THE terrible loss of infant life from "summer complaint," or diarrhea, does not longer need to be put into statistics, it is so well known. What is of special interest is that it may be largely prevented, for no immutable law exacts this terrible summer toll. Fate has not made July and August death months for babies, nor does an overruling Providence demand the sacrifice of these infant lives.
This preventable loss of life results largely from ignorance and neglect, on the part of mothers, of simple laws of health. It is estimated that of 135,000 babies in New York City, 50,000 have mothers wholly ignorant of the simplest rules of infant hygiene.
Prevention Better than Cure
AN ounce of prevention is worth more than a pound of cure when it comes to summer disorders; for preventive measures are always efficient, while the best curative skill too often fails when once the trouble is under way.
Two things stand out prominently as the causes of summer diarrhea — germs, or their poisonous product, in baby's food, and baby's weakened condition or inability to resist the action or effect of the germs. Hot weather is favorable to the growth of the germs, and is unfavorable to the baby's resistive powers.
A baby feels the heat of summer even more than do adults, and requires hot weather comforts accordingly. Light clothing, fresh air, baths, and plenty of good drinking water are essential to his health.
A napkin and a thin slip, and sometimes not even these, are sufficient clothing for baby on hot days. Well ventilated rooms, day and night, with outdoor naps whenever practicable, should be provided. Daily tub baths, supplemented by a sponge bath or two, especially when baby is feverish, are important.
The drinking water should be boiled and cooled, and should be allowed freely, both for quenching thirst and to aid the elimination of body wastes.
Greatest Danger in Feeding
IN feeding lies the greatest danger of summer disorders. Whether the baby is breast-fed or bottle-fed, observe regularity. Except under unusual conditions, he should even be awakened from sleep to be fed at feeding time. This regularity will insure better sleep and normal habits. Irregularity of feeding means a disturbed digestion, and interferes with both sleep and nutrition, causes the system to be underfed, takes away the normal hunger and appetite, and deprives the stomach of its periods of needed rest.
The mother nursing her baby must see to her own condition of health, observing regularity of habits, eating proper food, getting her sleep, and taking outdoor walks. Constipation in mother and colic in baby often go together. Make sure that the milk is of proper quality. Carefully note baby's condition, with special attention to marked changes.
With the bottle-fed baby, scrupulous cleanliness in the care of all utensils used in connection with the food must be observed. Wash feeding bottles as soon as emptied; and before using, cleanse with a solution of hot water and borax, one teaspoonful of borax to a pint of water. The nipples should be scrubbed inside and out with a brush used for that purpose only, the hot borax solution being used.
Care of Milk Imperative
ALL that is done under state and municipal inspection to provide milk as free as possible from disease-producing germs will count for little unless the mother adds her most vigilant watchfulness and care to keep the milk pure.
Keep milk covered, in freshly scalded vessels, and in a cool place. To insure safety in its use, sterilize by heating for thirty minutes in a double boiler or sterilizer, at a temperature of 160° F. This destroys most disease-producing germs without affecting the nutritive qualities of the milk. It is highly important that milk be rapidly cooled after heating. Set the vessel of milk in a vessel of cold water on ice. This prevents
the development of the germ spores or eggs that are not destroyed in the heating process, and which would soon produce in numbers if the milk were not cooled.
The germs that cause summer disease flourish in milk or in preparations in which milk is used. Warmth is essential to their development, and they multiply remarkably fast in warm weather. They find ideal conditions for growth in the digestive tract of the baby, where both temperature and food are provided. Care must be exercised to prevent, as far as possible, their introduction into this favorable breeding place. Hence the importance of proper care of milk, and of all food preparations, and of all vessels used in connection therewith.
Fourteen Helpful Hints
THE mother need not have special fear that baby's second summer will be its dangerous period. There is no physiological reason why the second summer should be more dangerous than the first. In fact, as baby grows older, gaining in health and strength, his chances for successfully combating disease improve, provided mother does her part. It rests with her to determine what the second summer shall mean to her baby. Any time that she relaxes her care may become a dangerous period to her little one.
With careful observance of a few simple principles of hygiene, mothers may help babies through summer. These are the things to observe:
