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32. FAINTING.—Most likely to be caused by "quickening," or else by tight dress, bad air, over-exertion, or other unhealthy living. It is not often dangerous. Lay the patient in an easy posture, the head rather low than high, and where cool air may blow across the face; loosen the dress if tight; sprinkle cold water on the face and hands.
33. SLEEPLESSNESS.—Most likely to be caused by incorrect living, and to be prevented and cured by the opposite. A glass or two of cold water drank deliberately on going to bed often helps one to go to sleep; so does bathing the face and hands and the feet in cold water. A short nap in the latter part of the forenoon can sometimes be had, and is of use. Such a nap ought not to be too long, or it leaves a heavy feeling; it should be sought with the mind in a calm state, in a well-ventilated though darkened room, and with the clothing removed, as at night. A similar nap in the afternoon is not so good, but is better than nothing. The tepid sitz-bath on going to bed will often produce sleep, and so will gentle percussion given by an attendant with palms of the hand over the back for a few minutes on retiring. To secure sound sleep do not read, write or severely tax the mind in the evening.
* * * * *
MORNING SICKNESS.
1. A pregnant woman is especially liable to suffer many forms of dyspepsia, nervous troubles, sleeplessness, etc.
2. MORNING SICKNESS is the most common and is the result of an irritation in the womb, caused by some derangement, and it is greatly irritated by the habit of indulging in sexual gratification during pregnancy. If people would imitate the lower animals and reserve the vital forces of the mother for the benefit of her unborn child, it would be a great boon to humanity. Morning sickness may begin the next day after conception, but it usually appears from two to three weeks after the beginning of pregnancy and continues with more or less severity from two to four months.
3. HOME TREATMENT FOR MORNING SICKNESS.—Avoid all highly seasoned and rich food. Also avoid strong tea and coffee. Eat especially light and simple suppers at five o'clock and no later than six. Some simple broths, such as will be found in the cooking department of this book will be very nourishing and soothing. Coffee made from brown wheat or corn is an excellent remedy to use. The juice of lemons reduced with water will sometimes prove very effectual. A good lemonade with an egg well stirred is very nourishing and toning to the stomach.
4. HOT FOMENTATION on the stomach and liver is excellent, and warm and hot water injections are highly beneficial.
5. A little powdered magnesia at bed time, taken in a little milk, will often give almost permanent relief.
6. Avoid corsets or any other pressure upon the stomach. All garments must be worn loosely. In many cases this will entirely prevent all stomach disturbances.
* * * * *
RELATION OF HUSBAND AND WIFE DURING PREGNANCY.
1. MISCARRIAGE.—If the wife is subject to miscarriage every precaution should be employed to prevent its happening again. Under such exceptional circumstances the husband should sleep apart the first five months of pregnancy; after that length of time, the ordinary relation may be assumed. If miscarriage has taken place, intercourse should be avoided for a month or six weeks at least after the accident.
2. IMPREGNATION.—Impregnation is the only mission of intercourse, and after that has taken place, intercourse can subserve no other purpose than sensual gratification.
3. WOMAN MUST JUDGE.—Every man should recognize the fact that woman is the sole umpire as to when, how frequent, and under what circumstances, connection should take place. Her desires should not be ignored, for her likes and dislikes are—as seen in another part of this book—easily impressed upon the unborn child. If she is strong and healthy there is no reason why passion should not be gratified with moderation and caution during the whole period of pregnancy, but she must be the sole judge and her desires supreme.
4. VOLUNTARY INSTANCES.—No voluntary instances occur through the entire animal kingdom. All females repel with force and fierceness the approaches of the male. The human family is the only exception. A man that loves his wife, however, will respect her under all circumstances and recognize her condition and yield to her wishes.
* * * * *
A PRIVATE WORD TO THE EXPECTANT MOTHER.
Elizabeth Cady Stanton, in a lecture to ladies, thus strongly states her views regarding maternity and painless childbirth:
"We must educate our daughters to think that motherhood is grand, and that God never cursed it. And this curse, if it be a curse, may be rolled off, as man has rolled away the curse of labor; as the curse has been rolled from the descendants of Ham. My mission is to preach this new gospel. If you suffer, it is not because you are cursed of God, but because you violate His laws. What an incubus it would take from woman could she be educated to know that the pains of maternity are no curse upon her kind. We know that among the Indians the squaws do not suffer in childbirth. They will step aside from the ranks, even on the march, and return in a short time to them with the new-born child. What an absurdity then, to suppose that only enlightened Christian women are cursed. But one word of fact is worth a volume of philosophy; let me give you some of my own experience. I am the mother of seven children. My girlhood was spent mostly in the open air. I early imbibed the idea that a girl was just as good as a boy, and I carried it out. I would walk five miles before breakfast or ride ten on horseback. After I was married I wore my clothing sensibly. Their weight hung entirely on my shoulders. I never compressed my body out of its natural shape. When my first four children were born, I suffered very little. I then made up my mind that it was totally unnecessary for me to suffer at all; so I dressed lightly, walked every day, lived as much as possible in the open air, ate no condiments or spices, kept quiet, listened to music, looked at pictures, and took proper care of myself. The night before the birth of the child I walked three miles. The child was born without a particle of pain. I bathed it and dressed it, and it weighed ten and one-half pounds. That same day I dined with the family. Everybody said I would surely die, but I never had a relapse or a moment's inconvenience from it. I know this is not being delicate and refined, but if you would be vigorous and healthy, in spite of the diseases of your ancestors, and your own disregard of nature's laws, try it."
* * * * *
SHALL PREGNANT WOMEN WORK?
1. OVER-WORKED MOTHERS.—Children born of over-worked mothers, are liable to a be dwarfed and puny race. However, their chances are better than those of the children of inactive, dependent, indolent mothers who have neither brain nor muscle to transmit to son or daughter. The truth seems to be that excessive labor, with either body or mind, is alike injurious to both men and women; and herein lies the sting of that old curse. This paragraph suggests all that need be said on the question whether pregnant women should or should not labor.
2. FOOLISHLY IDLE.—At least it is certain that they should not be foolishly idle; and on the other hand, it is equally certain that they should be relieved from painful laborious occupations that exhaust and unfit them for happiness. Pleasant and useful physical and intellectual occupation, however, will not only do no harm, but positive good.
3. THE BEST MAN AND THE BEST WOMAN.—The best man is he who can rear the best child, and the best woman is she who can rear the best child. We very properly extol to the skies Harriet Hosmer, the artist, for cutting in marble the statue of a Zenobia; how much more should we sing praises to the man and the woman who bring into the world a noble boy or girl. The one is a piece of lifeless beauty, the other a piece of life Including all beauty, all possibilities.
* * * * *
WORDS FOR YOUNG MOTHERS.
The act of nursing is sometimes painful to the mother, especially before the habit is fully established. The discomfort is greatly increased if the skin that covers the nipples is tender and delicate. The suction pulls it off leaving them in a state in which the necessary pressure of the child's lips cause intense agony. This can be prevented in a great measure, says Elizabeth Robinson Scovil, in Ladies' Home Journal, if not entirely, by bathing the nipples twice a day for six weeks before the confinement with powdered alum dissolved in alcohol; or salt dissolved in brandy. If there is any symptom of the skin cracking when the child begins; to nurse, they should be painted with a mixture of tannin and glycerine. This must be washed off before the baby touches them and renewed when it leaves them. If they are very painful, the doctor will probably order morphia added to the mixture. A rubber nipple shield to be put on at the time of nursing, is a great relief. If the nipples are retracted or drawn inward, they can be drawn out painlessly by filling a pint bottle with boiling water, emptying it and quickly applying the mouth over the nipple. As the air in the bottle cools, it condenses, leaving a vacuum and the nipple is pushed out by the air behind it.
When the milk accumulates or "cakes" in the breast in hard patches, they should be rubbed very gently, from the base upwards, with warm camphorated oil. The rubbing should be the lightest, most delicate stroking, avoiding pressure. If lumps appear at the base of the breast and it is red swollen and painful, cloths wrung out of cold water should be applied and the doctor sent for. While the breast is full and hard all over, not much apprehension need be felt. It is when lumps appear that the physician should be notified, that he may, if possible, prevent the formation of abscesses.
While a woman is nursing she should eat plenty of nourishing food—milk, oatmeal, cracked wheat, and good juicy, fresh meat, boiled, roasted, or broiled, but not fried. Between each meal, before going to bed, and once during the night, she should take a cup of cocoa, gruel made with milk; good beef tea, mutton broth, or any warm, nutritive drink. Tea and coffee are to be avoided. It is important to keep the digestion in order and the bowels should be carefully regulated as a means to this end. If necessary, any of the laxative mineral waters can be used for this purpose, or a teaspoonful of compound licorice powder taken at night. Powerful cathartic medicines should be avoided because of their effect upon the baby. The child should be weaned at nine months old, unless this time comes in very hot weather, or the infant is so delicate that a change of food would be injurious. If the mother is not strong her nurseling will sometimes thrive better upon artificial food than on its natural nourishment. By gradually lengthening the interval between the nursing and feeding the child, when it is hungry, the weaning can be accomplished without much trouble.
A young mother should wear warm underclothing, thick stockings and a flannel jacket over her night dress, unless she is in the habit of wearing an under vest. If the body is not protected by warm clothing there is an undue demand upon the nervous energy to keep up the vital heat, and nerve force is wasted by the attempt to compel the system to do what ought to be done for it by outside means.
* * * * *
HOW TO HAVE BEAUTIFUL CHILDREN.
1. PARENTAL INFLUENCE.—The art of having handsome children has been a question that has interested the people of all ages and of all nationalities. There is no longer a question as to the influence that parents may and do exert upon their offspring, and it is shown in other parts of this book that beauty depends largely on the condition of health at the time of conception. It is therefore of no little moment that parents should guard carefully their own health as well as that of their children, that they may develop a vigorous constitution. There cannot be beauty without good health.
2. MARRYING TOO EARLY.—We know that marriage at too early an age, or too late in life, is apt to produce imperfectly developed children, both mentally and physically. The causes are self-evident: A couple marrying too young, they lack maturity and consequently will impart weakness to their offspring; while on the other hand persons marrying late in life fail to find that normal condition which is conducive to the health and vigor of offspring.
3. CROSSING OF TEMPERAMENTS AND NATIONALITIES.—The Crossing of temperaments and nationalities beautifies offspring. If young persons of different nationalities marry, their children under proper hygienic laws are generally handsome and healthy. For instance, an American and German or an Irish and German uniting in marriage, produces better looking children than those marrying in the same nationality. Persons of different temperaments uniting in marriage, always produces a good effect upon offspring.
4. THE PROPER TIME.—To obtain the best results, conception should take place only when both parties are in the best physical condition. If either parent is in any way indisposed at the time of conception the results will be seen in the health of the child. Many children brought in the world with diseases or other infirmities stamped upon their feeble frames show the indiscretion and ignorance of parents.
5. DURING PREGNANCY.—During pregnancy the mother should take time for self improvement and cultivate an interest for admiring beautiful pictures or engravings which represent cheerful and beautiful figures. Secure a few good books illustrating art, with some fine representations of statues and other attractive pictures. The purchase of several illustrated an journals might answer the purpose.
6. WHAT TO AVOID.—Pregnant mothers should avoid thinking of ugly people, or those marked by any deformity or disease; avoid injury, fright and disease of any kind. Also avoid ungraceful position and awkward attitude, but cultivate grace and beauty in herself. Avoid difficulty with neighbors or other trouble.
7. GOOD CARE.—She should keep herself in good physical condition, and the system well nourished, as a want of food always injures the child.
8. THE IMPROVEMENT OF THE MIND.—The mother should read suitable articles in newspapers or good books, keep her mind occupied. If she cultivates a desire for intellectual improvement, the same desire will be more or less manifested in the growth and development of the child.
9. LIKE PRODUCES LIKE, everywhere and always—in general forms and in particular features—in mental qualities and in bodily conditions—in tendencies of thought and in habits of action. Let this grand truth be deeply impressed upon the hearts of all who desire or expect to become parents.
10. HEREDITY.—Male children generally inherit the peculiar traits and diseases of the mother and female children those of the father.
11. ADVICE.—Therefore it is urged that during the period of utero-gestation, especial pains should be taken to render the life of the female as harmonious as possible, that her surroundings should all be of a nature calculated to inspire the mind with thoughts of physical and mental beauties and perfections, and that she should be guarded against all influences, of whatever character, having a deteriorative tendency.
* * * * *
EDUCATION OF THE CHILD IN THE WOMB.
"A lady once interviewed a prominent college president and asked him when the education of a child should begin. 'Twenty-five years before it is born,' was the prompt reply."
No better answer was ever given to that question Every mother may well consider it.
1. THE UNBORN CHILD AFFECTED BY THE THOUGHTS AND THE SURROUNDINGS OF THE MOTHER.—That the child is affected in the womb of the mother, through the influences apparently connected with objects by which she is surrounded, appears to have been well known in ancient days, as well as at the present time.
2. EVIDENCES.—Many evidences are found in ancient history, especially among the refined nations, showing that certain expedients were resorted to by which their females, during the period of utero-gestation, were surrounded by the superior refinements of the age, with the hope of thus making upon them impressions which should have the effect of communicating certain desired qualities to the offspring. For this reason apartments were adorned with statuary and paintings, and special pains were taken not only to convey favorable impressions, but also to guard against unfavorable ones being made, upon the mind of the pregnant woman.
3. HANKERING AFTER GIN.—A certain mother while pregnant, longed for gin, which could not be gotten; and her child cried incessantly for six weeks till gin was given it, which it eagerly clutched and drank with ravenous greediness, stopped crying, and became healthy.
4. BEGIN TO EDUCATE CHILDREN AT CONCEPTION, and continue during their entire carriage. Yet maternal study, of little account before the sixth, after it, is most promotive of talents; which, next to goodness are the father's joy and the mother's pride. What pains are taken after they are born, to render them prodigies of learning, by the best of schools and teachers from their third year; whereas their mother's study, three months before their birth, would improve their intellects infinitely more.
5. MOTHERS, DOES GOD THUS PUT the endowment of your darlings into your moulding power? Then tremble in view of its necessary responsibilities, and learn how to wield them for their and your temporal and eternal happiness.
6. QUALITIES OF THE MIND.—The Qualities of the mind are perhaps as much liable to hereditary transmission as bodily configuration. Memory, intelligence, judgment, imagination, passions, diseases, and what is usually called genius, are often very markedly traced in the offspring.—I have known mental impressions forcibly impressed upon the offspring at the time of conception, as concomitant of some peculiar eccentricity, idiosyncrasy, morbidness, waywardness, irritability, or proclivity of either one or both parents.
7. THE PLASTIC BRAIN.—The plastic brain of the foetus is prompt to receive all impressions. It retains them, and they become the characteristics of the child and the man. Low spirits, violent passions, irritability, frivolity, in the pregnant woman, leave indelible marks on the unborn child.
8. FORMATION OF CHARACTER.—I believe that pre-natal influences may do as much in the formation of character as all the education that can come after, and that mothers may, in a measure, "will," what that influence shall be, and that, as knowledge on the subject increases, it will be more and more under their control. In that, as in everything else, things that would be possible with one mother would not be with another, and measures that would be successful with one would produce opposite results from the other.
9. A HISTORICAL ILLUSTRATION.—A woman rode side by side with her soldier husband, and witnessed the drilling of troops for battle. The scene inspired her with a deep longing to see a battle and share in the excitements of the conquerors. This was but a few months before her boy was born, and his name was Napoleon.
10. A MUSICIAN.—The following was reported by Dr. F.W. Moffatt, in the mother's own language, "When I was first pregnant, I wished my offspring to be a musician, so, during the period of that pregnancy, settled my whole mind on music, and attended every musical entertainment I possibly could. I had my husband, who has a violin, to play for me by the hour. When the child was born, it was a girl, which grew and prospered, and finally became an expert musician."
11. MURDEROUS INTENT.—The mother of a young man, who was hung not long ago, was heard to say: "I tried to get rid of him before he was born; and, oh, how I wish now that I had succeeded!" She added that it was the only time she had attempted anything of the sort; but, because of home troubles, she became desperate, and resolved that her burdens should not be made any greater. Does it not seem probable that the murderous intent, even though of short duration, was communicated to the mind of the child, and resulted in the crime for which he was hung?
12. THE ASSASSIN OF GARFIELD.—Guiteau's father was a man of integrity and conquerable intellectual ability. His children were born in quick succession, and the mother was obliged to work very hard. Before this child was born, she resorted to every means, though unsuccessful, to produce abortion. The world knows the result. Guiteau's whole life was full of contradictions. There was little self-controlling power in him; no common sense, and not a vestige or remorse or shame. In his wild imagination, he believed himself capable of doing the greatest work and of filling the loftiest station in life. Who will dare question that this mother's effort to destroy him while in embryo was the main cause in bringing him to the level of the brutes?
13. CAUTION.—Any attempt, on the part of the mother, to destroy her child before birth, is liable, if unsuccessful, to produce murderous tendencies. Even harboring murderous thoughts, whether toward her own child or not, might be followed by similar results.
"The great King of kings Hath in the table of His law commanded That thou shall do no murder. Wilt thou, then, Spurn at His edict, and fulfill a man's? Take heed, for He holds vengeance in His hand To hurl upon their heads that break his law." —RICHARD III., Act I.
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HOW TO CALCULATE THE TIME OF EXPECTED LABOR.
1. The table on the opposite page has been very accurately compiled, and will be very helpful to those who desire the exact time.
2. The duration of pregnancy is from 278 to 280 days, or nearly forty weeks. The count should be made from the beginning of the last menstruation, and add eight days on account of the possibility of it occurring within that period. The heavier the child the longer is the duration; the younger the woman the longer time it often requires. The duration is longer in married than in unmarried women; the duration is liable to be longer if the child is a female.
3. MOVEMENT.—The first movement is generally felt on the 135th day after impregnation.
4. GROWTH OF THE EMBRYO.—About the twentieth day the embryo resembles the appearance of an ant or lettuce seed; the 30th day the embryo is as large as a common horse fly; the 40th day the form resembles that of a person; in sixty days the limbs begin to form, and in four months the embryo takes the name of foetus.
5. Children born after seven or eight months can survive and develop to maturity.
DIRECTIONS.—Find in the upper horizontal line the date on which the last menstruation ceased; the figure beneath gives the date of expected confinement (280 days).
Jan. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Oct. 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22
Jan. 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 Oct. 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Nov.
Feb. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Nov. 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22
Feb. 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 Nov. 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Dec.
Mar. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Dec. 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Mar. 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 Dec. 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 1 2 3 4 5 Jan.
Apr. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Jan. 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Apr. 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 Jan. 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 1 2 3 4 5 Feb.
May 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Feb. 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22
May 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 Feb. 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Mar.
June 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Mar. 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22
June 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 Mar. 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 1 2 3 4 5 6 Apr.
July 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Apr. 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
July 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 Apr. 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 1 2 3 4 5 May
Aug. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 May 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22
Aug. 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 May 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 June
Sep. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 June 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22
Sep. 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 June 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 1 2 3 4 5 6 July
Oct. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 July 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22
Oct. 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 July 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Aug.
Nov. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Aug. 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22
Nov. 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 Aug. 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 1 2 3 4 5 6 Sep.
Dec. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Sep. 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22
Dec. 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 Sep. 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Oct.
* * * * *
THE SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF LABOR.
1. Although the majority of patients, a day or two before the labor comes on, are more bright and cheerful, some few are more anxious, fanciful, fidgety and reckless.
2. A few days, sometimes a few hours, before labor commences, the child "falls" as it is called; that is to say, there is a subsidence—a dropping—of the womb lower down the abdomen. This is the reason why she feels lighter and more comfortable, and more inclined to take exercise, and why she can breathe more freely.
3. The only inconvenience of the dropping of the womb is, that the womb presses more on the bladder, and sometimes causes an irritability of that organ, inducing a frequent desire to make water. The wearing the obstetric belt, as so particularly enjoined in previous pages, will greatly mitigate this inconvenience.
4. The subsidence—the dropping—of the womb may then be considered one of the earliest of the precursory symptoms of child-birth, and as the herald of the coming event.
5. She has, at this time, an increased moisture of the vagina—the passage leading to the womb—and of the external parts. She has, at length, slight pains, and then she has a "show," as it is called; which is the coming away of a mucous plug which, during pregnancy, had hermetically sealed up the mouth of the womb. The "show" is generally tinged with a little blood. When a "show" takes place, she may rest assured that labor has actually commenced. One of the early symptoms of labor is a frequent desire to relieve the bladder.
6. She ought not, on any account, unless it be ordered by the medical man, to take any stimulant as a remedy for the shivering. In case of shivering or chills, a cup either of hot lea or of hot gruel will be the best remedy for the shivering; and an extra blanket or two should be thrown over her, and be well tucked around her, in order to thoroughly exclude the air from the body. The extra clothing, as soon as she is warm and perspiring, should be gradually removed, as she ought not to be kept very hot, or it will weaken her, and will thus retard her labor.
7. She must not, on any account, force down—as her female friends or as a "pottering" old nurse may advise—to "grinding pains"; if sue does, it will rather retard than forward her labor. 8. During this stage, she had better walk about or sit down, and not confine herself to bed; indeed, there is no necessity for her, unless she particularly desire it, to remain in her chamber.
9. After an uncertain length of time, the pains alter in character. From being "grinding" they become "bearing down," and more regular and frequent, and the skin becomes both hot and perspiring. These may be considered the true labor-pains. The patient ought to bear in mind then that "true labor-pains" are situated in the back, and loins; they come on at regular intervals, rise gradually up to a certain pitch of intensity, and abate as gradually; it is a dull, heavy, deep sort of pain, producing occasionally a low moan from the patient; not sharp or twinging, which would elicit a very different expression of suffering from her.
10. Labor—and truly it maybe called, "labor." The fiat has gone forth that in "sorrow thou shalt bring forth children." Young, in his "Night Thoughts," beautifully expresses the common lot of women to suffer:
"'Tis the common lot; in this shape, or in that, has fate entailed The mother's throes on all of women born, Not more the children than sure heirs of pain."
* * * * *
SPECIAL SAFEGUARDS IN CONFINEMENT.
1. Before the confinement takes place everything should be carefully arranged and prepared. The physician should be spoken to and be given the time as near as can be calculated. The arrangement of the bed, bed clothing, the dress for the mother and the expected babe should be arranged for convenient and immediate use.
2. A bottle of sweet oil, or vaseline, or some pure lard should be in readiness. Arrangements should be made for washing all soiled garments, and nothing by way of soiled rags or clothing should be allowed to accumulate.
3. A rubber blanket, or oil or waterproof cloth should be in readiness to place underneath the bottom sheet to be used during labor.
4. As soon as labor pains have begun a fire should be built and hot water kept ready for immediate use. The room should be kept well ventilated and comfortably warm.
5. No people should be allowed in or about the room except the nurse, the physician, and probably members of the family when called upon to perform some duty.
6. During labor no solid food should be taken; a little milk, broth or soup may be given, provided there is an appetite. Malt or spirituous liquors should be carefully avoided. A little wine, however, may be taken in case of great exhaustion. Lemonade, toast, rice water, and tea may be given when desired. Warm tea is considered an excellent drink for the patient at this time.
7. When the pains become regular and intermit, it is time that the physician is sent for. On the physician's arrival he will always take charge of the case and give necessary instructions.
8. In nearly all cases the head of the child is presented first. The first pains are generally grinding and irregular, and felt mostly in the groins and within, but as labor progresses the pains are felt in the abdomen, and as the head advances there is severe pain in the back and hips and a disposition to bear down, but no pressure should be placed upon the abdomen of the patient; it is often the cause of serious accidents. Nature will take care of itself.
9. Conversation should be of a cheerful character, and all allusions to accidents of other child births should be carefully avoided.
10. ABSENCE OF PHYSICIAN.—In case the child should be born in the absence of the physician, when the head is born receive it in the hand and support it until the shoulders have been expelled, and steady the whole body until the child is born. Support the child with both hands and lay it as far from the mother as possible without stretching the cord. Remove the mucus from the nostrils and mouth, wrap the babe in warm flannel, make the mother comfortable, give her a drink, and allow the child to remain until the pulsations in the cord have entirely ceased. After the pulsations have entirely ceased then sever the cord. Use a dull pair of scissors, cutting it about two inches from the child's navel, and generally no time is necessary, and when the physician comes he will give it prompt attention.
11. If the child does not breathe at its arrival, says Dr. Stockham in her celebrated Tokology, a little slapping on the breast and body will often produce respiration, and if this is not efficient, dash cold water on the face and chest; if this fails then close the nostrils with two fingers, breathe into the mouth and then expel the air from the lungs by gentle pressure upon the chest. Continue this as long as any hope of life remains.
12. AFTER-BIRTH.—Usually contractions occur and the after-birth is readily expelled; if not, clothes wrung out in hot water laid upon the bowels will often cause the contraction of the uterus, and the expulsion of the after-birth.
13. If the cord bleeds severely inject cold water into it. This in many cases removes the after-birth.
14. After the birth of the child give the patient a bath, if the patient is not too exhausted, change the soiled quilts and clothing, fix up everything neat and clean and let the patient rest.
15 Let the patient drink weak tea, gruel, cold or hot water, whichever she chooses.
16. After the birth of the baby, the mother should be kept perfectly quiet for the first 24 hours and not allowed to talk or see anyone except her nearest relations, however well she may seem. She should not get out of bed for ten days or two weeks, nor sit up in bed for nine days. The more care taken of her at this time, the more rapid will be her recovery when she does get about. She should go up and down stairs slowly, carefully, and as seldom as possible for six weeks. She should not stand more than is unavoidable during that time, but sit with her feet up and lie down when she has time to rest. She should not work a sewing machine with a treadle for at least six weeks, and avoid any unusual strain or over-exertion. "An ounce of prevention IS worth a pound of cure," and carefulness will be well repaid by a perfect restoration to health.
* * * * *
WHERE DID THE BABY COME FROM?
Where did you come from, baby dear? Out of the everywhere into here.
Where did you get the eyes so blue? Out of the sky, as I came through.
Where did you get that little tear? I found it waiting when I got here.
What makes your forehead so smooth and high? A soft hand stroked it as I went by.
What makes your cheek like a warm, white rose? I saw something better than anyone knows.
Whence that three-cornered smile of bliss? Three angels gave me at once a kiss.
Where did you get this pretty ear? God spoke, and it came out to hear.
Where did you get those arms and hands? Love made itself into hooks and bands.
Feet whence did you come, you darling things? From the same box as the cherub's wings.
How did they all come just to be you? God thought of me, and so I grew.
But how did you come to us, you dear? God thought about you, and so I am here.
—GEORGE MACDONALD.
* * * * *
CHILD BEARING WITHOUT PAIN.
HOW TO DRESS, DIET AND EXERCISE IN PREGNANCY.
1. AILMENTS.—Those ailments to which pregnant women are liable are mostly inconveniences rather than diseases, although they may be aggravated to a degree of danger. No patent nostrums or prescriptions are necessary. If there is any serious difficulty the family physician should be consulted.
2. COMFORT.—Wealth and luxuries are not a necessity. Comfort will make the surroundings pleasant. Drudgery, overwork and exposure are the three things that tend to make women miserable while in the state of pregnancy, and invariably produce irritable, fretful and feeble children. Dr. Stockham says in her admirable work "Tokology:" "The woman who indulges in the excessive gayety of fashionable life, as well as the overworked woman, deprives her child of vitality. She attends parties in a dress that is unphysiological in warmth, distribution and adjustment, in rooms badly ventilated; partakes of a supper of indigestible compounds, and remains into the 'wee, sma' hours,' her nervous system taxed to the utmost."
3. EXERCISE.—A goodly amount of moderate exercise is a necessity, and a large amount of work may be accomplished if prudence is properly exercised. It is overwork, and the want of sufficient rest and sleep that produces serious results.
4. DRESSES.—A pregnant woman should make her dresses of light material and avoid surplus trimmings. Do not wear anything that produces any unnecessary weight. Let the clothing be light but sufficient in quantity to produce comfort in all kinds of weather.
5. GARMENTS.—It is well understood that the mother must breathe for two, and in order to dress healthily the garments should be worn loose, so as to give plenty of room for respiration. Tight clothes only cause disease, or produce frailty or malformation in the offspring.
6. SHOES.—Wear a large shoe in pregnancy; the feet may swell and untold discomfort may be the result. Get a good large shoe with a large sole. Give the feet plenty of room. Many women suffer from defects in vision, indigestion, backache, loss of voice, headache, etc., simply as the result of the reflex action of the pressure of tight shoes.
7. LACING.—Many women lace themselves to the first period of their gestation in order to meet their society engagements. All of this is vitally wrong and does great injury to the unborn child as well as to inflict many ills and pains upon the mother.
8. CORSETS.—Corsets should be carefully avoided, for the corset more than any other one thing is responsible for making woman the victim of more woes and diseases than all other causes put together. About one-half the children born in this country die before they are five years of age, and no doubt this terrible mortality is largely due to this instrument of torture known as the modern corset. Tight lacing is the cause of infantile mortality. It slowly but surely takes the lives of tens of thousands, and so effectually weakens and diseases, so as to cause the untimely death of millions more.
9. BATHING.—Next to godliness is cleanliness. A pregnant woman should take a sponge or towel-bath two or three times a week. It stimulates and invigorates the entire body. No more than two or three minutes are required. It should be done in a warm room, and the body rubbed thoroughly after each bathing.
10. THE HOT SITZ-BATH.—This bath is one of the most desirable and healthful baths for pregnant women. It will relieve pain or acute inflammation, and will be a general tonic in keeping the system in a good condition. This may be taken in the middle of the forenoon or just before retiring, and if taken just before retiring will produce invigorating sleep, will quiet the nerves, cure headache, weariness, etc. It is a good plan to take this bath every night before retiring in case of any disorders. A woman who keeps this tip during the period of gestation will have a very easy labor and a strong, vigorous babe.
11. HOT FOMENTATIONS.—Applying flannel cloths wrung out of simple or medicated hot water is a great relief for acute suffering, such as neuralgia, rheumatic pain, biliousness, constipation, torpid liver, colic, flatulency, etc.
12. THE HOT WATER-BAG.—The hot water-bag serves the same purpose as hot fomentations, and is much more convenient. No one should go through the period of gestation without a hot water-bag.
13. THE COLD COMPRESS.—This is a very desirable and effectual domestic remedy. Take a towel wrung from cold water and apply it to the affected parts; then cover well with several thicknesses of flannel. This is excellent in cases of sore throat, hoarseness, bronchitis, inflammation of the lungs, croup, etc. It is also excellent for indigestion, constipation or distress of the bowels accompanied by heat.
14. DIET.—The pregnant woman should eat nutritious, but not stimulating or heating food, and eat at the regular time. Avoid drinking much while eating.
15. AVOID salt, pepper and sweets as much as possible.
16. EAT all kinds of grains, vegetables and fruits, and avoid salted meat, but eat chicken, steak, fish, oysters, etc.
17. THE WOMAN WHO EATS INDISCRIMINATELY anything and everything the same as any other person, will have a very painful labor and suffer many ills that could easily be avoided by more attention being paid to the diet. With a little study and observation a woman will soon learn what to eat and what to avoid.
18. The above cuts are given on page 113; we repeat them here for the benefit of expectant mothers who may be ignorant of the evil effects of the corset.
Displacement of the womb, interior irritation and inflammation, miscarriage and sterility, are some of the many injuries of tight lacing. There are many others, in fact their name is legion, and every woman who has habitually worn a corset and continues to wear it during the early period of gestation must suffer severely during childbirth.
19. THIS IS WHAT DR. STOCKHAM says: "If women had common sense, instead of fashion sense, the corset would not exist. There are not words in the English language to express my convictions upon this subject. The corset more than any other one thing is responsible for woman's being the victim of disease and doctors....
"What is the effect upon the child? One-half of the children born in this country die before they are five years of age. Who can tell how much this state of things is due to the enervation of maternal life forces by the one instrument of torture?
"I am a temperance woman. No one can realize more than I the devastation and ruin alcohol in its many tempting forms has brought to the human family. Still I solemnly believe that in weakness and deterioration of health, the corset has more to answer for than intoxicating drinks." When asked how far advanced a woman should be in pregnancy before she laid aside her corset, Dr. Stockham said with emphasis: "The corset should not be worn for two hundred years before pregnancy takes place. Ladies, it will take that time at least to overcome the ill-effect of tight garments which you think so essential."
20. PAINLESS PREGNANCY AND CHILD-BIRTH.—"Some excellent popular volumes," says Dr. Haff, "have been largely devoted to directions how to secure a comfortable period of pregnancy and painless delivery. After much conning of these worthy efforts to impress a little common sense upon the sisterhood, we are convinced that all may be summed up under the simple heads of: (1) An unconfined and lightly burdened waist; (2) Moderate but persistent outdoor exercise, of which walking is the best form; (3) A plain unstimulating, chiefly fruit and vegetable diet; (4) Little or no intercourse during the time.
"These are hygienic rules of benefit under any ordinary conditions; yet they are violated by almost every pregnant lady. If they are followed, biliousness, indigestion, constipation, swollen limbs, morning sickness and nausea—all will absent themselves or be much lessened. In pregnancy more than at any other time, corsets are injurious. The waist and abdomen must be allowed to expand freely with the growth of the child. The great process of evolution must have room."
21. IN ADDITION, we can do no better than quote the following recapitulation by Dr. Stockham in her famous Tokology: "To give a woman the greatest immunity from suffering during pregnancy, prepare her for a safe and comparatively easy delivery, and insure a speedy recovery, all hygienic conditions must be observed.
"The dress must give:
"1. Freedom of movement;
"2. No pressure upon any part of the body;
"3. No more weight than is essential for warmth, and both weight and warmth evenly distributed.
"These requirements necessitate looseness, lightness and warmth, which can be obtained from the union underclothes, a princess skirt and dress, with a shoe that allows full development and use of the foot. While decoration and elegance are desirable, they should not sacrifice comfort and convenience.
22. "LET THE DIET BE LIGHT, plain and nutritious. Avoid fats and sweets, relying mainly upon fruits and grain that contain little of the mineral salts. By this diet bilious and inflammatory conditions are overcome, the development of bone in the foetus lessened, and muscles necessary in labor nourished and strengthened.
23. "EXERCISE should be sufficient and of such a character as will bring into action gently every muscle of the body; but must particularly develop the muscles of the trunk, abdomen and groin, that are specially called into action in labor. Exercise, taken faithfully and systematically, more than any other means assists assimilative processes and stimulates the organs of excretion to healthy action.
24. "BATHING MUST BE FREQUENT and regular. Unless in special conditions the best results are obtained from tepid or cold bathing, which invigorates the system and overcomes nervousness. The sitz-bath is the best therapeutic and hygienic measure within the reach of the pregnant woman.
"Therefore, to establish conditions which will overcome many previous infractions of law, dress naturally and physiologically; live much of the time out of doors; have abundance of fresh air in the house; let exercise be sufficient and systematic; pursue a diet of fruit, rice and vegetables; regular rest must be faithfully taken; abstain from the sexual relation. To those who will commit themselves to this course of life, patiently and persistently carrying it out through the period of gestation, the possibilities of attaining a healthy, natural, painless parturition will be remarkably increased.
25. "IF THE FIRST EXPERIMENT should not result in a painless labor, it without doubt will prove the beginning of sound health. Persisted in through years of married life, the ultimate result will be more and more closely approximated, while there will be less danger of diseases after childbirth and better and more vigorous children will be produced.
"Then pregnancy by every true woman will be desired, and instead of being a period of disease, suffering and direful forebodings, will become a period of health, exalted pleasure and holiest anticipations. Motherhood will be deemed the choicest of earth's blessings; women will rejoice in a glad maternity and for any self-denial will be compensated by healthy, happy, buoyant, grateful children."
* * * * *
SOLEMN LESSONS FOR PARENTS.
1. EXCESSIVE PLEASURES AND PAINS.—A woman during her time of pregnancy should of all women be most carefully tended, and kept from violent and excessive pleasures and pains; and at that time she should cultivate gentleness, benevolence and kindness.
2. HEREDITARY EFFECTS.—Those who are born to become insane do not necessarily spring from insane parents, or from any ancestry having any apparent taint of lunacy in their blood, but they do receive from their progenitors certain impressions upon their mental and moral, as well as their physical beings, which impressions, like an iron mould, fix and shape their subsequent destinies. Hysteria in the mother may develop insanity in the child, while drunkenness in the father may impel epilepsy, or mania, in the son. Ungoverned passions in the parents may unloose the furies of unrestrained madness in the minds of their children, and the bad treatment of the wife may produce sickly or weak-minded children.
3. The influence of predominant passion may be transmitted from the parent to the child, just as surely a similarity of looks. It has been truly said that "the faculties which predominate in power and activity in the parents, when the organic existence of the child commences, determine its future mental disposition." A bad mental condition of the mother may produce serious defects upon her unborn child.
4. The singular effects produced on the unborn child by the sudden mental emotions of the mother are remarkable examples of a kind of electrotyping on the sensitive surfaces of living forms. It is doubtless true that the mind's action in such cases may increase or diminish the molecular deposits in the several portions of the system. The precise place which each separate particle assumes in the new organic structure may be determined by the influence of thought or feeling. Perfect love and perfect harmony should exist between wife and husband during this vital period.
5. AN ILLUSTRATION.—If a sudden and powerful emotion of a woman's mind exerts such an influence upon her stomach as to excite vomiting, and upon her heart as almost to arrest its motion and induce fainting, can we believe that it will have no effect upon her womb and the fragile being contained within it? Facts and reason then, alike demonstrate the reality of the influence, and much practical advantage would result to both parent and child, were the conditions and extent of its operations better understood.
6. Pregnant women should not be exposed to causes likely to distress or otherwise strongly impress their minds. A consistent life with worthy objects constantly kept in mind should be the aim and purpose of every expectant mother.
* * * * *
TEN HEALTH RULES FOR BABIES CUT DEATH RATE IN TWO.
Ninety-four babies out of every thousand born in New York died last year. Only thirty-eight babies died in Montclair, N.J., out of every thousand born during the same period. Much credit for this low rate of infant mortality in the latter city is given the Montclair Day Nursery which prescribes the following decade of baby health rules:
1. Give a baby pure milk and watch its feeding very closely.
2. Keep everything connected with a baby absolutely clean. Cleanliness in the house accounts for a baby's health. Untidy babies are usually sick babies.
3. Never let a baby get chilled. Keep its hands and feet warm.
4. Regulate a baby's day by the clock. Everything about its wants should be attended to on schedule time.
5. Diminish a baby's food the minute signs of illness appear. Most babies are overfed anyway.
6. Weigh a baby every week until it is a year old. Its weight is an index of its health.
7. Every mother should get daily out-door exercise. It means better health for her babies.
8. Every baby should be "mothered" more and mauled less. Babies thrive on cuddling but they can get along on a lot less kissing.
9. Don't amuse or play with your baby too much. Its regular daily routine is all the stimulation its little brain needs at first.
10. Don't let too many different people take care of the baby. Even members of the same family make a baby nervous if they fuss around him too much.
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THE CARE OF NEW-BORN INFANTS.
1. The first thing to be done ordinarily is to give the little stranger a bath by using soap and warm water. To remove the white material that usually covers the child use olive oil, goose oil or lard, and apply it with a soft piece of worn flannel, and when the child is entirely clean rub all off with a fresh piece of flannel.
2. Many physicians in the United States recommend a thorough oiling of the child with pure lard or olive oil, and then rub dry as above stated. By these means water is avoided, and with it much risk of taking cold.
3. The application of brandy or liquor is entirely unnecessary, and generally does more injury than good.
4. If an infant should breathe feebly, or exhibit other signs of great feebleness, it should not be washed at once, but allowed to remain quiet and undisturbed, warmly wrapped up until the vital actions have acquired a fair degree of activity.
5. DRESSING THE NAVEL.—There is nothing better for dressing the navel than absorbent antiseptic cotton. There needs be no grease or oil upon the cotton. After the separation of the cord the navel should be dressed with a little cosmoline, still using the absorbent cotton. The navel string usually separates in a week's time; it may be delayed for twice this length of time, this will make no material difference, and the rule is to allow it to drop off of its own accord.
6. THE CLOTHING OF THE INFANT.—The clothing of the infant should be light, soft and perfectly loose. A soft flannel band is necessary only until the navel is healed. Afterwards discard bands entirely if you wish your babe to be happy and well. Make the dresses "Mother Hubbard" Put on first a soft woolen shirt, then prepare the flannel skirts to hang from the neck like a slip. Make one kind with sleeves and one just like it without sleeves, then white muslin skirts (if they are desired), all the same way. Then baby is ready for any weather. In intense heat simply put on the one flannel slip with sleeves, leaving off the shirt. In Spring and Fall the shirt and skirt with no sleeves. In Cold weather shirt and both skirts. These garments can be all put on at once, thus making the process of dressing very quick and easy. These are the most approved modern styles for dressing infants, and with long cashmere stockings pinned to the diapers the little feet are free to kick with no old-fashioned pinning blanket to torture the naturally active, healthy child, and retard its development. If tight bands are an injury to grown people, then in the name of pity emancipate the poor little infant from their torture!
7. THE DIAPER.—Diapers should be of soft linen, and great care should be exercised not to pin them too tightly. Never dry them, but always wash them thoroughly before being used again.
8. The band need not be worn after the navel has healed so that it requires no dressing, as it serves no purpose save to keep in place the dressing of the navel. The child's body should be kept thoroughly warm around the chest, bowels and feet. Give the heart and lungs plenty of room to heave.
9. The proper time for shortening the clothes is about three months in Summer and six months in Winter.
10. INFANT BATHING.—The first week of a child's life it should not be entirely stripped and washed. It is too exhausting. After a child is over a week old it should be bathed every day; after a child is three weeks old it may be put in the water and supported with one hand while it is being washed with the other. Never, however, allow it to remain too long in the water. From ten to twenty minutes is the limit. Use Pears' soap or castile soap, and with a sponge wipe quickly, or use a soft towel.
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NURSING.
1. The new-born infant requires only the mother's milk. The true mother will nurse her child if it is a possibility. The infant will thrive better and have many more chances for life.
2. The mother's milk is the natural food, and nothing can fully take its place. It needs no feeding for the first few days as it was commonly deemed necessary a few years ago. The secretions in the mother's breast are sufficient.
3. Artificial Food. Tokology says: "The best artificial food is cream reduced and sweetened with sugar of mill. Analysis shows that human milk contains more cream and sugar and less casein than the milk of animals."
4. Milk should form the basis of all preparations of food. If the milk is too strong, indigestion will follow, and the child will lose instead of gaining strength.
WEANING.—The weaning of the child depends much upon the strength and condition of the mother. If it does not occur in hot weather, from nine to twelve months is as long as any child should be nursed.
FOOD IN WEANING.—Infants cry a great deal during weaning, but a few days of patient perseverance will overcome all difficulties. Give the child purely a milk diet, Graham bread, milk crackers and milk, or a little milk thickened with boiled rice, a little jelly, apple sauce, etc., may be safely used. Cracked wheat, oatmeal, wheat germ, or anything of that kind thoroughly cooked and served with a little cream and sugar, is an excellent food.
MILK DRAWN FROM THE BREASTS.—If the mother suffers considerably from the milk gathering in the breast after weaning the child, withdraw it by taking a bottle that holds about a pint or a quart, putting a piece of cloth wrung out in warm water around the bottle, then fill it with boiling water, pour the water out and apply the bottle to the breast, and the bottle cooling will form a vacuum and will withdraw the milk into the bottle. This is one of the best methods now in use.
RETURN OF THE MENSES.—If the menses return while the mother is nursing, the child should at once be weaned, for the mother's milk no longer contains sufficient nourishment. In case the mother should become pregnant while the child is nursing it should at once be weaned, or serious results will follow to the health of the child. A mother's milk is no longer sufficiently rich to nourish the child or keep it in good health.
CARE OF THE BOTTLE.—If the child is fed on the bottle great care should be taken in keeping it absolutely clean. Never use white rubber nipples. A plain form of bottle with a black rubber nipple is preferable.
CHILDREN should not be permitted to come to the table until two years of age.
CHAFING.—One of the best remedies is powdered lycopodium; apply it every time the babe is cleaned; but first wash with pure castile soap; Pears' soap is also good. A preparation of oxide of zinc is also highly recommended. Chafing sometimes results from an acid condition of the stomach; in that case give a few doses of castoria.
COLIC.—If an infant is seriously troubled with colic, there is nothing better than camomile or catnip tea. Procure the leaves and make tea and give it as warm as the babe can bear.
* * * * *
FEEDING INFANTS.
1. The best food for infants is mother's milk; next best is cow's milk. Cow's milk contains about three times as much curd and one-half as much sugar, and it should be reduced with two parts of water.
2. In feeding cow's milk there is too little cream and too little sugar, and there is no doubt no better preparation than Mellin's food to mix it with (according to directions).
3. Children being fed on food lacking fat generally have their teeth come late; their muscles will be flabby and bones soft. Children will be too fat when their food contains too much sugar. Sugar always makes their flesh soft and flabby.
4. During the first two months the baby should be fed every two hours during the day, and two or three times during the night, but no more. Ten or eleven feedings for twenty-four hours are all a child will bear and remain healthy. At three months the child may be fed every three hours instead of every two.
5. Children can be taught regular habits by being fed and put to sleep at the same time every day and evening. Nervous diseases are caused by irregular hours of sleep and diet, and the use of soothing medicines.
6. A child five or six months old should not be fed during the night from nine in the evening until six or seven in the morning, as overfeeding causes most of the wakefulness and nervousness of children during the night.
7. If a child vomits soon after taking the bottle, and there is an appearance of undigested food in the stool, it is a sign of overfeeding. If a large part of the bottle has been vomited, avoid the next bottle at regular time and pass over one bottle. If the child is nursing the same principles apply.
8. If a child empties its bottle and sucks vigorously its fingers after the bottle is emptied, it is very evident that the child is not fed enough, and should have its food gradually increased.
9. Give the baby a little cold water several times a day.
* * * * *
INFANTILE CONVULSIONS.
DEFINITION.—An infantile convulsion corresponds to a chill in an adult, and is the most common brain affection among children.
CAUSES.—Anything that irritates the nervous system may cause convulsions in the child, as teething, indigestible food, worms, dropsy of the brain, hereditary constitution, or they may be the accompanying symptom in nearly all the acute diseases of children, or when the eruption is suppressed in eruptive diseases.
SYMPTOMS.—In case of convulsions of a child parents usually become frightened, and very rarely do the things that should be done in order to afford relief. The child, previous to the fit, is usually irritable, and the twitching of the muscles of the face may be noticed, or it may come on suddenly without warning. The child becomes insensible, clenches its hands tightly, lips turn blue, and the eyes become fixed, usually frothing from the mouth with head turned back. The convulsion generally lasts two or three minutes; sometimes, however, as long as ten or fifteen minutes, but rarely.
REMEDY.—Give the child a warm bath and rub gently. Clothes wrung out of cold water and applied to the lower and back part of the head and plenty of fresh air will usually relieve the convulsion. Be sure and loosen the clothing around the child's neck. After the convulsion is over, give the child a few doses of potassic bromide, and an injection of castor oil if the abdomen is swollen. Potassic bromide should be kept in the house, to use in case of necessity.
* * * * *
PAINS AND ILLS IN NURSING.
1. SORE NIPPLES.—If a lady, during the latter few months of her pregnancy, where to adopt "means to harden the nipples," sore nipples during the period of suckling would not be so prevalent as they are.
2. CAUSE.—A sore nipple is frequently produced by the injudicious custom of allowing the child to have the nipple almost constantly in his mouth. Another frequent cause of a sore nipple is from the babe having the canker. Another cause of a sore nipple is from the mother, after the babe has been sucking, putting up the nipple wet. She, therefore, ought always to dry the nipple, not by rubbing, but by dabbing it with a soft cambric or lawn handkerchief, or with a piece of soft linen rag one or the other of which ought always to be at hand every time directly after the child has done sucking, and just before applying any of the following powders or lotions to the nipple.
3. REMEDIES.—One of the best remedies for a sore nipple is the following powder:
Take of Borax, one drachm; Powdered Starch, seven drachms.
Mix. A pinch of the powder to be frequently applied to the nipple.
If the above does not cure, try Glycerine by applying it each time after nursing.
4. GATHERED BREAST.—A healthy woman with a well-developed breast and a good nipple, scarcely, if ever, has a gathered bosom; it is the delicate, the ill-developed breasted and worse-developed nippled lady who usually suffers from this painful complaint. And why? The evil can generally be traced to girlhood. If she be brought up luxuriously, her health and her breasts are sure to be weakened, and thus to suffer, more especially if the development of the bosoms and nipples has been arrested and interfered with by tight stays and corsets. Why, the nipple is by them drawn in, and retained on the level with the breast countersunk as though it were of no consequence to her future well-being, as though it were a thing of nought.
5. TIGHT LACERS.—Tight lacers will have to pay the penalties of which they little dream. Oh, the monstrous folly of such proceedings! When will mothers awake from their lethargy? It is high time that they did so! From the mother having "no nipple," the effects of tight lacing, many a home has been made childless, the babe not being able to procure its proper nourishment, and dying in consequence! It is a frightful state of things! But fashion, unfortunately, blinds the eyes and deafens the ears of its votaries!
6. BAD BREAST.—A gathered bosom, or "bad breast," as it is sometimes called, is more likely to occur after a first confinement and during the first month. Great care, therefore, ought to be taken to avoid such a misfortune. A gathered breast is frequently owing to the carelessness of a mother in not covering her bosoms during the time she is suckling. Too much attention cannot be paid to keeping the breasts comfortably warm. This, during the act of nursing, should be done by throwing either a shawl or a square of flannel over the neck, shoulders, and bosoms.
7. ANOTHER CAUSE.—Another cause of gathered breasts arises from a mother sitting up in bed to suckle her babe. He ought to be accustomed to take the bosom while she is lying down; if this habit is not at first instituted, it will be difficult to adopt it afterwards. Good habits may be taught a child from earliest babyhood.
8. FAINTNESS.—When a nursing mother feels faint, she ought immediately to lie down and take a little nourishment; a cup of tea with the yolk of an egg beaten up in it, or a cup of warm milk, or some beef-tea, any of which will answer the purpose extremely well. Brandy, or any other spirit we would not recommend, as it would only cause, as soon as the immediate effects of the stimulant had gone off, a greater depression to ensue; not only so, but the frequent taking of brandy might become a habit a necessity which would be a calamity deeply to be deplored!
9. STRONG PURGATIVES.—Strong purgatives during this period are highly improper, as they are apt to give pain to the infant, as well as to injure the mother. If it be absolutely necessary to give physic, the mildest, such as a dose of castor oil, should be chosen.
10. HABITUALLY COSTIVE.—When a lady who is nursing is habitually costive, she ought to eat brown instead of white bread. This will, in the majority of cases, enable her to do without an aperient. The brown bread may be made with flour finely ground all one way; or by mixing one part of bran and three parts of fine wheaten flour together, and then making it in the usual way into bread. Treacle instead of butter, on the brown bread increases its efficacy as an aperient; and raw should be substituted for lump sugar in her tea.
11. TO PREVENT CONSTIPATION.—Stewed prunes, or stewed French plums, or stewed Normandy pippins, are excellent remedies to prevent constipation. The patient ought to eat, every morning, a dozen or fifteen of them. The best way to stew either prunes or French plums, is the following: Put a pound of either prunes or French plums, and two tablespoonfuls of raw sugar, into a brown jar; cover them with water; put them into a slow oven, and stew them for three or four hours. Both stewed rhubarb and stewed pears often act as mild and gentle aperients. Muscatel raisins, eaten at dessert, will oftentimes without medicine relieve the bowels.
12. COLD WATER—A tumblerful of cold water, taken early every morning, sometimes effectually relieves the bowels; indeed, few people know the value of cold water as an aperient it is one of the best we possess, and, unlike drug aperients, can never by any possibility do any harm. An injection of warm water is one of the best ways to relieve the bowels.
13. WELL-COOKED VEGETABLES.—Although a nursing mother ought, more especially if she be costive, to take a variety of well-cooked vegetables, such as potatoes, asparagus, cauliflower, French beans, spinach, stewed celery and turnips; she should avoid eating greens, cabbages, and pickles, as they would be likely to affect the babe, and might cause him to suffer from gripings, from pain, and "looseness" of the bowels.
14. SUPERSEDE THE NECESSITY OF TAKING PHYSIC.—Let me again—for it cannot be too urgently insisted upon—strongly advise a nursing mother to use every means in the way of diet, etc., to supersede the necessity of taking physic (opening medicine), as the repetition of aperients injures, and that severely, both herself and child. Moreover, the more opening medicine she swallows, the more she requires; so that if she once gets into the habit of regularly taking physic, the bowels will not act without them. What a miserable existence to be always swallowing physic!
* * * * *
HOME LESSONS IN NURSING SICK CHILDREN.
1. MISMANAGEMENT.—Every doctor knows that a large share of the ills to which infancy is subject are directly traceable to mismanagement. Troubles of the digestive system are, for the most part due to errors, either in the selection of the food or in the preparation of it.
2. RESPIRATORY DISEASES.—Respiratory diseases or the diseases of the throat and lungs have their origin, as a rule, in want of care and judgment in matters of clothing, bathing and exposure to cold and drafts. A child should always be dressed to suit the existing temperature of the weather.
3. NERVOUS DISEASES.—Nervous diseases are often aggravated if not caused by over-stimulation of the brain, by irregular hours of sleep, or by the use of "soothing" medicines, or eating indigestible food.
4. SKIN AFFECTIONS.—Skin affections are generally due to want of proper care of the skin, to improper clothing or feeding, or to indiscriminate association with nurses and Children, who are the carriers of contagious diseases.
5. PERMANENT INJURY.—Permanent injury is often caused by lifting the child by one hand, allowing it to fall, permitting it to play with sharp instruments, etc.
6. RULES AND PRINCIPLES.—Every mother should understand the rules and principles of home nursing. Children are very tender plants and the want of proper knowledge is often very disastrous if not fatal. Study carefully and follow the principles and rules which are laid down in the different parts of this work on nursing and cooking for the sick.
7. WHAT A MOTHER SHOULD KNOW:
I. INFANT FEEDING.—The care of milk, milk sterilization, care of bottles, preparation of commonly employed infant foods, the general principles of infant feeding, with rules as to quality and frequency.
II. BATHING.—The daily bath; the use of hot, cold and mustard baths.
III. HYGIENE OF THE SKIN. Care of the mouth, eyes and ears. Ventilation, temperature, cleanliness, care of napkins, etc.
IV. TRAINING OF CHILDREN in proper bodily habits. Simple means of treatment in sickness, etc.
8. THE CRY OF THE SICK CHILD.—The cry of the child is a language by which the character of its suffering to some extent may be ascertained. The manner in which the cry is uttered, or the pitch and tone is generally a symptom of a certain kind of disease.
9. STOMACHACHE.—The cry of the child in suffering with pain of the stomach is loud, excitable and spasmodic. The legs are drawn up and as the pain ceases, they are relaxed and the child sobs itself to sleep, and rests until awakened again by pain.
10. LUNG TROUBLE.—When a child is suffering with an affection of the lungs or throat, it never cries loudly or continuously. A distress in breathing causes a sort of subdued cry and low moaning. If there is a slight cough it is generally a sign that there is some complication with the lungs.
11. DISEASE OF THE BRAIN.—In disease of the brain the cry is always sharp, short and piercing. Drowsiness generally follows each spasm of pain.
12. FEVERS.—Children rarely cry when suffering with fever unless they are disturbed. They should be handled very gently and spoken to in a very quiet and tender tone of voice.
13. THE CHAMBER OF THE SICK ROOM.—The room of the sick child should be kept scrupulously clean. No noise should disturb the quiet and rest of the child. If the weather is mild, plenty of fresh air should be admitted; the temperature should be kept at about 70 degrees. A thermometer should be kept in the room, and the air should be changed several times during the day. This may be done with safety to the child by covering it up with woolen blankets to protect it from draft, while the windows and doors are opened. Fresh air often does more to restore the sick child than the doctor's medicine. Take the best room in the house. If necessary take the parlor, always make the room pleasant for the sick.
14. VISITORS.—Carefully avoid the conversation of visitors or the loud and boisterous playing of children in the house. If there is much noise about the house that cannot be avoided, it is a good plan to put cotton in the ears of the patient.
15. LIGHT IN THE ROOM.—Light has a tendency to produce nervous irritability, consequently it is best to exclude as much daylight as possible and keep the room in a sort of twilight until the child begins to improve. Be careful to avoid any odor coming from a burning lamp in the night. When the child begins to recover, give it plenty of sunlight. After the child begins to get better let in all the sunlight the windows will admit. Take a south room for the sick bed.
16. SICKNESS IN SUMMER.—If the weather is very hot it is a good plan to dampen the floors with cold water, or set several dishes of water in the room, but be careful to keep the patient out of the draft, and avoid any sudden change of temperature.
17. BATHING.—Bathe every sick child in warm water once a day unless prohibited by the doctor. If the child has a spasm or any attack of a serious nervous character in absence of the doctor, place him in a hot bath at once. Hot water is one of the finest agencies for the cure of nervous diseases.
18. SCARLET FEVER AND MEASLES.—Bathe the child in warm water to bring out the rash, and put in about a dessertspoonsful of mustard into each bath.
19. DRINKS.—If a child is suffering with fevers, let it have all the water it wants. Toast-water will be found nourishing. When the stomach of the child is in an irritable condition, nourishments containing milk or any other fluid should be given very sparingly. Barley-water and rice-water are very soothing to an irritable stomach.
20. FOOD.—Mellin's Food and milk is very nourishing if the child will take it. Oatmeal gruel, white of eggs, etc. are excellent and nourishing articles. See "How to cook for the Sick."
21. EATING FRUIT.—Let children who are recovering from sickness eat moderately of good fresh fruit. Never let a child, whether well or sick, eat the skins of any kind of fruit. The outer covering of fruit was not made to eat, and often has poisonous matter very injurious to health upon its surface. Contagious and infectious diseases are often communicated in that way.
22. SUDDEN STARTINGS with the thumbs drawn into the palms, portend trouble with the brain, and often end in convulsions, which are far more serious in infants than in children. Convulsions in children often result from a suppression of urine. If you have occasion to believe that such is the case, get the patient to sweating as soon as possible. Give it a hot bath, after which cover it up in bed and put bags of hot salt over the lower part of the abdomen.
23. SYMPTOMS OF INDIGESTION.—If the baby shows symptoms of indigestion, do not begin giving it medicine. It is wiser to decrease the quantity and quality of the food and let the little one omit one meal entirely, that his stomach may rest. Avoid all starchy foods, as the organs of digestion are not sufficiently developed to receive them.
A TABLE FOR FEEDING A BABY ON MODIFIED MILK.
2d week: Top Milk 1-1/2 oz. Milk Sugar 4 teaspoons Barley Gruel 10 oz. Cream 2-3/4 oz. Lime Water 2 oz. 1-1/2 oz. at feeding 10 times a day
3d week: Top Milk 6 oz. Milk Sugar 5-1/2 teaspoons Barley Gruel 18 oz. Lime Water 4 oz. 2 oz. at feeding 10 times a day
4th to 8th week: Top Milk 9 oz. Milk Sugar 8 teaspoons Barley Gruel to make a quart Lime Water 4 oz. 3 oz. at feeding 8 times a day
9th to 12th week: Top Milk 11 oz. Milk Sugar 7-1/2 teaspoons Barley Gruel to make a quart Lime Water 4 oz. 3 oz. at feeding 8 times a day
4th month: Top Milk 13 oz. Milk Sugar 7 teaspoons Barley Gruel to make a quart Lime Water 4 oz. 3 to 4 oz. at feeding 7 times a day
5th to 7th month: Top Milk 15 oz. Milk Sugar 6-1/2 teaspoons Barley Gruel to make a quart Lime Water 4 oz. 4 to 5 oz. at feeding 6 times a day
7th to 9th month: Top Milk 17 oz. Milk Sugar 6 teaspoons Barley Gruel to make a quart Lime Water 4 oz. 6 to 7 oz. at feeding 6 times a day
Top Milk—Let your quart of milk stand until the cream has risen, then pour off number of ounces required.
Sugar of Milk may be purchased at your local druggist's.
Gruel is prepared by cooking one level tablespoon of any good barley flour in a pint of water with a pinch of salt. When partly cooled add to the milk.
NURSING.
Period: 1st and 2d day Nursing in 24 hours: 4 Interval by day: 6 hrs. Night nursings 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.: 1
Period: 3 days to 4 weeks Nursing in 24 hours: 10 Interval by day: 2 hrs. Night nursings 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.: 1
Period: 4 weeks to 2 mo. Nursing in 24 hours: 8 Interval by day: 2-1/2 hrs. Night nursings 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.: 1
Period: 2 to 5 mo. Nursing in 24 hours: 7 Interval by day: 3 hrs. Night nursings 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.: 1
Period: 5 to 12 mo. Nursing in 24 hours: 6 Interval by day: 3 hrs. Night nursings 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.: 0
SCHEDULE FOR FEEDING HEALTHY INFANTS DURING FIRST YEAR
Age: 2d to 7th day Interval between meals by day: 2 hours Night feedings 10 p.m. to 7 a.m.: 1 No. of feedings in 24 hours: 10 Quantity for one feeding: 1 to 1-1/2 ounces Quantity in 24 hours: 10 to 15 ounces
Age: 2d and 3d week Interval between meals by day: 2 hours Night feedings 10 p.m. to 7 a.m.: 1 No. of feedings in 24 hours: 10 Quantity for one feeding: 1-1/2 to 3 ounces Quantity in 24 hours: 15 to 30 ounces
Age: 4th and 5th weeks Interval between meals by day: 2-1/2 hours Night feedings 10 p.m. to 7 a.m.: 1 No. of feedings in 24 hours: 8 Quantity for one feeding: 2-1/2 to 4 ounces Quantity in 24 hours: 20 to 32 ounces
Age: 6th to 9th week Interval between meals by day: 2-1/2 hours Night feedings 10 p.m. to 7 a.m.: 1 No. of feedings in 24 hours: 8 Quantity for one feeding: 3 to 5 ounces Quantity in 24 hours: 24 to 40 ounces
Age: 9th week to 5th mo. Interval between meals by day: 3 hours Night feedings 10 p.m. to 7 a.m.: 1 No. of feedings in 24 hours: 7 Quantity for one feeding: 4 to 6 ounces Quantity in 24 hours: 28 to 42 ounces
Age: 5th to 9th month Interval between meals by day: 3 hours Night feedings 10 p.m. to 7 a.m.: 0 No. of feedings in 24 hours: 6 Quantity for one feeding: 5 to 7-1/2 ounces Quantity in 24 hours: 30 to 45 ounces
Age: 9th to 12th month Interval between meals by day: 4 hours Night feedings 10 p.m. to 7 a.m.: 0 No. of feedings in 24 hours: 5 Quantity for one feeding: 7 to 9 ounces Quantity in 24 hours: 35 to 45 ounces
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HOW TO KEEP A BABY WELL.
1. The mother's milk is the natural food, and nothing can fully take its place.
2. The infant's stomach does not readily accommodate itself to changes in diet; therefore, regularity in quality, quantity and temperature is extremely necessary.
3. Not until a child is a year old should it be allowed any food except that of milk, and possibly a little cracker or bread, thoroughly soaked and softened.
4. Meat should never be given to very young children. The best artificial food is cream, reduced and sweetened with sugar and milk. No rule can be given for its reduction. Observation and experience must teach that, because every child's stomach is governed by a rule of its own.
5. A child can be safely weaned at one year of age, and sometimes less. It depends entirely upon the season, and upon the health of the child.
6. A child should never be weaned during the warm weather, in June, July or August.
7. When a child is weaned it may be given, in connection with the milk diet, some such nourishment as broth, gruel, egg, or some prepared food.
8. A child should never be allowed to come to the table until two years of age.
9. A child should never eat much starchy food until four years old.
10. A child should have all the water it desires to drink, but it is decidedly the best to boil the water first, and allow it to cool. All the impurities and disease germs are thereby destroyed. This one thing alone will add greatly to the health and vigor of the child.
11. Where there is a tendency to bowel disorder, a little gum arabic, rice, or barley may be boiled with the drinking water.
12. If the child uses a bottle it should be kept absolutely clean. It is best to have two or three bottles, so that one will always be perfectly clean and fresh.
13. The nipple should be of black or pure rubber, and not of the white or vulcanized rubber; it should fit over the top of the bottle. No tubes should ever be used; it is impossible to keep them clean.
14. When the rubber becomes coated, a little coarse salt will clean it.
15. Babies should be fed at regular times. They should also be put to sleep at regular hours. Regularity is one of the best safeguards to health.
16. Milk for babies and children should be from healthy cows. Milk from different cows varies, and it is always better for a child to have milk from the same cow. A farrow cow's milk is preferable, especially if the child is not very strong.
17. Many of the prepared foods advertised for children are of little benefit. A few may be good, but what is good for one child may not be for another. So it must be simply a matter of experiment if any of the advertised foods are used.
18. It is a physiological fact that an infant is always healthier and better to sleep alone. It gets better air and is not liable to suffocation.
19. A healthy child should never be fed in less than two hours from the last time they finished before, gradually lengthening the time as it grows older. At 4 months 3-1/2 or 4 hours; at 5 months a healthy child will be better if given nothing in the night except, perhaps, a little water.
20. Give an infant a little water several times a day.
21. A delicate child the first year should be oiled after each bath. The oiling may often take the place of the bath, in case of a cold.
22. In oiling a babe, use pure olive oil, and wipe off thoroughly after each application. For nourishing a weak child use also olive oil.
23. For colds, coughs, croup, etc., use goose oil externally and give a teaspoonful at bed-time.
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HOW TO PRESERVE THE HEALTH AND LIFE OF YOUR INFANT DURING HOT WEATHER.
BATHING.
1. Bathe infants daily in tepid water and even twice a day in hot weather.
If delicate they should be sponged instead of immersing them in water, but cleanliness is absolutely necessary for the health of infants.
CLOTHING.
2. Put no bands in their clothing, but make all garments to hang loosely from the shoulders, and have all their clothing scrupulously clean; even the diaper should not be re-used without rinsing.
SLEEP ALONE.
3. The child should in all cases sleep by itself on a cot or in a crib and retire at a regular hour. A child always early taught to go to sleep without rocking or nursing is the healthier and happier for it. Begin at birth and this will be easily accomplished.
CORDIALS AND SOOTHING SYRUPS.
4. Never give cordials, soothing syrups, sleeping drops etc., without the advice of a physician. A child that frets and does not sleep is either hungry or ill. If ill it needs a physician. Never give candy or cake to quiet a small child, they are sure to produce disorders of the stomach, diarrhoea or some other trouble.
FRESH AIR.
5. Children should have plenty of fresh air summer as well as winter. Avoid the severe hot sun and the heated kitchen for infants in summer. Heat is the great destroyer of infants.
CLEAN HOUSES.
6. Keep your house clean and cool and well aired night and day. Your cellars cleared of all rubbish and white-washed every spring, your drains cleaned with strong solution of copperas or chloride of lime, poured down them once a week. Keep your gutters and yards clean and insist upon your neighbors doing the same.
EVACUATIONS OF A CHILD.
The healthy motion varies from light orange yellow to greenish yellow, in number, two to four times daily. Smell should never be offensive. Slimy mucous-like jelly passages indicate worms. Pale green, offensive, acrid motions indicate disordered stomach. Dark green indicate acid secretions and a more serious trouble.
Fetid dark brown stools are present in chronic diarrhoea Putty-like pasty passages are due to aridity curdling the milk or to torpid liver.
BREAST MILK.
7. Breast milk is the only proper food for infants until after the second summer. If the supply is small keep what you have and feed the child in connection with it, for if the babe is ill this breast milk may be all that will save its life.
STERILIZED MILK.
8. Milk is the best food. Goat's milk best, cows milk next. If the child thrives on this nothing else should be given during the hot weather, until the front teeth are cut. Get fresh cow's milk twice a day if the child requires food in the night, pour it into a glass fruit jar with one-third pure water for a child under three months old, afterwards the proportion of water may be less and less, also a trifle of sugar may be added.
Then place the jar in a kettle or pan of cold water, like the bottom of an oatmeal kettle. Leave the cover of the jar loose. Place it on the stove and let the water come to a boil and boil ten minutes, screw down the cover tight and boil ten minutes more, then remove from the fire, and allow it to cool in the water slowly so as not to break the jar. When partly cool put on the ice or in a cool place, and keep tightly covered except when the milk is poured out for use. The glass jar must be kept perfectly clean and washed and scalded carefully before use. A tablespoonful of lime water to a bottle of milk will aid indigestion. Discard the bottle as soon as possible and use a cup which you know is clean, whereas a bottle must be kept in water constantly when not in use, or the sour milk will make the child sick. Use no tube for it is exceedingly hard to keep it clean, and if pure milk cannot be had, condensed milk is admirable and does not need to be sterilized as the above.
DIET.
9. Never give babies under two years old such food if grown persons eat. Their chief diet should be milk, wheat bread and milk, oatmeal, possibly a little rare boiled egg, but always and chiefly milk. Germ wheat is also excellent.
EXERCISE.
10. Children should have exercise in the house as well as outdoors, but should not be jolted and jumped and jarred in rough play, not rudely rocked in the cradle, nor carelessly trundled over bumps in their carriages. They should not be held too much in the arms, but allowed to crawl and kick upon the floor and develop their limbs and muscles. A child should not be lifted by its arms nor dragged along by one hand after it learns to take a few feeble steps, but when they do learn to walk steadily it is the best of all exercise, especially in the open air.
Let the children as they grow older romp and play in the open air all they wish, girls as well as boys. Give the girls an even chance for health, while they are young at least, and don't mind about their complexion.
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INFANT TEETHING.
1. REMARKABLE INSTANCES.—There are instances where babies have been born with teeth, and, on the other hand, there are cases of persons who have never had any teeth at all; and others that had double teeth all around in both upper and lower jaws, but these are rare instances, and may be termed as a sort of freaks of nature.
2. INFANT TEETHING.—The first teeth generally make their appearance after the third month, and during the period of teething the child is fretful and restless, causing sometimes constitutional disturbances, such as diarrhoea, indigestion, etc. Usually, however, no serious results follow, and no unnecessary anxiety need be felt, unless the weather is extremely warm, then there is some danger of summer complaint setting in and seriously complicating matters.
3. THE NUMBER OF TEETH.—Teeth are generally cut in pairs and make their appearance first in the front and going backwards until all are complete. It generally takes about two years for a temporary set of children's teeth. A child two or three years old should have twenty teeth. After the age of seven they generally begin to loosen and fall out and permanent teeth take their place.
4. LANCING THE GUMS.—This is very rarely necessary. There are extreme cases when the condition of the mouth and health of the child demand a physician's lance, but this should not he resorted to, unless it is absolutely necessary. When the gums are very much swollen and the tooth is nearly through, the pains may be relieved by the mother taking a thimble and pressing it down upon the tooth, the sharp edges of the tooth will cut through the swollen flesh, and instant relief will follow. A child in a few hours or a day will be perfectly happy after a very severe and trying time of sickness.
5. PERMANENT TEETH.—The teeth are firmly inserted in sockets of the upper and lower jaw. The permanent teeth which follow the temporary teeth, when complete, are sixteen in each jaw, or thirty-two in all.
6. NAMES OF TEETH.—There are four incisors (front teeth), four cuspids (eye teeth), four bicuspids (grinders), and four molars (large grinders), in each jaw. Each tooth is divided into the crown, body, and root. The crown is the grinding surface; the body—the part projecting from the jaw—is the seat of sensation and nutrition; the root is that portion of the tooth which is inserted in the alveolus. The teeth are composed of dentine (ivory) and enamel. The ivory forms the greater portion of the body and root, while the enamel covers the exposed surface. The small white cords communicating with the teeth are the nerves.
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HOME TREATMENT FOR THE DISEASES OF INFANTS AND CHILDREN.
1. Out of every 1000 persons that died during the year of 1912, 175 did not reach one year of age, and 244 died under five years of age.
What a fearful responsibility therefore rests upon the parents who permit these hundreds of thousands of children to die annually. This terrible mortality among children is undoubtedly largely the result of ignorance as regarding to the proper care and treatment of sick children.
2. For very small children it is always best to use homoeopathic remedies.
COLIC.
1. Babies often suffer severely with colic. It is not considered dangerous, but causes considerable suffering.
2. Severe colic is usually the result of derangement of the liver in the mother, or of her insufficient or improper nourishment, and it occurs more frequently when the child is from two to five months old. 3. Let the mother eat chiefly barley, wheat and bread, rolled wheat, graham bread, fish, milk, eggs and fruit. The latter may be freely eaten, avoiding that which is very sour.
4. A rubber bag or bottle filled with hot water put into a crib, will keep the child, once quieted, asleep for hours. If a child is suffering from colic, it should be thoroughly warmed and kept warm.
5. Avoid giving opiates of any kind, such as cordials, Mrs. Winslow's Soothing Syrup, "Mother's Friend," and various other patent medicines. They injure the stomach and health of the child, instead of benefiting it.
6. REMEDIES.—A few tablespoonfuls of hot water will often allay a severe attack of the colic. Catnip tea is also a good remedy.
A drop of essence of peppermint in 6 or 7 teaspoonfuls of hot water will give relief.
If the stools are green and the child is very restless, give chamomilla.
If the child is suffering from constipation, and undigested curds of milk appear in its faeces, and the child starts suddenly in its sleep, give nux vomica.
An injection of a few spoonfuls of hot water into the rectum with a little asafoetida is an effective remedy, and will be good for an adult.
CONSTIPATION.
1. This is a very frequent ailment of infants. The first thing necessary is for the mother to regulate her diet.
2. If the child is nursed regularly and held out at the same time of each day, it will seldom be troubled with this complaint. Give plenty of water. Regularity of habit is the remedy. If this method fails, use a soap suppository. Make it by paring a piece of white castile soap round. It should be made about the size of a lead pencil, pointed at the end.
3. Avoid giving a baby drugs. Let the physician administer them if necessary.
DIARRHOEA.
Great care should be exercised by parents in checking the diarrhoea of children. Many times serious diseases are brought on by parents being too hasty in checking this disorder of the bowels. It is an infant's first method of removing obstructions and overcoming derangements of the system.
SUMMER COMPLAINT.
1. Summer complaint is an irritation and inflammation of the lining membranes of the intestines. This may often be caused by teething, eating indigestible food, etc.
2. If the discharges are only frequent and yellow and not accompanied with pain, there is no cause for anxiety; but if the discharges are green, soon becoming gray, brown and sometimes frothy, having a mixture of phlegm, and sometimes containing food undigested, a physician had better be summoned.
3. For mild attacks the following treatment may be given:
1) Keep the child perfectly quiet and keep the room well aired.
2) Put a drop of tincture of camphor on a teaspoonful of sugar, mix thoroughly; then add 6 teaspoonfuls of hot water and give a teaspoonful of the mixture every ten minutes. This is indicated where the discharges are watery, and where there is vomiting and coldness of the feet and hands. Chamomilla is also an excellent remedy. Ipecac and nux vomica may also be given.
In giving homoeopathic remedies, give 5 or 6 pellets every 2 or 3 hours.
3) The diet should be wholesome and nourishing.
FOR TEETHING.
If a child is suffering with swollen gums, is feverish, restless, and starts in its sleep, give nux vomica.
WORMS.
PIN WORMS.
Pin worms and round worms are the most common in children. They are generally found in the lower bowels.
SYMPTOMS.—Restlessness, itching about the anus in the fore part of the evening, and worms in the faeces.
TREATMENT.—Give with a syringe an injection of a tablespoonful of linseed oil. Cleanliness is also very necessary.
ROUND WORMS.
A round worm is from six to sixteen inches in length, resembling the common earth worm. It inhabits generally the small intestines, but it sometimes enters the stomach and is thrown up by vomiting.
SYMPTOMS.—Distress, indigestion, swelling of the abdomen, grinding of the teeth, restlessness, and sometimes convulsions.
TREATMENT.—One teaspoonful of powdered wormseed mixed with a sufficient quantity of molasses, or spread on bread and butter.
Or, one grain of santonine every four hours for two or three days, followed by a brisk cathartic. Wormwood tea is also highly recommended.
SWAIM'S VERMIFUGE. 2 ounces wormseed, 1-1/2 ounces valerian, 1-1/2 ounces rhubarb, 1-1/2 ounces pink-root, 1-1/2 ounces white agaric.
Boil in sufficient water to yield 3 quarts of decoction, and add to it 30 drops of oil of tansy and 45 drops of oil of cloves, dissolved in a quart of rectified spirits. Dose, 1 teaspoonful at night. |
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