LIQUID FOOD.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVIII, Issue 50, 27 January 1938, Page 14

LIQUID FOOD.

Why should summer not ho the safest instead of tho most dangerous time of the year for infants? The reason is simple. Most babies arc fed on liquid food, which is specially liable to ferment in hot weather. Milk becomes infested with germs —in other words, “goes bad”—and becomes poisonous more readily than any other food. Tho hotter the weather the more the germs grow and flourish in the milk, and if we are not carelul in the selection of tho milkman, the cleansing of billies and jugs, and the place where the milk is kept, it may go bad in hot weather even before we are ready to use it. Tainted pasteurised milk is even more dangerous than unheated milk which has gone sour in the ordinary way. Therefore wo must be just as careful to keep bottled city milk cool and loosely covered (not capped and sealed from access of air) as we are with ordinary dairyman’s milk. Babies who dio from summer diarrhoea die because they are poisoned mainly by germs contained in tainted milk acting on babies who have not been kept in such a state of first-rate health and condition as will enable them to resist the attacks of germs. All epidemic diseases, including summer diarrhoea, tend to attaclc the “bodily unfit” rather than the “fit,” but babies who are perfectly well may fall victims. In warm weather the young of horses, pigs, dogs, and cats are almost uniformly healthy, while calves are the victims of .“scouring” and babies still suffer or dio from the same scourge under the name of “summer diarrhoea.” Why? Calves are sacrificed because man takes the cow’s milk for himself and feeds the calf out of a bucket. The baby is sacrificed because the mother’s breast is denied to it, and improper food, contaminated with germs, is substituted for the pure, perfect, blood-warm vital stream direct from the proper source. Are ill-health and diarrhoea inevitable during summer time for babies and calves who cannot be suckled? Certainly not! In both cases the trouble arises, not from the mere fact of artificial feeding in itself, but because proper care is not taken to secure suitable food and to prevent the growth of germs. For babies properly prepared humanised milk supplies by far the nearest approach to mother’s milk, and if kept cool and clean and given according to directions issued by vhe society there is little risk of trouble. Even breastfed babies may contract the disease, but immediate suitable treatment of such or of those who have been judiciously fed by artificial means soon brings about complete recovery in the great majority of cases. On the other ha.nd, among babies who have been improperly fed the risk of death is very great indeed, and lasting weakness and debility is often tho result even of the baby who does not die. This is a point which should never be forgotten. Infantile ailments leave lasting ill-effects even if they arc not fatal. We cannot afford to expose our babies to the risk. THE PLUNKET NURSES.

The Plunket, nurses’ services are free to all. They are glad to see mothers and babies at the society’s rooms in the various- districts throughout the Dominion. If you are travelling away from your usual place of residence do not hesitate to take baby to see the Plunket nurse in whatever district von happen to be. She will help and advise you on exactly the same lines as your own Plunket nurse does. If you a.re out of reach of a nurse, write to the nearest one or to the nurse with whom you have previously been in touch. Of course, if the baby has more than a passing upset or you'are in’doubt always consult a doctor. Do not lose valuable time before getting advice.