The Western outlook., 1915-08-07

| Fundamental |
Principles Of |
| HealthS@@s
By ALBERT S. GRAY, MD. !;
By ALBERT S. GRAY, MD.
Copyright. 1914. by A. S. Gray)
MOTHERS MILK.

most carefully bottle-fed infant has
smaller chance of escaping trouble and
achieving health and life than breast
fed baby of the most ignorant and
slovenly mother.
OF course, when the child's artificial
food is prepared and given by an intel
| ligent person under competent advice,
the baby may get through with q mini
mum of discomfort and danger from
digestive disorders arising from bac-
terial contamination Of its food from
unclean cans, bottles, spoons, nipples,
tubes and other utensils, devices and
attachments intervening between the
cow or the factory and its mouth; but
granting that all sources of bacterial
contamination are overcome. there
still will remain the absence of an au-
tomatically adjusting physiological
food supply, which no other than the
| human animal can furnish.
In composition milk is highly COM
| pick and variable. The important con-
stituents are the fats, held In emul-
sion as minute oil droplets; casein,
| nucleo-albumen which clots under the
| influence of rennin; milk albumen or
lactalbumen; a proteid resembling
serum albumen; lactoglobulin; lactose
or milk sugar; lecithin, cholesterin,
phosphocarnic acid, urea, citric acid,
| engines and mineral salts. The min
eral contents of milk comprise appre-
ciable quantities of sodium, calcium,
magnesium, iron, phosphorus and cho-
rine, besides probably minute quaint
ties Of other elements not yet deter
mined.
By reason Of the fact that casein
and milk sugar do not exist In the
blood it is held that they are formed
by the secretory metabolism OF the
gland cell under the action of hor-
none Stimulating property. And the
composition of the milk fat and the
astrological appearance of the gland
cells during secretion leads to the
view that the lat is also constructed
within the gland itself. Bunge has
called attention to the fact that the In
organic salts of milk differ quantita-
lively from those in the blood plasma
and resemble closely the proportions
found In the body of the young animal,
| thus indicating an adaptive secretion.
The casein of human milk Is smaller
In amount curdles In looser focks
than cows milk and seems to dissolve
more easily and completely In gastric
Juice. Human milk also contains rela.
lively more lecithin and less ash, while
cows milk, on the other hand, con-
tains less sugar and fat. Human milk,
In short, is a complex compound no
factory can even approximate to any
appreciate degree.
Experience by poultry raisers proves
artificial brooding to be lamentably in
efficient; the best kerosene lamp, as
sisted by the most earnest human ef-
fort, making but a pitiable showing
compared with the average results
achieved by a sturdy old hen-and bot
tie fed babies are about at par with
brooder chicks.
The absence of normal building ma
| terial while the foundations of life are
| being laid insures a handicap the Or
ganism must carry all through life;
hence every mother should recognize
the ethical and racial obligations she
is under to keep up supply of milk
through the period Of normal lactation.
This brings up the question OF how
a poor or deficient supply Of mothers
milk may be increased or bettered and
how It may be maintained through the
period of lactation. Generally the
| physician ie not consulted about the
matter until short time before the
baby Is expected, and then the best he
can do Is to recommend nourishing
diet.
The COW Is generally believed to be
the most placid, calm and docile of AMI.
mails; nevertheless she Is highly sensi-
tive to handling and under identical
conditions OF food and stabling one
mixer may be able to secure nearly
double the quantity Of milk from the
same cow that another mixer will pro-
duce, the difference In the results de-
pending on the bond of sympathy es-
tablished between the animal and the
mixer Good food and equanimity
then, are essential factors to an abun.
dant milk supply. Inasmuch as all
animal life is subject to the same
laws it is reasonable to assume that,
az the human being is more intellec-
tual than the cow, mental irritation
and anxiety may exert proportionately
even a greater influence on the hu.
man milk secretion. But however that
may be, obviously the full action OF
these two factors will not be attained
by telephone conversations or by
means of written order on drug
store; on the contrary results can be
expected only from careful. compre-
hensive preparation and training on
the part of the mother.
The absence of this training in the
individual home constitutes one Of the
fundamental weaknesses in our civil
cation and is, to no small degree, re-
sponsible for our weaklings and the
serious problems of intemperance and
anciai unresf unu confronting ua.