The Oskaloosa herald. (Oskaloosa, Mahaska County, Iowa) 1885-1919, 1911-06-22
PROTECT THE BABIES
State Board of Health Sending Out
Timely Warning.

Owing to the fact that last year S95
babies died Of the cholera infantum,
and large number more died of 9TH
er preyentable diseases, and that
much of this death was due to neg
lect in the care o fthe food of the
baby, the health department sends
out the following bulletin by DIR. g..
II. Sumner, secretary of the state
board OF health. 1t is hoped that
every father and mother of an infant
child will carefully read and study
this communication: .a,s
The hot weather of this season of
the year is extremely dangerous to
the lives of infants and young chill
'dren, not only because of the depres.
sing effect of high temperature in
general, but especially because it is
harder to preserve all articles of food,
especially cows milk, in hot weather.
For this reason it is especially i'm
portant that cows milk to be used
for feeding babies should be the pur-
est and freshest that you can afford
to buy. During hot weather ice is abb
solutely necessary for the preserva-
ton of milk, where a cool spring
house is not available, and no milk
should be fed to baby which is not
cooled by ice around the bucket as
soon as it comes from the COW, and it
should be kept next TO the ice until
ready to be used. A little money
spent for ice may prevent illness and
it's much greater expense for nursing,
medicine and medical attendance.
Unless you are absolutely sure your
water supply Is pure, it is safest to
use water which has been boiled for
drinking and for the preparation of
the baby's food.
In practically all cases the mother
can and should nurse her own baby.
Breast milk is the natural food for
the newborn baby. No other food
can compare with it. Ten bottle-fed
babies die to one that is breast-fed
IF it becomes necessary to feed
the baby either entirely or only in
part upon the bottle, remember that
absolute cleanliness is necessary in
all details of the feeding. Because
some babies have lived through filth
is no argument that yours Will. AS
soon as a bottle is finished it should
be thoroughly washed with cold wat
er, then cleaned with hot water and
borax tone teaspoonful to a pint of
Water) and set aside in a sunny place
for further cleansing before being
used again. If you have only few
bottles, and it becomes necessary to
use the same one for the next feeding,
boil it for few minutes with a little
soda in the water before putting
fresh food into it, Never let the
baby nurse from the remains of a
bottle which he has not finished.
Take it away from the crib, pour out
the milk and clean at once.
The care of the nipples is especial
ly important. The simpler, the safer.
Do not use complicated nipples, and
especially do not use a bottle with a
long rubber tube. 1t is impossible to
keep it clean, and it will certainly
cause bowel trouble. After bottle
Is finished the nipple should be re-
moved at once, turned inside out
over the finger and scrubbed with
cold water and brush kept only for
this purpose. After using, always boil
the brush.
"A bottle-fed baby should not vom-
it if its food is pure, unless it Is fed
too much at a time. Vomiting is u.s.
ually a sign of approaching illness,
either one of the serious diseases Of
childhood, or more commonly in hot
weather, of summer ciarrhoea. Vom-
iting due to this cause may be the
first sign of trouble. If vomiting is
repeated, stop feeding milk, give wat
err which has been boiled. cool or at
the temperature at which the milk
is given, and consult your doctor at
once"