The pocket book of baby and child care / by Benjamin Spock ; illustrations by Dorothea Fox.

  • Benjamin Spock
Date:
1946
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: The pocket book of baby and child care / by Benjamin Spock ; illustrations by Dorothea Fox. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    we ee FAs. p Oh oo THE RIGHT START’ Concern about the early weight loss may not only upset a: mother needlessly, but it may also cause her to abandon breast: feeding before it has been given a fair chance. Some hospitals ' don't tell the mother the daily weight of the baby, to keep her’ from worrying, but this method doesn’t always work. The: mother who is anxious imagines the worst. It’s better for t mothers to realize how natura! the weight loss is and resolve to» leave the whole matter in the doctor’s hands. SCHEDULES Your doctor will prescribe the baby’s schedule on the basis of his needs, and you should consult him about any changes. The following sections are mainly a general discussion of what schedules are all about. The specific suggestions are only for those parents who are unable to consult a doctor regularly. 20. What a feeding schedule is for. You may be so used to the ‘idea that babies are fed on schedule that you are surprised to hear that it was ever different. Up to sixty years ago, before there was much knowledge of infant feeding, babies were fed when they seemed to be hungry, even in the most careful homes. And even today most of the mothers all over the world have never heard of a schedule. They would probably think it was pretty funny. Sf Why were regular schedules invented? When medical scien- | tists began to study the feeding of babies at the end of the last _ century, they had to make some order out of chaos. They dis- covered how much milk babies of different weights and ages needed on the average. They found that the average baby in the early months, if he had his fill of milk, would be satisfied for about 4 hours. They realized that some babies cried from pain- ful indigestion, but that their mothers usually thought it was hunger, and tried to give them more to eat. This didn’t help the indigestion. It was natural that these scientists would set up some kind of system for infant feeding and teach it to other doctors and mothers. We still must have a rough idea of what average babies of various sizes will] probably need in the way of formula, and how often. However, what we have been realizing more and more in recent years is this: It is wrong to take the figures