The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-07-23
CARE OF THE BABY IN SUMMER
Summer Complaint.

Summer complaint" or diarrhea, is one of the.s most dreaded ills which may befaH the baby.
 It is the principal symptom of vari- ous forms of indigestion, some of them mild and some very serious. But bowels should put the mother on guard against illness.
 At the appearance of diarrhea the city mother should take her baby ito & good doctor. If she has no doc tor, she should go to the nearest in fant welfare station, where 8 compe- tent physician will advise her as to the care of the baby, and the nurses in attendance will help her carry out his directions.
 In the country, where it is very diff ficuIt to get the advice of a doctor, the mother has a harder problem. Because she is out of the range of infant welfare stations, hospitals and often of physicians as well, it is most important to prevent every attack of illness possible by careful attention to the basby's food and general care, as already iadvised in these articles.
 A pamphlet which may be of help to the country mother is Infant Care sent free to any one mailing a request to the Chief of the Chil- dren's Bureau, U. S. Department of Labor, Washington, D. c. This pamphlet contains simple directions for the care and feeding of the baby, and suggests some ways of dealing with various emergencies.
 The healthy baby usually has one or two bowel movements a day. If this number is increased to four or more it is time to take measures against sickness.
 It is well to remember, however, that the bowel movements of a baby lf fed entirely at the breast are normally m ore frequent than those of @ bottle fed baby, and that a slight increase in the number of movements is not so serious a matter to a baby at the breast as to one artificially fed. A baby fed at the breast does not usu- ally have diarrhea, and when such baby shows signs of digestive disturb ance, it is usually because he is over fed-either he is nursed too often, or at irregular intervals, or is allowed to nurse too long at one time When he does have ediarrhea, the time. be- tween musings should be increased to four hours, and the time at the breast reduced to five 10 minutes. If the bowels continue loose, the breast should be with drawn entirely for several feedings, if necessary, giv- ing the baby instead cool drinking water at frequent intervals. In this case, the mother should pump her breasts at the regular nursing times, both to keep them from drying up, and to prevent tn cir caking.
 BottIe-fed babies are the most ire quent sufferers from summer diar- rhea, and this fact furnishes another strong argument in favor of breast feeding. Diarrhea in bott1e-fed baby is also best treated by reducing the amount of food. The bottle should be omitted for eight, 12 or 24 hours, according to the severity of the attack, and in place of the milk should be given as much boiled and cooled water as the baby will take.
 Food should not be withheld for more than 24 hours, without the ad- vice of a doctor. When the bottle is resumed, the food should be much weaker than before. water should be su ubstituted for at least half the milk previously given. The milk should be skinrhed, asAd the sugar omitted.
 The return to the former feeding should be made gradually by adding a little more milk each day and be- ginning to add sugar The more se- were the attack has been, the more slowly should changes be made.
 If the baby is on mixed feeding, at is partly breast and partly bot tie fed. the bottle feedings should be omitted if ,diarrhea. appears. and the breast given once in four or five hours, With nOCn1nS put QT1nhlnS water between meals.
 Diarrhea is much more frequent in July and August than in the cooler m rionthsl of the year, which fact has earned for it the name of summer complaint Accordingly the mother should use every means in her power during the hot weather to keep the baby cool. In the heat of the day the baby should wear only a diaper, with possi bly one other thin garment.
 Frequent cool spongings and at least one full tub bath each day, plenty of sleep, and constant supply of fresh air will help to protect the baby from the excessive heat, and keep him well. Directions for this health care of the baby in summer have already been given in this series of articles.
 Bridgeport people are becoming very much interested in Radford B. Smiths Wednesday and Saturday |