OUR BABIES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2894, 25 August 1909, Page 70

OUR BABIES.

By Htocli.

Fablubed tinder the auspioei of tb» Society lor the Promotion of tbe Health oi Women and Children.

ADDRESSES OF PLUNKET NURSES AND SECRETARIES. j Dunedln.— Plunket Nurses Mrs Matheeonand Miss Ellis. Office of the Society, Health Department Rooms, Liverpool street, Dunedin. Office hours, Monday, Thurs- ; day and Saturday, from 2to 3 p.m. TeL 1136. Hon. sec, Mrs Carr, 8 Heriot row. Tel. 1774. Clmstehureh.— Plunket Nurses Morgan and Macarthy. Office of the Society, 27 Durham street South. Tel. 940. Office hours, B to 3 p.m. daily, except Saturdays ana Sundays. Hon. sec., Mm F. H. Pyne. Bealey avenue. TeL 285. K!F«llingtan. — Plunket Nurse M'Donald, 73 Aro street. Tel. 2425. Hon. sec, Mrs M'Yicax, 45 Marjoribanks street, City. Tel. 2642. jluckland.— Plunket Nurs* Chappell, Park street. Tel. 851. Office of the society, 'a Chancery street. Tel. 829. Office hours Tuesdays and Fridays, 2^20 to 4 p.m. Hon. sec.,- Mrs W. H. Parkes, Marinoto, Symonds street. Tel. 240. 2T»pier. — Plunket Nurse Donald, Masonic Hotel. Tel. 87. Hon. sec, Mra E.A. W. Henley, P.O. Box 64. Tel. 147. J?aln*eT6ton North. — Plunket Nurse JBen&et* ' " son, car* of W. Park, fcookselier, The Square. Tel. 20. Hours, '3 ,to i p.m. daily. Hon. sec, Mrs M. Cohen, Grey, street. Tel. 58. ' {few Plymouth. — Plnnket Nurse- Waxnock, Criterion Hotel. Hon. sec., Mrs R. J. Matthews. ffimacu. — Plunket Nurse Bowman. Office of . the Society, Arcade Chambers. Tel. 314. j Office hours. 3.30 to «.30 and 6.30 to 7.30. Hon. sec, Mrs Smith son, Faillie, Sefton street. Tel. 230. Society's Baby Hospital, Ktritane Home, Anderson's Bay, Dunedin. TeL 1385. Demonstrations on points of interest to mothers are given by the matron every Wednesday afternoon from 2.30 to 3.30. All mothers are invited. > Messages may he left at any time at the Plunket Nurses' Offices or private addresses. The society's official sheet of instructions, written by Dr Truby King, price 3d (postage free), and 411 other information available from the hon. secretary of each branch. MASTICATION The special feature of the second year •f normal life, as contrasted with the first year, ie the progressive development of the power of mastication. This is a matter of the utmost importance, because upon it depends the future digestive power, health, and strength of the individual. Fortunate, indeed, the baby who during the first year of existence obtains his food by energetic^ suction (from the breast, if possible, andr failing this, by means of a properly-held^ bottle with- small-holed nipple), and who, towards the close of the -first year and throughout, the second year, is made to ' Ho a proper amount of work on Ms-food j by active, vigorous munching and chewing. ' These are the simple means by which we • can aid the intention of Nature to provide ( the growing child with a masticatory ap- j paratus which shall not prematurely atrophy - and decay, but shall la6t sound and good to the end of life. The amount of blood supplied to the jaws and adjacent parts depends on the daily amount of work they , called on to So. Embedded deep under the.} gums at the time of birth aro the two ( e-mbryo sets of teeth (the temporary and the permanent), and their structure, growth, ] proper setting, and eruption depend on the j supply of an abundant stream of rich, } healthy blood throughout the period of \ most active growth. One might say : "Take care of the first two years, and the rest vill | take care of themselves." This is true not only of structure, but of function also, i Proper feeding habits practised throughoat J the first two years will tend to last fof*i life. j In a recently-published book by Dr Harry Campbell (one of the foremost authorities j of the day on dietetics and the practical » application of physiology to every-day life) the following passages occur: — } BREAKING UP THE FOOD. I Mastication, by Breaking up the Food, Enables it to be the More Easily Swallowed.—Soft, moist, mushy foods, such as milk puddings and porridge, can Be— . often, indeed, are — swallowed without an^mastication at all. On the other hand, it ' is difficult, if not impossible, to swallow large lumps of tough, or large maeses of ■very dry food, even though the 'Jatter is in a finely divided state, .Hike flour. The tough food needs first to be broken up by the teeth, arid the dr> food to be • -moistened by the saliva. If, then, we desire to give foods whioh compel mastioation, we should choose such, as are tough and dry. . - Those who are accustomed to "bolt their food often swallow large lumps totally unmasticated, but (as Van Someren has pointed out) once the habit of efficient mastication has been acquired the swallowing of such masses is effectually prevented by a pharyngeal reflex (i.e., the instinct becomes so strong that a large unchewed lump cannot be swallowed). It is therefore of the utmost importance that children should learn to masticate thoroughly as soon as Jiey have the teeth to do it. COMMINUTING THE FOOD ' Mastication, by Comminuting the Food, Brings it into Intimate Contact with the Digesfive Juices. — Wo have seen that all raw vegetable food, the luscious fruits excepted, requires -mastication in order to disintegrate the cellulose and allow the digestive juices to act upon the impriBoned nutriment, but that this is not accessary in the case of cooked vegetable foods. Some of these, nowever, do, on account of their density, call for thorough ohewiag, as, for example, stodgy pudclings and new potatoes; also new bread, ■which, unlike the more crumbly stale bread, .is apt to elude the teeth- and pass into" the stomach, in -frbe- form of s»Kd impermeable masses. Similarly, it is because cauliflower and minced spinach are ' more finely divided than new potato and cabbage that they ar© more digestible. If, now, we turn to- animal food, we notice that while in the raw state it 's readily digestible after little or no previous jn**tication, it may be rendered in<)ig«stibl« by being cooked, as ir> the familiar caae of a hard-boiled egg or over<3one meat; end puttng these fact* toff«iher, tbe deduction i» that the relative t

or over-

digestibility of animal- and of vegetable foods alike depends more upon physical consistence than upon chemical composition. Thus it is chiefly on account of their dexsitt that veal, pork, lobster, and cheese are indigestible. There is nothing in cheese ito prevent digestion ; but since its two chief ' constituents are welded together in an impermeable mass, it may, if unmasticated, remain undigested for the physical reason. &. plain, wholesome cheese, well masticated or intimataly mixed with other foods — e.g., with macaroni — most people can digest without difficulty. I do not, of course, deny* the influence of the chemical factor. Such substances as goose-fat may set up violent irritation ; pigeon -taken several days ir succession is apt to disagree; some there are, again, who cannot tolerate eggs in any form, and numerous other dietetio idiosyncrasies are met" with : but, making due allowance for any chemical influence, there can, I think, be little doubt that the digestibility of the more common articles of diet, whether animal or vegetable, de* pends in the \nain upon theii physical constitution — that, - in fact, thet ■ all j TEND TO BE SQUALL? DIGESTIBLE IF KEDT/CED TO THE SAME DEGREE OF COMMINUTION. This, if true, is, I need scarcelx - say, a 'fact of the greatest importance, for it amounts io this : that we may often allow to those, with very weair digestions foods generally as indigestible, provided only that they are thoroughly comminuted, either oy mastication, or "by ] other means. j