Omaha daily bee., 1892-08-28

1000 babies all under four weeks old who
would make less noise than these 200 odd
Russian babies were making.
Here and there about the grounds | noted
tables Oh which the babies were laid when
their nurses wished to redrranke their toilets,
and noted how carefully the little ones were
handled. The taoles, which were about four
feet square, had padded tops, and as saw
the dressing going on | looked in vain for
safety pins and the other little tortures which
i have seen in American baby dressing. The
baby is wrapped around IN softinen clothes,
its legs being close together and It's little red
body swaddled up till it looks for all the
world like big rag baby, with the exception
OF where Its little red face and its bright
eyes peep out Of the white lineu AS looked
at this baby oeing dressed / asked the young
matron il thcy had any bottle babies OIL the
grounds ana If some of the babies were not
brought up by hand" A look of horror and
disgust came over her face, and she re-
piled that they did not consider such methods
OF baby farming good or right, and that each
baby had it's own nurse. She had appar
ently never heard of our patent baby foods,
and the pretty faces of tho bottle babies
which appear as the result of particular COM
binations in our magazine advertisements
would surprise her The Russian babies of
this institution know nothing OF "one cows
milk" OF Gail Borden's eagle brand" or
barley water, and they get through their in
fancy without being cxperimented upon by
doctors and parents.
Scientific Baby Incubation.
A great part of the establishment is on tho
cottage plan. The babies sleep on the ground
floor and at the end of each nurses bed
stands one of the little cribs. They are never
allowed to sleep with their nurs es and the
greatest care is taken that all of the sur
roundings should be healthy. The rooms arc
well ventilated and there are rooms in which
prematurely born babies are kept, which are,
as it were, incuoatiOg rooms. These are
/
judge is about 709. 1t is the same with tho
hospital proper, snd the babies are taken to
cooler and cooler rooms as they recover from
sickness. In the ncuoating rooms / saw q
score OF so OF babies In copper tubs so made
that hot water runniGg around their dou BILE
walls kept the interior at almost blood heat.
In these were babies born two or three
months before their time. These were
wrapped in cotton and they hardly seemed
nlive. out could note the quiverinG of their
eyelids as the matron opened the glass tops
of the TUBS. The most Of such cases are |
am told. successful and l judge that II
baby has any chance for existence when she
comes here she lives. The babies are washed
once a day in bathtubs Of copper. and noted
that in the bottom of each tub there was
pillow on which the baby was placed and
that its sides were padded with soft flannel.
About fifty new baoies are received on tho
average by this institution every day. and all
babies are taken and no questions asked.
They are sometimes left on the steps of tho
institution, but more often are brought by
their mothers or some friend. IL the mother
has nane Tor the child she writes IT on
card and this name is given 1t, and at the
same time IL Is registered with a number and
corresponding number is given TO the
mother. This number is written on a little
round tag of bone, and IL Is tied around the
neck OF the child, and Dy this NUM- DER 1t goes
in the institution. III the mother wants it
again she can bring back her check and get
her baby, and she can claim it at any time
up 10 the age OF ten years.
FriGhtfui Infant Mortality.
The babies are kept In this institution only
four weeks, and after this time the nurses
who are in charge Of them take them to their
homes in tho villages and there bring them
up. Each nurse gets 81 month for such
service. and she Is under the supervision OF
the doctor Of tho district and has to repor:
her baby TO bin from time to time. Al the
age OF about six years the children are
brought back TO the Institution aud are edu-
cated. They are taught trades aud at twelve
go out TO work for themselves. Some OF the
girls are taken back as officers and they are
trained as hospital nurses. Many OF the
boys go into the army and there are l50
Of Them annually admitted to the in