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156
3.—CLOTHING.
As infants are extremely sensitive to cold, it is clear that they
should be warmly clothed, and in such a manner as to prevent
catching cold. The infant should be provided with a binder of soft
flannel—soft enough not to irritate the skin, and not so tight as to
render the child 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
1910 there were 35 deaths from the former and 50 from the latter
disease amongst children under one year, in Hackney.
4. 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 the water cold 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.
5. 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.