Indigestion, Part 2. Infants

Papers on Health
by John Kirk

(Page 8 of 21)

A little pepsin added to the hot water may be of use; also in cases of acidity a few drops of white vinegar mixed with the water will be found beneficial.

Soda, iron, lime, charcoal, even tar pills are used as remedies for indigestion; but none of them do much good, and some are highly injurious. If used at all, their use should be temporary, and under good medical advice.

If pain is felt, the stomach may be greatly soothed by soft fine lather (see Lather and Soap). It acts in such cases like a charm. Spread it gently over the stomach, and wipe it off with a soft cloth. Cover again with fresh lather. Do this five or six times, and cover up the last coat with a soft cloth.

All indulgences which tend to weaken the stomach are to be avoided. Alcohol and tobacco must be given up. Over-excitement must be avoided, and abundance of fresh air breathed, if a cure is to be expected.

Where sudden and violent pain comes on after meals, a poultice or hot fomentation applied directly over the stomach is the best remedy at the time. See Flatulence.

Infant Nursing - A mother who has had strength to bear a child is, as a rule, quite strong enough to nurse it. Suckling is natural, and usually most beneficial to health. Many women have better health and appetite at such a time than at any other. Every mother ought, therefore, unless her health forbids it, to nurse her own child; no other food is so good for it as that which nature provides. We cannot too strongly condemn the mother who from indolence or love of pleasure shirks this sacred duty. By so doing she violates the laws of nature, which can never be done with impunity. Many troubles follow, and her constitution is seriously injured. Alas that we should ever have to say, with Jeremiah: "Even the sea monsters draw out the breast, they give suck to their young ones; the daughter of my people is become cruel, like the ostriches in the wilderness."

If a wet-nurse must be employed, great care should be exercised in choosing a healthy person with a child as near as possible to the age of the infant.

Let mothers remember that there is great variety in milk. Not only does one mother's milk differ from another, but the same mother's milk varies from time to time. Variation in health and diet affects the milk very much. Many cases of infant trouble are traceable to the mother's milk, which should not be overlooked as a possible cause.

Again, an abundance of milk is not always good. An infant may thrive better on a scanty supply of good milk than on an abundance of bad milk. Milk derived from drinking ale, porter, or alcoholic drinks of any kind, though abundant, is very far indeed from good, that produced by plain and simple diet is always best.

Again, the state of the mother's mind has a great deal to do with the quality of her milk. A fright, or continued worry, may transform good milk into most injurious food for the child.

There need be no fear caused by these ideas: it is only in exceptional cases that nursing need be given up; the natural way is always the best. But where necessary there need be no hesitation in putting an infant on the bottle. The milk of a healthy cow, or condensed milk of first-rate brand, is much to be preferred to that of a wearied, worn-out, and worried mother.

Infants' Food - For infants who cannot be nursed at the breast, cows' milk in the "bottle" is the best substitute. But all milk used from the cow should be sterilized and cooled before use. That is unless it is found on trial that the child thrives better on not sterilized milk. It is not necessary to have "one cow's milk;" but it is important to have the milk adapted in strength to the infant's need. If the milk be too rich, the infant will often break out into spots, or will vomit. A little more boiling water in the bottle mixture will remedy this, and often prevent serious trouble. The same proportion of water and milk will not always do. One dairy's milk, and even one cow's milk, differs from another; and so does the digestive power of infants. We have to find out that strength of milk to suit our own baby, and not be led astray by the advice of other mothers. In health the young infant does not require food oftener than every two hours, sometimes even every three. It may cry because of cold, wet, or discomfort, not from want of food. To overload the stomach with food is harmful and leads to serious disorders. Its food requires a certain time for digestion, even in an infant, and as the child grows, the intervals between meals ought to be increased.

A good mixture is two parts of cow's milk to one of water. To every pint of this add four teaspoonfuls of sugar, and a tablespoonful of cream. Barley water may be used instead of common water. The water should be boiling, and should be poured into the milk. The bottle should be thoroughly cleansed, and boiled in boiling water before re-filling. It must be remembered that the saliva does not possess the property of turning starch into sugar till the child is six months old; therefore starchy food, such as bread, arrowroot, etc., should on no account be given before that age.

Preparations for weaning may then begin, by giving the child small quantities of oatmeal jelly and milk, or even of porridge and milk, so that the weaning comes on gradually. The time of nursing should not exceed nine months. If, however, a child afterwards be ill, there is no harm in going back for a time to the bottle, even at two years old. Common sense must guide, and not hard-and-fast rule. Easily assimilated food must ever be chosen; and as a food for children, oatmeal porridge, well boiled, holds the first place - far before bread sops. If porridge be not easily digested, try oatmeal jelly. Most of the infant foods so largely advertised cannot be recommended.

Printed by Hurst Bros., Shaw Heath, Stockport. 1904.