Advice to a Mother on the Management of Her Children Part 3

As a general rule, therefore, when the child and the mother are tolerably strong, he is better _without artificial_ food until he have attained the age of three or four months, then, it will usually be necessary to feed him with _The Milk-water-and-sugar-of milk Food_ (see p 19) twice a day, so as gradually to prepare him to be weaned (if possible) at the end of nine months. The food mentioned in the foregoing Conversation will, when he is six or seven months old, be the best for him.

36. _When the mother is not able to suckle her infant herself, what ought to be done_?

It must first be ascertained, _beyond all doubt_, that a mother is not able to suckle her own child Many delicate ladies do suckle their infants with advantage, not only to their offspring, but to themselves. "I will maintain," says Steele, "that the mother grows stronger by it, and will have her health better than she would have otherwise She will find it the greatest cure, and preservative for the vapours [nervousness] and future miscarriages, much beyond any other remedy whatsoever Her children will be like giants, whereas otherwise they are but living shadows, and like unripe fruit, and certainly if a woman is strong enough to bring forth a child, she is beyond all doubt strong enough to nurse it afterwards."

Many mothers are never so well as when they are nursing, besides, suckling prevents a lady from becoming pregnant so frequently as she otherwise would. This, if she be delicate, is an important consideration, and more especially if she be subject to miscarry. The effects of miscarriage are far more weakening than those of suckling.

A hireling, let her be ever so well inclined, can never have the affection and unceasing a.s.siduity of a mother, and, therefore, cannot perform the duties of suckling with equal advantage to the baby.

The number of children who die under five years of age is enormous--many of them from the want of the mother's milk. There is a regular "parental baby-slaughter"--"a ma.s.sacre of the innocents"-- constantly going on in England, in consequence of infants being thus deprived of their proper nutriment and just dues! The mortality from this cause is frightful, chiefly occurring among rich people who are either too grand, or, from luxury, too delicate to perform such duties; poor married women, as a rule, nurse their own children, and, in consequence reap their reward.

If it be ascertained, _past all doubt_, that a mother cannot suckle her child, then, if the circ.u.mstances of the parents will allow--and they ought to strain a point to accomplish it--a healthy wet-nurse should be procured, as, of course, the food which nature has supplied is far, very far superior to any invented by art. Never bring up a baby, then, if you can possibly avoid it, on _artificial_ food. Remember, as I proved in a former Conversation, there is in early infancy no _real_ subst.i.tute for either a mother's or a wet-nurse's milk. It is impossible to imitate the admirable and subtle chemistry of nature. The law of nature is, that a baby, for the first few months of his existence, shall be brought up by the breast, and nature's law cannot be broken with impunity. [Footnote: For further reasons why artificial food is not desirable, at an early period of infancy, see answer to 35th question, page 26.] It will be imperatively necessary then--

"To give to nature what is nature's due."

Again, in case of a severe illness occurring during the first nine months of a child's life, what a comfort either the mother's or the wet-nurse's milk is to him! It often determines whether he shall live or die. But if a wet-nurse cannot fill the place of a mother, then a.s.ses' milk will be found the best subst.i.tute, as it approaches nearer, in composition, than any other animal's, to human milk; but it is both difficult and expensive to obtain. The next best subst.i.tute is goats' milk. Either the one or the other ought to be milked fresh and fresh, when wanted, and should be given by means of a feeding-bottle.

a.s.ses' milk is more suitable for a _delicate_ infant, and goats' milk for a _strong_ one.

If neither a.s.ses' milk nor goats' milk can be procured, then the following _Milk-water-salt-and-sugar Food_, from the very commencement, should be given; and as I was the author of the formula, [Footnote: It first appeared in print in the 4th edition of _Advice to a Mother_, 1852.] I beg to designate it as--_Rye Chava.s.se's Milk Food_:--

New milk, the produce of ONE _healthy_ cow; Warm water, of each, equal parts; Table salt, a few grains--a small pinch; Lump sugar, a sufficient quant.i.ty, to slightly sweeten it.

The milk itself ought not to be heated over the fire, [Footnote: It now and then happens that if the milk be not boiled, the motions of an infant are offensive; _when such is the case_, let the milk be boiled, but not otherwise.] but should, as above directed, be warmed by the water; it must, morning and evening, be had fresh and fresh. The milk and water should be of the same temperature as the mother's milk, that is to say, at about ninety degrees Fahrenheit. It ought to be given by means of either Morgan's, or Maw's, or Mather's feeding-bottle, [Footnote: See answer to Question 24, page 24.] and care must be taken to _scald_ the bottle out twice a day, for if attention be not paid to this point, the delicate stomach of an infant is soon disordered. The milk should, as he grows older, be gradually increased and the water decreased, until two-thirds of milk and one-third of water be used; but remember, that either _much_ or _little_ water must _always_ be given with the milk.

The above is my old form, and which I have for many years used with great success. Where the above food does not agree (and no food except a healthy mother's own milk does _invariably_ agree) I occasionally subst.i.tute sugar-of milt for the lump sugar, in the proportion of a tea spoonful of sugar-of milk to every half pint of food.

If your child bring up his food, and if the ejected matter be sour-smelling, I should advise you to leave out the sugar-of milk altogether, and simply to let the child live, for a few days, on milk and water alone, the milk being of _one_ cow, and in the proportion of two-thirds to one-third of _warm_ water--not _hot_ water, the milk should not be scalded with _hot_ water, as it injures its properties, besides, it is only necessary to give the child his food with the chill just off. The above food, where the stomach is disordered, is an admirable one, and will often set the child to rights without giving him any medicine whatever. Moreover, there is plenty of nourishment in it to make the babe thrive, for after all it is the milk that is the important ingredient in all the foods of infants, they can live on it, and on it alone, and thrive amazingly.

Mothers sometimes say to me, that farinaceous food makes their babes flatulent, and that my food (_Pye Chava.s.se's Milk Food_) has not that effect.

The reason of farinaceous food making babes, until they have _commenced_ cutting their teeth, "windy" is, that the starch of the farinaceous food (and all farinaceous foods contain more or less of starch) is not digested, and is not, as it ought to be, converted by the saliva into sugar [Footnote: See Pye Chava.s.se's _Counsel to a Mother_, 3d edition.] hence "wind" is generated, and pain and convulsions often follow in the train.

The great desideratum, in devising an infant's formula for food, is to make it, until he be nine months old, to resemble as much as possible, a mother's own milk, and which my formula, as nearly as is practicable, does resemble hence its success and popularity.

As soon as a child begins to cut his teeth the case is altered, and _farinaceous food, with milk and with water_, becomes an absolute necessity.

I wish, then, to call your especial attention to the following-facts, for they are facts--Farinaceous foods, _of all kinds_, before a child _commences_ cutting his teeth (which is when he is about six or seven months old) are worse than useless--they are, positively, injurious, they are, during the early period of infant life, perfectly indigestible, and may bring on--which they frequently do-- convulsions. A babe fed on farinaceous food alone would certainly die of starvation, for, "up to six or seven months of age, infants have not the power of digesting farinaceous or fibrinous substances"--Dr Letheby on _Food_.

A babe's salivary glands, until he be six or seven months old, does not secrete its proper fluid--namely, ptyalin, and consequently the starch of the farinaceous food--and all farinaceous food contains starch--is not converted into dextrine and grape-sugar, and is, therefore, perfectly indigestible and useless--nay, injurious to an infant, and may bring on pain and convulsions, and even death, hence, the giving of farinaceous food, until a child be six or seven months old, is one and the princ.i.p.al cause of the frightful infant mortality at the present time existing in England, and which is a disgrace to any civilized land!

In pa.s.sing, allow me to urge you never to stuff a babe--never to overload his little stomach with food, it is far more desirable to give him a little not enough, than to give him a little too much. Many a poor child has been, like a young bird, killed with stuffing. If a child be at the breast, and at the breast alone, there is no fear of his taking too much, but if he be brought up on artificial food, there is great fear of his over loading his stomach. Stuffing a child brings on vomiting and bowel-complaints, and a host of other diseases which now it would be tedious to enumerate. Let me, then, urge you on no account, to over load the stomach of a little child.

There will, then, in many cases, be quite sufficient nourishment in the above. I have known some robust infants brought up on it, and on it along, without a particle of farinaceous food, or of any other food, in any shape or form whatever. But if it should not agree with the child, or if there should not be sufficient nourishment in it, then the food recommended in answer to No. 34 question ought to be given, with this only difference--a little new milk must from the beginning be added, and should be gradually increased, until nearly all milk be used.

The milk, as a general rule, ought to be _unboiled_; but if it purge violently, or if it cause offensive motions--which it sometimes does--then it must be boiled. The moment the milk boils up, it should be taken off the fire.

Food ought for the first month to be given about every two hours; for the second month, about every three hours; lengthening the s.p.a.ce of time as the baby advances in age. A mother must be careful not to over-feed a child, as over-feeding is a prolific source of disease.

Let it be thoroughly understood, and let there be no mistake about it, that a babe during the first nine months of his life, MUST have--it is absolutely necessary for his very existence--milk of some kind, as the staple and princ.i.p.al article of his diet, either mother's, wet-nurse's, or a.s.ses', or goats', or cow's milk.

37. _How would you choose a wet-nurse_?

I would inquire particularly into the state of her health; whether she be of a healthy family, of a consumptive habit, or if she or any of her family have laboured under "king's evil;" ascertaining if there be any seams or swellings about her neck; any eruptions or blotches upon her skin; if she has a plentiful breast of milk, and if it be of good quality [Footnote: "It should be thin, and of a bluish-white colour, sweet to the taste, and when allowed to stand, should throw up a considerable quant.i.ty of cream,"--_Maxell and Evenson on the Diseases of Children_.] (which may readily be ascertained by milking a little into a gla.s.s); if she has good nipples, sufficiently long for the baby to hold; that they be not sore; and if her own child be of the same, or nearly of the same age, as the one you wish her to nurse.

Ascertain, whether she menstruate during suckling; if she does, the milk is not so good and nouris.h.i.+ng, and you had better decline taking her. [Footnote: Sir Charles Loc.o.c.k considers that a woman who menstruates during lactation is objectionable as a wet-nurse, and "that as a mother with her first child is more liable to that objection, that a second or third child's mother is more eligible than a first"--_Letter to the Author_.] a.s.sure yourself that her own babe is strong and healthy that he be free from a sore mouth, and from a "breaking-out" of the skin. Indeed, if it be possible to procure such a wet-nurse, she ought to be from the country, of ruddy complexion, of clear skin, and of between twenty and five-and-twenty years of age, an the milk will then be fresh, pure, and nouris.h.i.+ng.

I consider it to be of great importance that the infant of the wet-nurse should be, as nearly as possible, of the same age as your own, as the milk varies in quality according to the age of the child. For instance, during the commencement of suckling, the milk is thick and creamy, similar to the biestings of a cow, which, if given to a babe of a few months old, would cause derangement of the stomach and bowels. After the first few days, the appearance of the milk changes; it becomes of a bluish-white colour, and contains less nourishment. The milk gradually becomes more and more nouris.h.i.+ng as the infant becomes older and requires more support.

In selecting a wet-nurse for a very small and feeble babe, you must carefully ascertain that the nipples of the wet-nurse are good and soft, and yet not very large. If they be very large, the child's mouth being very small, he may not be able to hold them. You must note, too, whether the milk flows readily from the nipple into the child's mouth; if it does not, he may not have strength to draw it, and he would soon die of starvation. The only way of ascertaining whether the infant really draws the milk from the nipple, can be done by examining the mouth of the child _immediately_ after his taking the breast, and seeing for yourself whether there be actually milk, or not, in his mouth.

Very feeble new-born babes sometimes cannot take the bosom, be the nipples and the b.r.e.a.s.t.s ever so good, and although Maw's nipple-s.h.i.+eld and gla.s.s tube had been tried. In such a case, cow's milk-water-sugar-and-salt, as recommended at page 29, must be given in small quant.i.ties at a time--from two to four tea-spoonfuls--but frequently; if the child be awake, every hour, or every half hour, both night and day, until he be able to take the breast. If, then, a puny, feeble babe is only able to take but little at a time, and that little by tea-spoonfuls, he must have little and often, in order that "many a little might make a mickle."

I have known many puny, delicate children who had not strength to hold the nipple in their mouths, but who could take milk and water (as above recommended) by tea-spoonfuls only at a time, with steady perseverance, and giving it every half hour or hour (according to the quant.i.ty swallowed), at length be able to take the breast, and eventually become strong and hearty children; but such cases require unwearied watching, perseverance, and care. Bear in mind, then, that the smaller the quant.i.ty of the milk and water given at a time, the oftener must it be administered, as, of course, the babe must have a certain quant.i.ty of food to sustain life.

38. _What ought to be the diet either of a wet-nurse, or of a mother, who is suckling_?

It is a common practice to cram a wet-nurse with food, and to give her strong ale to drink, to make good nourishment and plentiful milk! This practice is absurd; for it either, by making the nurse feverish, makes the milk more sparing than usual, or it causes the milk to be gross and unwholesome. On the other hand, we must not run into an opposite extreme. The mother, or the wet-nurse, by using those means most conducive to her own health, will best advance the interest of her little charge.

A wet-nurse, ought to live somewhat in the following way:--Let her for breakfast have black tea, with one or two slices of cold meat, if her appet.i.te demand it, but not otherwise. It is customary for a wet-nurse to make a hearty luncheon; of this I do not approve. If she feel either faint or low at eleven o'clock, let her have either a tumbler of porter, or of mild fresh ale, with a piece of dry toast soaked in it. She ought not to dine later than half-past one or two o'clock; she should eat, for dinner, either mutton or beef, with either mealy potatoes, or asparagus, or French beans, or secale, or turnips, or broccoli, or cauliflower, and stale bread. Rich pastry, soups, gravies, high-seasoned dishes, salted meats, greens, and cabbage, must one and all be carefully avoided; as they only tend to disorder the stomach, and thus to deteriorate the milk.

It is a common remark, that "a mother who is suckling may eat anything." I do not agree with this opinion. Can impure or improper food make pure and proper milk, or can impure and improper milk make good blood for an infant, and thus good health?

The wet-nurse ought to take with her dinner a moderate quant.i.ty of either sound porter, or of mild (but not old or strong) ale. Tea should be taken at half past five or six o'clock; supper at nine, which should consist either of a slice or two of cold meat, or of cheese if she prefer it, with half a pint of porter or of mild ale; occasionally a basin of gruel may with advantage be subst.i.tuted. Hot and late suppers are prejudicial to the mother, or to the wet-nurse, and, consequently, to the child. The wet-nurse ought to be in bed every night by ten o'clock.

It might be said, that I have been too minute and particular in my rules for a wet-nurse; but when it is considered of what importance good milk is to the well-doing of an infant, in making him strong and robust, not only now, but as he grows up to manhood, I shall, I trust, be excused for my prolixity.

39. _Have you any more hints to offer with regard to the management of a wet-nurse_?

A wet-nurse is frequently allowed to remain in bed until a late hour in the morning, and during the day to continue in the house, as if she were a fixture! How is it possible that any one, under such treatment, can continue healthy! A wet nurse ought to rise early, and, if the weather and season will permit, take a walk, which will give her an appet.i.te for breakfast, and will make a good meal for her little charge. This, of course, cannot, during the winter mouths, be done; but even then, she ought, some part of the day, to take every opportunity of walking out; indeed, in the summer time she should live half the day in the open air.

She ought strictly to avoid crowded rooms; her mind should be kept calm and unruffled, as nothing disorders the milk so much as pa.s.sion, and other violent emotions of the mind; a fretful temper is very injurious, on which account you should, in choosing your wet-nurse, endeavour to procure one of a mild, calm, and placid disposition.

[Footnote: "'The child is poisoned.'

'Poisoned! by whom?'

'By you. You have been fretting.'

'Nay, indeed, mother. How can I help fretting!'

'Don't tell me, Margaret. A nursing mother has no business to fret. She must turn her mind away from her grief to the comfort that lies in her lap. Know you not that the child pines if the mother vexes herself?'"--_The Cloister and the Hearth_. By Charles Reade.]

A wet-nurse ought never to be allowed to dose her little charge either with G.o.dfrey's Cordial, or with Dalby's Carminative, or with Syrup of White Poppies, or with medicine of any kind whatever. Let her thoroughly understand this, and let there be no mistake in the matter. Do not for one moment allow your children's health to be tampered and trifled with. A baby's health is too precious to be doctored, to be experimented upon, and to be ruined by an ignorant person.

40. _Have the goodness to state at what age a child ought to be weaned_?

This, of course, must depend both upon the strength of the child, and upon the health of the parent; on an average, nine months is the proper time. If the mother be delicate, it may be found necessary to wean the infant at six months; or if he be weak, or labouring under any disease, it may be well to continue suckling him for twelve months; but after that time, the breast will do him more harm than good, and will, moreover, injure the mother's health, and may, if she be so predisposed, excite consumption.

41. _How would you recommend a mother to act when, she weans her child_?