Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1920-03-18
HOURS FOR NURSING
BABY ARE IMPORTANT
Grave Injustice is Done by Wean-
ing Too Soon From His
Natural Food.
The appearance of NJ

The following is the fifth of series Of
articles for the Mothers Column con-
tributed by the medical cOnsultant Of
the State Reconstruction Commission,
Submitted by the commission through
the clearing house of the Delaware State
Program:
RABY'S FIRST MoNTH-PART FIVE.
Any mother who docs not nurse her
baby as long As she possibly can before he
IS weaned is guilty Of very grave IN
justice TO him. Mothers milk Is the babys
right Ii is his natural food. He has OBJ
tanned all his nourishment from his mother
before birth and not to give him her milk
is to change his diet very radically. This
Is always a serious problem and not to
be undertaken lightly. The following
statistics will prove hsw serious it Is:
Out Of every 100 bottle-fed babies 25 die
every year. Out of every 100 breast-fcd
babies only 6 die every year. Twenty
FIVE per cent Of all deaths Of babies under
ono year of age Is due 10 intestinal dis
orders, many Of which are the result of a
change Of diet.
There are very few conditions of the
mothers health that prevent her from
nursing her baby. Always consult doctor
before taking the baby off the breast.
Ii NAV be few davs before the milk
starts to flow in normal amounts. This is
nothing TO worry about IS little time Is
all that Is necessary for the full quantity
10 come. The best way to stimulate the
flow of milk Is TO put the baby TO the
breast at the regular hours decided upon
for feeding. The sucking by the baby will
stimulate the flow of milk and it viii in
crease rapidly IN quantity During the
period when there is little or no milk the
baby should be given boiled unsweetened
water to drink. This is sufficient until
the normal supply Of milk begins 10 come.
Before nursing always clean the nipple
and surrounding SKIN with some solution
such as boracic acid. Clean in the same
manner after nursing. Cleanliness is a
most important matter as lack of II often
leads to cracked nipples or breast abcesses.
These are not harmful TO the baby, but
are very painful for the mother.
The baby must always be fed at regular
hours. The importance Of this cannot be
emphasized too strongly. 1t Is very easy
to upset the baby digestion and irregular
lty is one Of the surest ways Of doing
il. Put the baby to the breast II hours
after birth for the first time whether" aere
is milk or not Thereafter every three
hours. never oftener. The normal baby
usually nurses about fifteen minutes.
Twenty minutes is the outside limit for
this. If your baby appears to be unsatis-
fed after this length Of time something is
wrong and a doctor should be consulted.
Convenient hours for nursing are as
follows 6 a. m, 9 a m, 12noon, ) D. m,
g D m, 10p. m, and once during the night.
When nursing the baby he should be
held with his head carefully slIDportad
ard higher than his feet. When putting
nim down after nursing prop MIN w for
haf an hour, either by raising the head
Of the crib or with pillow These methods
will nelp the milk TO pass properly out
Of tire stomach
Between feelings boiled unsweetened
water should be given to the baby He
often cries fiom thirst as we'll as hunger
and milk viii not satisfy. Do not neglect
TINS. Give your baby water.