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uncomfortable after having a meal. The remainder of the clothing
should be warm and made to cover the neck and limbs. When the
child is "shortened," the clothes should be made so as to prevent
exposure of the limbs. The neck should be high, and the sleeves come
down to the wrist. In addition, the clothing should be fairly loose.
Attention to these points is necessary to avoid chilling. A large
part of infant mortality is due to respiratory diseases, chiefly bronchitis
and pneumonia, which are mostly due to chills. During 1898 there
were 61 deaths from the former and 67 from the latter disease amongst
children under one year in Hackney.
(3) Cleanliness.
Infants should have at least one warm bath every day. Great care
should be taken to have the water at the proper temperature. Any
attempt to harden the infant by having cold water will inevitably lead
to its illness and probable death. The proper temperature is 95 deg.
Fahr. Soap should not be used with children under nine months old,
as it irritates the tender skin of very young children. A good substitute
is a handful of oatmeal stirred up with the bath water.
(4) Sanitary Condition of the Home.
Careful feeding and attention to infants may be rendered absolutely
useless by inattention to the sanitary conditions of the home and its
surroundings. Infants are the first to be affected by insanitary
surroundings. So well is this known that the death rate of infants
under one year is taken by sanitarians as a measure of the sanitary
condition of the place.
In order to make the feeding and attention of infants successful, it
will be absolutely necessary to look to the following in connection
with the house.