Practical infant feeding ; feeding formulas.

  • Winters, Joseph Edcil, 1848-1922.
Date:
©[1909?]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Practical infant feeding ; feeding formulas. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library at Yale University, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library at Yale University.

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    Proteid, with Its Contained Minerals, Is the Growth-Constituent There is a definite and unfailing relationship between growth and the percentage of proteid in milk. The calf doubles its weight in forty-seven days with 4 per cent, of proteid in milk; the lamb in ten days with 7 per cent.; the puppy in eight days with 8.28 per cent.; the kitten in five days with 9.33 per cent. A child increases in length most rapidly the first week of life. Bounteous- ness oj growth-constituent is vital. The first and second days, after childbirth, the secretion of the breasts contains 8.6 per cent, albumin—immediate nursing saves many lives; from the third to the seventh day, 3.4 per cent.; from the eighth to the four teenth day, 2.5 per cent. Mortality of infants under one year is so great that an equally high death rate is not again recorded until the age of eighty years! Seventy-five per cent, of deaths in first year, occur in first half; of these a large proportion die in first month. Mortality is highest in first week, falls enormously in second week, remains nearly stationary through third, and shows another marked decline in fourth week. Mortality in second month is only a small fraction of that in first month. Ample heat- and growth-constituents in first weeks would efface the mortality column of artificial feeding. High proteid, non-coagulable, absorbable without digestive effort is im- possible oj duplication. For extrication from a discrediting mortality peak, unparallelable secretion of first weeks must be utilized. Calcium phosphate, magnesia, sodium and potassium chloride, in greater quantity in colostrum than in milk of later period, is detergent, cleansing of perilous meconium. With maternal nursing, mortality is lower than with wet-nursing, attrib- utable to matchless qualities of colostrum.* Colostrum contains no casein. Change from colostrum to milk takes place during third week. Readily absorbable proteid decreases, less easily absorbable, augments. This proteid calls forth considerable digestive effort. The stomach of an infant increases rapidly in size during first two months of life, slowly in next two months, it is then comparatively qui- escent until after sixth month. Capacity of Stomach Birth 1 ounce One month 2^ ounces Two months 3 J ounces * During the siege of Paris, while the general mortality was doubled, that of infants was lowered 40 per cent, owing to mothers being driven to suckle their infants! [6]