Care of the Baby in Winter

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Feb 17, 1916

Care of the Baby in Winter

[In these days, when everything pertaining to the child is receiving so much attention, the United States government itself is showing a lively interest in its youngest citizens, recognizing them—perhaps rather tardily—as its most precious asset,—more valuable even than baby pigs and sheep and fruit trees. Through the recently established Children's Bureau, information relating to the care and feeding of children, and their treatment in illness, is prepared in readable form and widely distributed. The following article, the first of a series of six on related topics, was sent out the last of January by this bureau.—MRS. I. H. E.]

So much emphasis is constantly placed upon the necessity for special care of the baby in summer, when the heat is excessive and diarrheal diseases are at their worst, that the fact that winter, too, has its special dangers for the baby is sometimes overlooked.

But the combination of heat and diarrhea is hardly more serious for the baby in the months of July and August, than are cold and respiratory diseases in winter. It is plain, then, that the winter care of the baby deserves special attention from every one interested in his health and well-being.

It has been demonstrated quite conclusively that a large part of the deaths from summer diarrhea are needless, because this disease may be cured in many cases, and prevented entirely in many more by the proper care and feeding of the baby during the heated months. The same doctrine is now being applied to the group of what are commonly called “winter diseases” of babies and children; namely, bronchitis, pneumonia, “colds,” and the like, which are, like diarrhea, to a large extent preventable by the intelligent care of the baby, and by surrounding him with proper living conditions.

These proper living conditions consist,

in both winter and summer, of suitable food, in the right amounts, at the right times; cleanliness; sufficient sleep; plenty of fresh, clean air to breathe; and protection from exposure to infectious diseases. It is chiefly the lack of these two latter requirements that causes winter illnesses among babies.

It is not the cold of winter which makes people sick, ordinarily, but rather the stale, overheated air inside our houses and public buildings, which we breathe and rebreathe, thus passing disease germs about from one to another. Babies are particularly liable to be infected in this way, because they spend a large part of their time indoors, and because mothers often feel that in order to keep the baby warm, the rooms must be tightly closed.

A mother should use every means in her power to protect her baby from “taking cold,” as it is commonly described. “Colds” are due to a germ, and are very contagious, being easily passed from one person to another in coughing or sneezing. A nursing mother with a cold should tie a thin cloth or veil over her mouth and nose while nursing the baby, and should be careful never to cough or sneeze in his face, nor to kiss him on the mouth. She should be particularly careful not to use her own handkerchief for the baby, nor to sleep with him, while the disease lasts. Many babies contract colds by being taken up and kissed by visitors, and it is a wise rule to keep the baby away from the presence of persons who are coughing and sneezing. The reason for this care is that a contagious cold is very often the forerunner of bronchitis and pneumonia, which diseases cause the death of many thousands of young babies every year, and which are infinitely easier to prevent than to cure.

Fresh air is the most effective weapon with which to fight the diseases of the respiratory tract. This does not necessarily mean cold air, for cold air may be stale, and warm air may be pure. The ventilation of most American houses is faulty, since in order to keep them warm enough to suit us, we shut them so tightly as to make the air unfit to breathe, after a few hours. To counteract this tendency, mothers should see to it that all the occupied rooms of the house are thoroughly aired at least twice every day in the coldest weather, while in moderate weather there should be as nearly constant a supply of fresh air throughout the house, night and day, as can be managed.

When the temperature outside is very low, the baby should be taken into a warm room while his nursery is being aired, and at night, his bed should be shielded from a direct draft. If there is a communicating room, the window in that room may be opened, if there is danger of chilling the air of his sleeping room.

If the cold is excessive, or if there is a raw, damp wind blowing or rain or snow is falling, the baby should be given his daily airing in a room with the windows open, or on a protected porch, dressing him warmly in out-of-door clothing. He should be taken out during the middle of the day, for a little while, never long enough to run the risk of chilling him. This applies especially to young and delicate babies. As a child gets old enough to walk about, and thus exercise himself, he should be allowed to play for some time each day in an open room or where he is sheltered from the wind.

But an airing every day does not take the place of fresh air in the house, day and night; and to secure sufficient ventilation for health, the mother must be on the watch to see that the rooms are opened and the air changed at frequent intervals.