The Monett times., 1922-05-12
FEEDING THE BABY
DIR. F. F. Woodruff, Denver, Colo.-

the first year; while out Of every
hundred breast-fed babies only seven
die in the first year. Here is fact
the Importance Of which should re-
quire no emphasizing.
The greater mortality among bottle
fed babies is in part explained by the
fact that it is much more difficult
under strictly sanitary conditions.
Natures way of feeding delivers the
milk to the child fresh, and as a
general thing eliminates all chance
for harmful germ life to intervene
and cause trouble. Breast-feeding is
cleaner than bottle feeding.
Material Vitamins.
And yet even if bottle-feeding could
be done under strictly sanitary con-
ditions, the breasted baby would
still have far the better chance, prob
ably three times the chance, that the
bottle baby would have. The reason
for this is that mother-milk is intrins-
icaIIy better baby-food than any
artificial food can possibly be. 1t
contains certain substances of the
vitamin order, which may be des-
ignated as material yitamins," which
are essential to proper nutrition, and
for which there is no substitute in
any artificial food yet devised. Even
small amount of mothers milk
seems to supply these vitamins, so
that in cases where the mother can
supply only part of the milk re-
quisite for the baby's nutriment, 1t is
very essential that she should do SO
Of all the duties of the new mother,
the nursing of the baby comes first.
Many mothers in these days think
they can't nurse their babies. Our
grandmothers raised ten children and
nursed them all; since that time
there has been no marked change for
the worse in the physical constitution
of women, but we do note that in the
meantime bridge whist has grown
apace. Most of the women who think
they can't nurse their babies haven't
really tried. The fact is that with
very few exceptions every mother of
today can nurse her baby just as well
as her grandmother did. All that is
necessary is for her to think she can,
and to set about doing it.
Inducing the Milk Flow.
Do not be discouraged if there is a
scarcity of milk the first few weeks.
With patience and persistent encour-
agement, the milk supply will grad
| ually increase. One helpful measure
is to increase the amount of liquid in
the mothers diet. Don't take a
| 'tonic" of beer or tea; they do more
harm than good Instead take good
big matted milk between meals and
upon retiring. Nursing must be
regular and not too frequent. AS a
general rule, let the baby nurse every
three hours, for the first three
months; then every four hours. Do
not encourage night fedeing; it will
greatly benefit both mother and baby
to have an undisturbed nights rest.
Should the baby be too weak to nurse
vigorously at first, it is well to put
stronger child to the breast, thereby
/ exciting the function Of the breast UNI
til the baby has grown strong enough
to nurse normally. This should not
be done, however, without the advice
of a physician.
| A nursing mother should be free
from overwork and from worry. She
should follow her diet strictly. Under
such conditions there will be a suf-
ficient supply Of nourishing milk to
insure a normal development of the
baby.
Breast Feeding Schedule.