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the first month of life the infant should he given the breast every
two hours, from 5 a.m. till 11 p.m. It may be necessary to feed the
child once during the night. During the second month every 2½ hours,
and during the third and subsequent months every 3 hours. If the
mother can only give the breast once a day, this should be done in
preference to wholly feeding on cow's milk. No child should be
suckled under the best conditions longer than the first year, or
rickets may follow.
It may be explained here that human milk differs greatly in
quality from cow's milk, the latter containing much less sugar than
the former; it also forms more curd, which is much firmer than
that formed from human milk. It is owing to the firmness and excess
of curd formed in cow's milk that it has to be largely diluted, otherwise
it is difficult for infants to digest it.
There are other most important differences between the two
kinds of milk. It has of late years been accepted that human milk
contains constituents which has the property of protecting the
infant from disease-producing microbes. It is extremely rare for
suckling infants to be attacked by infectious disease. Infants, on
the contrary, fed on cow's milk are very liable to contract disease,
especially during the summer months. Mothers should bear these
facts in mind.
Another disadvantage in the use of cow's milk is, that owing to
the fact that cow's milk is frequently polluted, both during the
process of milking and in transit, and even in some dairies large
quantities of preservatives are often added to prevent fermentation
and putrefaction. Milk so treated is liable to cause infants serious
intestinal disorders.
Finally, it cannot be urged too strongly, that breast feeding is
the natural, most nourishing, and healthy form of infant feeding;
and any artificial feeding by cow's milk or otherwise, is but a poor
substitute for the real and natural feeding, and mothers who are
capable will give their infants the best protection from disease, and
endow them with the best chance in the struggle for existence by
suckling them during the first nine months of life.