OUR BABIES.

Shannon News, 13 March 1925, Page 1

OUR BABIES.

(By Hygeia). A Plunket Nurse's Talk to Mothers The Natural feeding of Infants. Recently we gave the first part of a Plunket nurse's talk to mothers on the importance of the natural feeding of babies. The nurse carefully enumerated the reasons why a baby should be bx'east-f ed. This week she will describe how she emphasised the various points of importance, and how she demonstrated what the mother has to do.

Naturally no description can equal the actual demonstration, which the nurse does before the moth'er. Demonstration. Best Way of Nursing Baby.

When the mother is going to nurse her baby, she should first make herself as comfortable as possible in an easy chair, or she may li'e on a couch with her feet raised, which is very restful. If sitting up, she should have a footstool, while a cushion placed on the knee will generally be found very helpful. Make the nursing-time a rest for the mother. There should be quietness during feeding, as talking interferes with the milk flow, and also distracts baton's attention from his task. The baby should be sat up once or twice during nursing to bring up his wind. Here the nurse gets the mother to sit the baby up on her lap. Usually there is a passing of wind in a few minutes, and then the mother continues the nursing. Read what is said on page M of "The Expectant Mother and Baby's First Month." ' There should be no unnecessary handling. Baby be fed regularly, every four hours for preference, fifteen minutes from one breast, 'five from the other; live times in the twenty- four hours is all that is necessary for the normal healthy baby. Babies fed from birth only five times a day sleep more soundly, tend to suck more vigorously, and run less risk of overfeeding. It is harmful and unnecessary to give a night feed. Test Feeding.

Should any question arise as to the sufficiency or insufficiency of the amount of mother's milk baby is receiving, he should be weighed just before his feed, and then again immediately afterwards, and thus the exact amount Of, the food taken is arrived at. This should be done for the five feeds which axe taken in the twentyfour hours, and the amount received compared with the amount baby should be receiving (sec feeding table "Expectant Mother" or "Feeding and Care of Baby "J, so that any error may be righted. Tims if baby is receiving too much, we can shorten the time of suckling, and if underfed we can do all possible to stimulate the mother's supply, or, if absolutely necessary, complement with artificial fopd. This must; be given immediately after the breast. | Demonstration. How test weighing is carried out. At this stage the nurse places the baby on the scales and balances him exactly. She then hands him to his mother to be nursed. At the end of the nursing the baby is again placed on the scale, which has not been touched in the meantime, and which immediately goes down, showing that baby has gained, then weights are put on until baby is just balanced again. The added weights show how much milk ho has taken. Conclusion. In conclusion, let me just say breastfeeding is the most natural thing in the world. It is the very best for both mother and baby, so we should do all in our power to encourage and stimulate the milk supply, so that it will be quite sufficient for baby's need. We have no right to fold our hands, and no reason for despair. All we have to do is to look ahead, do the things we have left undone, and pave the way to preparedness for motherhood from this time forth. By teaching, training, and helping the mothers ot-to-day and of the next twenty years <in motherhood and m'othercraft, we can ensure, as far as possible, that every new arrival and potential parent of the future shall grow up strong, healthy, capable, and fit in due time for full citizenship and ideal parenthood.