The Care And Feeding Of Infants Classic Reprint PDF Download

Excerpt from Infant Feeding: The Feeding and Care of Infants-the-Selection and Modification of Cows Milk Mother's milk is the natural and only perfect food for the infant. Any substitution for mother's milk must be looked upon as a dangerous undertaking justified only by necessity. There is no perfect substitute for mother's milk. This applies to the milk of the wet-nurse, to the milk of the cow or the goat, to condensed milk and to the artificial manufactured food so widely advertised. When it becomes necessary, as it sometimes is necessary, to substitute other food for the mother's milk, the substitute should be a food which is as much like normal woman's milk as possible. A healthy mother whose baby is able to nurse properly need have little concern as to substitutes for several months. If the mother is able to nurse and there is no valid reason why she should not continue nursing, the infant should have nothing but its mother's milk for the first six months of life at least. For many reasons, too lengthy to be discussed here, the physician may decide that the interests of the infant or of the mother require that the infant be weaned. The weaning of an infant is accompanied by so much danger to the child, especially in hot weather, however, that it is the part of wisdom to seek the advice of a physician before undertaking it. Except under special conditions, weaning should not be attempted until every effort has been made to improve the milk of the mother. If the milk is insufficient, a physician should be consulted before artificial foods are adopted. When the breast milk, while plentiful and apparently good in quality, fails to nourish the infant, a change of the mothers diet and habits will often give excellent results. If the infant does not increase in weight, the free use of fats by the mother will soon cause an improvement. The richness of the milk may often be increased by plenty of meat, eggs animal broths and other animal foods. The richness may be decreased by omitting or decreasing these foods and by plenty of fruits and cereals. Over-eating and too little exercise will often increase those elements in the milk which render it most indigestible. Malt extracts and alcohol in the form of beers and ales increase the richness of the milk, but the regular use of these or other alcoholic drinks frequently does more harm than good. Alcohol has been known to appear in the milk, and stale beer drunk by the mother has occasioned serious illness of the child. The nursing mother should drink plenty of pure water. She should drink tea sparingly and should not drink strong tea at all. There is no better food for the nursing woman than good milk. She should use it freely. Foods which may be eaten by some nursing mothers without affecting their babies, cannot be eaten by others. Tomatoes, strawberries and lettuce cannot be eaten by some. For most mothers these fresh foods are of great value and should be eaten freely. Rules Of Diet Must Not Be Too Rigidly Made. There Is No Method Of Feeding So Important That It Should Be Continued If It Disagrees With The Mother. The mother must be in good health to produce satisfactory milk. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com