OUR BABIES

Wairarapa Times-Age, 24 November 1939, Page 8

OUR BABIES

Published under the auspices of the Royal New Zealand Society for the Health of Women and Children (Plunket Society.)

“It is wiser to put up a fence at the top of a precipice than to maintain an ambulance at the bottom." COMPLEMENTARY FEEDING. WHAT IT MEANS. By complementary feeding we mean the giving of additional food immediately after baby has been put to the breast. In all cases where the supply of breast milk is deficient it should be complemented with a suitable artificial food immediately after both breasts have emptied. We must find out first of all the amount of food required daily for the baby’s growth and development. This is worked out according to baby's age and weight, taking into consideration also the weight baby should be if thriving normally. Having discovered what baby needs for one day we proceed to find out what'he gets in one day. This is ascertained by test weighing over a period of several days if possible, otherwise for at least 24 hours. Scales accurate to within a quarter of an ounce are necessary for this purpose. A spring balance is quite useless. It is wiser for a mother to carry out test weighing under the supervision of a Plunket nurse, and to bo guided by her as to the amount of complementary feeding required, as it is important that baby should be given the correct quantity and quality of artificial food.

The method of test weighing is as follows: Weigh baby in his clothes before- and after each breast feed. It is important that the scales, should remain as they are after weighing baby until he is weighed again after his feed, and also that no garment on baby should be changed during that time. The amount baby takes at each feed should be written down against the hour of the feed, and at the end' of the 24 hours the total amount for the day is estimated and compared with the baby’s actual need for the day. An estimate is made of the approximate amount of artificial food needed, and a recipe of humanised milk suitable for the day is worked out.

When test weighing baby you will discover that he does not obtain an equal amount at each feeding. Usually he obtains the larger amounts during the morning and the smaller ones during the afternoon and evenings. A mother can usually tell if her supply is better at one feeding lime than another, and may use her discretion in giving less of the complementary feed, or cutting it out altogether, if she feels she has more milk in her breasts. If her supply seems less she may give a somewhat larger amount of the complementary food. It is important not to over-comple-ment, as baby should go to the breasts sufficiently hungry to suck vigorously, and so help to stimulate the flow of milk in the breasts. Of course, if the baby is feeble or delicate his strength must be built up in order’ to promote vigorous suckling. In this case baby would need to be given his full quota of humanised milk.

Another important point is to take care that baby does not get the food too easily from the bottle or he may refuse to suck strongly from the breast. A fairly slow drawing teat will be found most suitable for' the proper regulation of the food. Should the mother's supply remain somewhat deficient in spite of systematic routine treatment, it may be necessary to continue giving some complementary food until the normal weaning time. It has been found that when baby is getting breast milk in addition to the artificial food he digests the latter much better, and thrives more satisfactorily than if completely bottle-fed. Mother's milk is infinitely the best, but next best is mother's milk complemented with a suitably adjusted humanised milk. Even two or three ounces of breast milk a day is invaluable.

A mother sometimes wonders how she is to know whether baby’s feeding is adequate or not. Here are some guides which will help her in deciding lhe matter:

1. Baby's weekly gain in weight. 2. His general behaviour, whether he is contented, sleeps well, or shows any signs of upset.

The type of bowel action he is having each day.

If he is having one. two. or three soft, yellow motions daily you may be sure he is having enough suitable food. On the other hand, if the motions tend to be rather frequent, green, and curdy you may suspect he is being overfed and should consult your Plunket nurse.