The infant: nutrition and management / by Eric Pritchard.

  • Pritchard, Eric, 1864-1943
Date:
1914
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: The infant: nutrition and management / by Eric Pritchard. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    19/284 (page 7)
    at the hospital, the infant was put regularly to the breast, and nothing was noticed amiss with him except that there was obstinate constipation. On January 17 the baby was brought to my infant consultations, chiefly because of this symptom, and also because he was losing weight. On being placed on the scales, he was found to have lost 10 ounces since birth. Owing to the loss of weight, constipa- tion, and oliguria, I thought it was extremely likely that the infant was suffering from inanition. So I ordered a test-feed, and found that the quan- tity of milk which the infant extracted from the breast was only a few teaspoonfuls. I therefore ordered a small quantity of whey and cream to be given to the infant in addition to the breast, hoping that by keeping the infant hungry and allowing him also to apply stimulus to the breast, the latter would ultimately become functionally active. During the following week the infant showed unmistakable signs of improvement in his general condition, but repeated test-feeds proved that this result was not due to any increase in the quantity of the breast-milk. During this week the child recovered 6 ounces of the weight he had previously lost. On January 28 the infant was again weighed and found to have gained 8 ounces in weight, although the test-feeds still proved that the breasts were nearly dry. By February 4 there was a further gain in weight, and