OUR BABIES.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VIII, Issue 704, 16 September 1914, Page 7

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." A MOTHER'S LETTER. . \ PREVENTION AND CURE OF GOLDS IN INFANCY. I have already dealt at some length with the simple hygienic measures, that tend to make a baby robust and resistive to diseaae; and, on the other hand, I have pointed to common practices,and mistakes which lead to a general lowering of vitality and repeated colds. I promised last week to answer a mother's question as to the beat way vl treating a baby when it hss actually caught cold. This is, not at all an easy thing to do, because so much depends on the way in «vhich the baby has been habitnually treated, especially in regard to fresh air, outings, clotning, bedding, and even foods and feeding habits. It is extraordinary how people fail to realise that the proper treatment of coughs and colds, and, indeed, the treatment of most of the common ailmants oC children, consists essentially in extra cars along these simple lines. (See "What Every Baby Needs," pages 1 and 2, "Feeding and Care of Baby."') Take a specific instance. The special question asked, in this connection, by one of ray correspondents, ia as to the desirability of rubbing the chest with oil and sprinkling the pillow with eucalyptus. In general, ruDbing the chest with camphorated oil proves to be soothing and beneficial where there is any tendency of the cold to spread to the ches't, but the sprinkling of the pillow with eucalyptus is of very doubtful utility, and will not exert the slightest influence over the microbes which have invaded the throat and enest.

Of course the mother thinks quite otherwise; and this is scarcely to be wondered at, because, in the early days of antiseptics, the was general in the medical profession itself that by impregnating, or, rather, by merely scenting the air with such substances as eucalyptus, carbolic, or, vilest to fail, chloride of lime, it would bo rendered safe. It was supposed that ttraeas of these so-called aerial antiseptics killed any germs present in the air; and though Kouh showed by actual trial, over a quarter of a century ago, that g6rma would continue to flourish where tha air was far more heavily charged with antiseptica than would ever be the case in the ordinary use in a household or hospital, the early erroneous misconception has never died out, and will probably survive for another quarter uf a century. How can we women at the Antipodes be expected to know any better, when one finds the practice in Londo-a today still dominated largely the mistaken notions of the time of Queen Victoria? A very wealthy lady in the Wost End took me to sea her grand-children. They were two very pale, very flabby, pampered little weaklings, under the care of a fashionable professional nurss, who received three guineas a week for safeguarding them She kept the poor little unfortunates in an atmosphere that was deadly warm and moist and sickly with camphor, beause they had colds. No doubt she acted under directions, but it was obvious from what she said that she was almost ignorant aa to how an infant should ba treated when ill as she was as to how to look after it when well, With a view to preventing it falling a prey to diseasr. She was all for coddling babies, just as we found the authorities in the hospitals of Vienna and Berlin, and with just the same results—viz., enfeebled vitality and repeated colds, coughs, and sore throats. Iu view of this I cannot do better than state in simple terms huw babies are treated as regards clothing, bedding, fresh air, ate , in the Earitane Baby Hospital, where the catcing of colds in the institution practically never occurs.

The following is the general prac- ) ties, and it must be borne in mind that the babies at Karitane are there because they have b en ill, or not thriving, and that usually their past rearing has not been on right lines. In fact, they represent babies in raining for healthy, robust life. It may be taken for granted that a regimen which suits these babies—babies who arrive delicate and sickly—should certainly be a safe course to pursue with the ordinary norma] baby, intsead of coddling it as the mother so foolishly ttmda to do. For a few day* after admission babies who are delicate or puny, especially if they have been coddled, are placed in rooms which are kept warmed more or less; but the newcomers are soon habituated to unwarmed rooms, and to being kept out in the open ak. The general rule of th« institution is wide-open windows and free passages of cool air day and nihgt—care being taken not to put a baby in a diiect draught, and due attention being paid as to proper bedding and clothing. Hot bottles are used where needed, but the mother muat be on her guard against the enervating tendencies of overheating the bed and overclothing the baby (see the Society's Book, pages 8 and 160). More barm than good is -done to babies by the thoughtless, routine use of hot bottles. Healthy, normal babies do not need them, and a delicate baby i'b made more liable to catch cold by being kept unduly warm from time to time and subjected to relative chill when pickad up and carried into the open.

BABIES AT KARITANE HOSPITAL Winter—Dunedin. Ordinary Clothing for Daytime.—l Long-Bleeved silk and wool singlet. 2. Short-sleeved knitted woollen singlet.

3. Petiieoar, bodice, and ekirt all flannel (aheap flannel is best, as being more porous and elastic tnan higher grades). 4. Dress of winsey or viyella. 5. Outside jacket made of winsey or woollen material, knitted or otherwise. Memo. —In summer the short sleeved woollen singlet and the outside jacket are ordinarily omitted, hut it must be clearly understood that there can be no absolute routine in such matters. On a very worm day in winter a baby may need less clothing than on a very cold day in summer. * Hands and Feet.—When a baby is out in the open air in winter, the hands are usually covered with fingerless gloves, made of thin flannelWhen a baby is taken nut of bed and carried about, woollen bootees mßy be used. Great care is taken to make sure that the feet ara com pletely enveloped and cosily happed up when the "picking-up" Bhawl or blanket is wrappe round the baby. During "kicking exercise" ia a pen, in a warmed room, no bootees are used; but if a warm baby is outside in winter, say in pen on a veraudah, bootees, or preferably long stockings, as shown on page 83, "Feeding and Care of Baby," should be put on.' At the Karitane Hospital the babies are placed on four thicknesses of blanket in the pen. or a thick rug and one blanket are used. Baby's Bed —The method of bedmaking in use at thß Karitane Hospital is illustrated and tborougnly described ion page 160 of the Society's Book, so I need merely mention the garments and blankets used at night —vis.:—-1. Long-sleeved knitted woollen singlet. 2. Short-sleeved knitted woollen singlet. 3. Flannel nightdrees. 4. Two good, warm, fluffy blankets, or preferably a honeycomb shawl in place of one of tbo blankets. If the weather ia specially cold an eatra blanket may be ÜBed. In warm weather, on the other hand, use only one blanket (the enveloping blanket, see 2, fig 64, page 160 "Feeding and Care of baby"), and the knitted woollen vest should be omitted. N.B. — The day and night garments are quite separate. No garment worn during the day is put on again for the night. It must be clearly understood that changes in clothing or bedding should be made cautiuusly,'but there ia nu greater or more common mistake than a mere routine allowance of clothing, without any thought as to whether the particular day is bitterly cold or oppressively warm. Always bear in mind that a baby ehould be clad rather according to the particular day than according to the season of the year, though, of course.the summer clothing in general should be lighter than the winter doting. The tendency of mothers is certainly to overclothe in warm weather, and very often babies aie carelessly taken out underclad on a cold or windy day. PRECAUTIONS WHEN A BABY HAS A COLD.

IE the baby has been Bleeping in a room without a firfl, it is better to put it in a slightly warmed room (not above 60deg F.) for a few nights. On the other hand, the common practice of keeping a haby in a hut kitchen when it gets a cold is highly injurious and often leads to serious bronchitis. No extra clothing is needed, but special care should be taken to prevent undue loss of heat through the use of insufficiently absorbent napkins and failure to change napkinß often enough. Babies would get rid of their colds much more quickly if we could make all mothers realise the importance of providing proper absorbent pads (see pageß 75 to 77, "Feeding and Care of Baby'') for napkins. Forgo kicking exercise fjr a few days, but rub arms and legs once or twice a day to keep up tone. Do not give up the warm bath, but take extra care to do everything very quickly and be sure that clothing and towels are warmed and ready to hand. The chest may be rubbed with a little camphorated oil. As regards feeding, the main point to remsmber—whether a baby is being suck'ed or fed otherwise —is thß fact that during the active feverish stage of a cold the power to digeßt and absorb food is greatly diminished, and it is therefore quite a mistake to give the ordinary allowance at such a time. If the mother took the trouble to observe the motions she would find that, during a feverish cold,there is a tendency for undigested curd to show in the stools. It is best to dilute the food with water while the child is feverish —the additional water being itself beneficial.