Rules for the general management of infants / recommended by the Obstetrical Society of London.

  • Obstetrical Society of London.
Date:
1885
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Rules for the general management of infants / recommended by the Obstetrical Society of London. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    [5] in winter. In warm summer weather the more it is in the open air the better, taking care to protect the head from the sun. FEEDING. Nothing is more important in the bringing up of infants than the careful management of their feeding. Carelessness or errors in feeding cause a large proportion of their illnesses and deaths. SUCKLING. Nature provides breast milk as the proper food for an infant, and suckling is by far the best way of feeding it. Provided the mother or wet nurse has plenty of milk, and is in good health, an infant requires and should have no other food but the breast milk until after the seventh or eighth month. The milk itself, for the first few days, acts as a laxative, ' and no other aperient is necessary. Should the formation of the milk be delayed, a little cows' milk, diluted with an equal quantity of warm water, and slightly sweetened, may be given until the mother is ready to nurse. The infant should, for the first six weeks, be put to the breast at regular intervals of two hours during the day. During the night it requires to be fed less often. As it gets older it does not require to be fed so frequently. An infant soon learns regular habits as to feeding. It is a great mistake, and bad both for the mother and child, to give the breast whenever it cries, or to let it be always