; next, the Lower limbs can be quickly dealt with, thus securing an active, healthy stimuia tion of,the whole surface. GYMNASTICS OF THE INVOLUNTARY MUSCULAR SYSTEM. "The change from stimulation by beet to stimulation by cold is very healthful, and promotes not only the activity, but the growth of organs. Indeed, the stimulation effected by such bathing has been happily described by an American physician as the special 'gymnastics of the voluntary muscular system' in other words, the training the multitude of muscles which supply motor power to the whole vital machinery, and regulate the giving off or conservation of heat according to the requirements of the organism. The effect of keeping these muscles in good form is very striking, and it will be found in the case of babies just as of adults, that we can gradually harden the organism until it becomes very robust and resistive of chills and colds. WARNING. "On the other hand, nothing is more wrong than the attempt to harden children suddenly, or if they do not show a proper health reaction after th 6 ÜBe of cold water. At first cooling should be quite momentary, should be limited to a small part of the body, and shuuld be followed always by very rapid drying and dressing. When a child can run about actively, a transi tion may gradually be made to the old plunge bath, «*>hich healthy children can be trained to enjoy at from eighteen months to two years of age. Never dawdle, and never omit active exercise for at least a quarter of. an hour afterwards, to ensure perfect reaction and warmth." EXERCISE IN GENERAL. Regarding exercise in general, Profeßsor Holt says:— "This is no less important in infancy than in later childhood. An infant gets its execise in the lusty cry which follows the eooi sponge of the bath in kicking its legs about, waving its arms, etc. By these means lung expansion and muscular development are increased, and the general nutrition promoted. An infant's clothing should be such as not to interfere with its exercise Confinement of the legs should not be permitted. I have often had a chance to observe the bad results which follow when very young infants are allowed to lie in the cribs nearly all the time. Little by little the vital processes flag, the cry becomes feeble, the weight is first stationary, then there is a steady loss. The appetite fails, so that food is at first taken without relish, then at times altogether refused after vomiting ensues and other symptoms of indigestion. This. in many cases, is the beginning of a steady downward course, which goes on until a condition of hopeless marasmus is reached. Such infants must be taken up every few hours and carried about; the position should be frequently changed, and general friction of the entire body employed at least twice a day. Every means

must be made use of to stimulate the vital activity. The value of systematic attention to these mattercannot be overestimated. Infants who are old enough to creep or stand usus ally take sufficient exercise unless they are restrained. At this stage they should be allowd to do what they are eager to do. Every facility should be afforded for using their muscles. Exercise may be encouraged by placing upon the floor in a warm room a mattress or a thick 'comfortable,' and allowing the infant to roll and tumble upon it at will A large bed may answer the same purpose. A nursery fence 2ft high, made to surround a mattreßS, is an excellent device, and makes a convenient box-stall for the young infant, where it can learn to use both its arms and legs without the danger of injury. Only by exericse such as this do the muscles have an opportunity to develop proper." When speaking of the evil effects of. allowing infants to lie too much in their cribs, Professor Holt refers specially to what he has seen in institutions or "homes" where a number of babies are kept. Indeed, it is a matter of general observation by all authorities that babies in so-called homes tend to suffer as described, whereas the babies in a normal family tend to have a fair share of handling and change of position, and are benefitted accordingly.