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114
Appendix E.
Corporation of London.
ADVICE TO MOTHERS.
BREAST-FED INFANTS.
ADVICE TO MOTHERS.—Keep yourself in good
health. The health of your baby depends upon your
own during pregnancy.
Take good and wholesome food at regular meals only.
Do not take spirits, beer, stout or much tea, but
rather milk or cocoa.
See that your bowels act every day.
When possible take exercise in the open air every
day, and keep your window open night and day.
1. Feed your Baby regularly, by the Clock,
and not by guesswork or whenever it cries.
Babies get indigestion, feel uncomfortable, and cry if
they are not fed at regular times.
2. Never give your Baby a Dummy Teat.—It is
simply a bad habit, and dirty and dangerous.
3. As babies sometimes cry because they are thirsty,
sips of warm water may be given.
BREAST FEEDING.—MOTHER'S MILK IS
THE BEST, CHEAPEST AND SAFEST FOOD
FOR INFANTS.
1. Get your baby into good and regular habits of
feeding. Babies form bad habits just as easily as
grown-up people.
2. Keep the child at the breast about a quarter of
an hour at each feed.
3. Do not feed more often than every two hours
during the day, and once between 11 at night and 6 in
the morning. Never let the baby feed too fast.
Wake the baby if asleep at feeding times.
The time between feeds should be gradually increased
until, by the beginning of the third month, the breast
is given every three hours, and at the age of six
months five times in the day and not at all between
11 at night and 6 in the morning. The best times are
6 a.m., 10 a.m., 2 p.m., 6 p.m. and at 10 p.m. In this
way the mother gets a rest at night, and so does the
baby's stomach.
WEANING.—Keep the baby on the breast entirely
for nine months, if possible. Never wean during July,
August or September, if you can help it. Wean slowly,
giving first one feed of cow's milk a dav and then
gradually increasing the number. Crusts of bread with
butter or dripping and a lightly boiled egg may now
be added.
FROM ONE YEAR UPWARDS.—Do not give
butcher-meat before the age of 18 months. Children
must have no tea or stimulants, and such articles as
pork, shell-fish, "fried fish," lobsters, baked pastry,
new bread and hot cakes, are liable to cause convulsions,
and must be carefully avoided. They should have
three or four meals a day, and no food or sweets should
be taken between meals. Beer and spirits are poison
to a child and must never be given.
If you think the baby is not thriving on the breast,
do not give up breast feeding before the age of nine
months without asking a doctor.
RULES FOR DAILY USE.—Let the baby sleep
in its own cot, and lie in it during the day. A banana
crate, box, basket or drawer serves equally well, if
the child cries, see if the napkin wants changing, or if
the baby is cold and not properly covered up. Never
rock the baby. Wake the baby up at the proper time
for feeding.
CLOTHING.—Give the baby a warm woollen vest
with long sleeves, a soft knitted or flannel binder, a
long flannel night-dress and an outer dress. Do not use
a tight or stiff binder. Never use flannelette.
"Shorten" at two to three months old. Keep to the
vest and one flannel petticoat and dress, but now put
on warm stockings instead of socks.
Bath the baby once a day, and wash it once a day as
well, using very little soap. Dry thoroughly, especially
in ears and all folds of skin.
Undress and dress the baby quickly, so that it does
not catch cold. Babies must always be kept warm.
The windows of the bedroom and living room, except
at bath time, should always be kept open at the top, as
wide as the weather will allow. The baby should be
kept out of doors in the daytime as much as possible,
and may sleep out of doors in mild weather in a
sheltered place.
DO NOT GIVE SOOTHING SYRUPS,
TEETHING POWDERS OR PURGES WITHOUT
THE DOCTOR'S ORDERS.
Babies should be weighed regularly.
If the baby cries often,
does not increase in weight,
does not sleep,
is frequently sick,
is constipated,
has diarrhœa,
snuffles,
has cold feet,
has a discharge from the eyes,
or has a rash on the body or under the napkins,
it is not well, and should be seen by a doctor.