The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1901-07-22
BABIES In INCUBATORS.
HOW THE LITTLE WEAKLINGS'
LIFE IS SAVED.


Babies in incubators and babies
graduated from incubators to bassinets
are considered among the most popular
! exhibits at Buffalo. The Babies
building at the exposition is constantly
crowded with visitors, many of whom
return more than once to watch the in
teresting process that defeats natures
| attempt to deprive prematurely born
| infants of the right to life, liberty and
pursuit of happiness.
The idea of using an incubator &C.
surred to DR.. Creds about sixty years
ago, but that invented by him never
came into general use, and in 1873 DR..
Tarnier, of Paris, applied the principle
of the poultry incubators to an appara-
tus for infants, which was installed in
the Paris Maternity hospital Din 1880.
Berlin and London have permanent in
stitutions similarly equipped and in
| successful operation.
| The incubator is a glass case in a
metal frame, supported on metal legs.
In it is suspended cot of woven wire,
adequately padded. Fresh air is ad-
mitted by large tube through an an
tiseptic fluid and being filtered through
cotton, enters at the bottom of the case
and strikes an unlbrella-like shield be-
| low the cot, and Is thus detected
| downward till 1t meets the warm cur
rent of air provided by a Bunson's
burner placed outside the case. Inside
the incubator Is a thermostat, which by
its contraction and expansion automat-
ically works a lever outside, lowering
or raising cover on the burner and
thus directing more heat inside the in
cubator or letting it escape outside, ac-
cording as the inner temperature falls
below or rises above the required de-
gree. A thermometer in front registers
the degree existing. The foul air e>-
capes from above through an air shaft.
In large, sanitary room, we'll light
ed, stand about a dozen of these incu-
bators, occupied by premature or
weakly infants, swathed in German
fashion. These infants are sent by the
physicians of Buffalo and handed over
to the care of the institution. They are
weighed, properly clothed and placed in
the incubator. They are generally I'M
der five pounds in weight on admission.
A taft of wet nurses Is kept in the es-
tablishment, all of them being medical
ly examined and carefully selected.
They live in the building, and their diet
and regimen are carefully regulated.
The babies are taken out of the incu-
bator every two hours to be fed. Those
that are too weak to feed in the natu-
raj manner receive sustenance through
the Gavage spoon. which conveys the
milk through the nostrils to the pas
sages leading to the stomach. AS soon
as they are strong enough, they, too,
are given over to the wet nurse. Each
child is weighed before and after each
feeding.
Most of the babies lie with eyes
closed and practically the onlv sign of
life is the occasional flutter of a tiny
hand. The boys have distinguishing
ribbons of blue and the girls of pink, in
accordance with European custom
Back of the incubator room is a
model nursery, and a miniature eleva-
tor takes the infants to the upstairs
quarter to be fed. There the medical
directors, Drs. Schenchheim and Coney,
live and the nurses have their apart
ments.
1t is said that more than eighty-five
per cent. of the children thus reared are
saved, while under normal conditions
not more than twenty-five or thirty per
cent live. Those at he exposition are
not from institutions, as generally sup
posed, but from private families that
In many cases are possessed of large
means, and the names of the little pa
tents are kept carefully from the pub
lie. All are from Buffalo or places
near, as such infants have not sutfl-
cient vitality to endure travelling.
Quite the SHOW baby" is wee Afri-
can, whose weight on entering was two
and a half pounds.--New York Tribune.