The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1869-12-10
CARE OF INFANTS AT NIGHT.
From the Note Book Of an Eminent
Physician.

rington, when a young officer at
Toulen, was go anxious to distin.
guish himself that he passed the
greater part of the day OH the deck,
watching for signals to give intclli.
gcnce of the movements of the
French vessels, and when he retired,
he sank into sleep so profound
that the loudcst noises did not
awake him; but when the word
"signal" was whispered in his cabin
he Immediately sprang up. This
anecdote proves how sleepless in
the midst of the ,profoundest slum-
bers is that faculty of the sou!
which for the time being is intense
ly excited.
The same truth is well illustrated
IN the case of the mother. She is
the most sleepless person in the
household. For months, and often
for years, she does not enjoy two
consecutive hours of slecp. But it
is not the noises in the: street. nor
anxiety, nor nervousness, that dis
turb her repose. She can sleep
soundly when others arc made
waketul by unusual sounds or voices.
But there is one sound, one voice,
more potent in her ears than all
others; it is the voice of her child.
When that is heard even in the
talntest whisper, she arouses from
the deepest sleep: how inscnsible
she may be to other voices, that
one never fails to be heard by her
quick ear.
Mothers often relate that, long
after their children have grown to
manhood and womanhood, they are
startled from their slumbcrs by the
old and familiar cries of their baby
hood.
This instructive wakefulness of
the mother to the wants of her
child teaches most important les
sen in the care of children at night.
1t is a growing practice in our first
class families to commit the infant
to the care of the nurse at night,
that the mother may not be disturb
ed, but may have her regular and
full amount of sleep. This is done
under the pretence that the moth
er's health requires that her nights
rest should not be broken by the
care of the child. Exccptin extra
ordinary cases, there is no truth in
the assertion; if the mother and
child are in ordinary health, the
proper care Of her infant at night
does not tax the mother beyond her
strength while the judicious care
of the child by the mother dimin-
lshes greatly the irritability and
restlessness of the former.
But there are certain positive
evils and dangers attending the
care of the infant by u nurse at
night. It will prove, in nine cases
out of ten, that the nurse considers
her own sleep of paramount impor-
tance, and in about the proportion
given it will be found that she man
ages to obtain it. In the first place
her affections are not stimulated by
the child, and hence her sympatbies
are not enlisted in it's care and well
fare. She sleeps quite unconscious
and of undisturbed by its cries,
when its plaintive voice pcnetrates
to the mothers ear, though in a
distant and secluded part of the
house. Thus many helpless in
FAINT that has become tired of lying
in one position, and merely requires
to be changed to secure perfect
rest and quiet cries itself asleep
from sheer exhaustion, unable to
arouse the leaden ears of it's nurse.
One of the first and most danger
'ous consequences of committing
the child to the care of the nurse
at night, is her liability when asleep
to over-lay and smother it without
hearing it's stifled cries. The En-
glish mortuary records show that
two or three hundred children are
thus killed annually.
Bnt if the child escapes death or
injury from this cause, it is by no
means free from danger from other
ources. It is liable to be habitu-
ally drugged to sleep. This may
and doubtless will be regarded by
many as an unjust suspicion upon
their owp 'sfaithfnl" nurses; but
there are too many facts accumu-
lated against them to, make it