The Somerset reporter., 1896-07-16
BABY INCUBATORS.
4 PHYSICIAN TELLS OF THE CON-
STRUCTlON AND OPERATION.

The Apparatus Is Very simple and Inex-
pensive, but Attendance Is CostIy--In
Addition to Saving a Life, Each Incuba-
ton Contributes Useful knowledge.
In sharp contrast to the lavish reck-
lessness with which noble splendid
lives are often sacrificed To some futile
ignohle cause. Is the infinite vigilance
and care the ingenuity and skill that
are sometimes expended upon preserving
and tanning into flame little spark
that has hardly attained the dignity of
being called a lie.
Doubtless most are familiar with the
metal receptacle / by ,, standing on
four legs about waist high, with small
water pipe and heating apparatus ON
one side and a cold air pipe and add
tional apparatus on the other known as
the infant incubator. But perhaps few
realize the patient skilled watching and
she consequent expense necessary 10 the
bringing forward of the little inmate,
until it shall he able to take its place in
the world IA a real live and kicking"
baby.
AT the first appearance upon hfe's
stage of this Speck of humanity scarce
half made up, it is swathed IN bun
die Of absorbent cotton and laid III its
little nest, with nothing to distract its
attention but perfectly accurate Their
mometer, to which it, however, seems
wholly Indifferent. The glass lid is then
f almost CLOSED E'xrAHrianpa hos fauobf
the physicians that it is better to leave
II open "A little space. A trained nurse
at once takes her place by the side of
this unique object and keeps constant
guard over temperature, conditions of
air, etc. Absolute quiet and subdued
light are among the requirements The
temperature may range from 80 to SO
degrees. In cases of low vitality it is
kept at IS, and with the NEST robust is
never allowed to go below 80 degrees
Then every hour the little charge must
be fed. This is sometimes accomplished
by means of "a dropper, but more often
little rubber tube is passed through
the mouth and esophagus into the stom-
| ach, and into this tube is slowly poured
a dram, about Il teaspoonful, of pre-
pared food. Thus in the "a hours about
three ounces of food are absorbed. This
food is made after Il formula arranged
by "a most expert chemist and changes
from day to day according to the devel-
opment Of the baby,
Every SO hours the little gown of alb
sorbent cotton is exchanged for a per
fectly fresh one Of the same material
The food and clothing of this embryo
parsonage are not, therefore, great bills
of expense but its lodgings, its physi-
clan and nurses make up pretty sum
for its indulgent parents.
1t will easily be seen that the only
requirements for raising Il baby in an
incubator are perfectly even, high
temperature, pure air and food the
nearest approach possible to its natural
food. But simple as this sounds it has
taxed every resource of the best engi-
neering and sanitary authorities, the
finest psychologists and chemists in
the country to arrive at the present
state of advancement An incubator as
it is now perfected costs about 5000 A
few firms have them to rent and as the
demand for them is naturally small one
may be rented at any time.
DIR. Rotch, who is responsible for
many of the recent Improvements Of the
incubator, has Lcen very successful in
its use. He insists upon having always
two trained nurses, so that no moment
may there be the risk of change i'll
conditions which might turn the scale
the wrong way. This of itself means
500 IA week, and the time of incubation
is usually from two months to ten
weeks. But the baby so saved comes in
time to be quite the equal of his fellows
who followed the good, old fashioned
ways,
Hospitals cannot boast as great sue
cess from their experience with incu-
bators, although several include one
among their appliances. In the first
place 1t is often case where the tiny
Mohammed must go to the mountain,
and 1t Is almost impossible to accomplish
this without some little exposure. Then
i'll most cases the child has not only
premature birth to struggle with, but
the worst factor of having come from i'll
conditioned, badly nourished and often
incorporate parents Besides, no nurse
i'll a hospital no score of nurses, can so
arrange that one shall always have an
eye on the thermometer; and the 90 or
more full blown babies will not upon
demand refrain their voices from weep
ing out of consideration for the sensi-
tiveness of their delicate little comrade.
The hospital people are sometimes
asked why they make SO great an effort
to save the lives of these poor little
creatures who, at the best, must enter
the race of life fcarfully handicapped.
Their argument. of course, is that the
tiniest life in embryo has d right to its
chance, but their interest Is doubtless
largely scientific. Physicians from
Maine to California, from the st. Law
renee to the gulf, are constantly looking
to these hospitals for the latest and best
results of their researches and expert
ments, and by studying the treatment
and watching the development of cases
here, the lncubating process included,
they may be able TO save many a life
nearer home Besides, who can foretell
whether the tiny atom may not turn out
a Lincoln or a Wagner as we'll as a COM