The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1896-07-22
BABY INCUBATORS.
A PHYSICIAN TELLS OF THE con-
STRUCTION AND OPERATION.

The Apparatus Is Very Simple and mex
pensive, but Attendance Is Costly-In
Addition to Saving 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,
ignoble cause, is the infinite vigilance
and care, the ingenuity and skill that.
are sometimes expended upon preserving
and tanning into fame a little spark
that has hardly attained the dignity of
being c"aaiii td"a liffle.
Doubtless most are familiar with the
metal receptacle by 2, standing on
four legs about waist high, with small
water pipe and heating apparatus OIL
one side and a cold air pipe and add
tional apparatus OH the other known as
the infant incubator. But perhaps few
realize the patient skilled watching and
the consequent expense necessary to the
bringing forward of the little inmate,
until it shall be able to take its place in
the world as real Give and kicking"
baby.
At the first appearance upon life's
stage of this speck of humanity "scarce
half made up" it is swathed in bum
die of absorbent cotton and laid i'll it's
little nest, with nothing to distract its
attention but a perfectly accurate Their
mometer, to which it, however, seems
wholly Indifferent The glass lid is then
almost closed. Experience has taught
the physicians that it is better to leave
it open 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 90 to SO
degrees. In cases of low vitality it is
kept at 9S, and with the most robust is
never allowed to 60 below 90 degrees.
Then every hour the little charge must
be fed. This is sometimes accomplished
by means Of 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
dram, about a teaspoonful, CT pre-
pared food. Thus in the "a hours about
three ounces of food are absorbed. This
food is made after formula arranged
by most expert chemist and changes
from day to day according to the devel-
opment of the baby.
Every 36 hours the little gown of alb.
sorbent cotton is exchanged for q 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 sun
fcr its icc1uigerv parents.
It will easily be seen that the only
requirements for raising 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.
| DR.. Rotch, who is responsible for
many Of the recent improvements Of tho
incubator, has been very successful in
its use. He insists upon having always
two trained nurses, SO that no moment
may there be the risk of a change in
conditions which might turn the scale
the wrong way. This Of itself means
$50 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 it is often case where the tiny
Mohammed must go to the mountain,
and it is almost impossible to accomplish
this without some little exposure. Then
in most cases tho 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
in hospital, no score of nurses, can SC
arrange that one shall always have an
eye on the thermometer; and the 80 O.
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 fearfully handicapped.
Their argument, of course, is that the
tiniest life in embryo has 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 incubating process included,
they may be able to save many life
nearer home. Besides, who can foretell
whether the tiny atom may not turn out
a Lincoln Or Wagner as we'll as a COM