The Obstetric Duties of Mother and Nurse; A Monograph on the Management of Pregnancy, the Aseptic and Antiseptic Technique of Labor, the Care of ... the Principles and Methods of Infant Feeding

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1904. Excerpt: ... X. ARTIFICIAL FEEDING. If a baby receives mother's milk of proper quality in sufficient quantity, it should not be given artificial food of any kind until it is from five to seven months old. If it is necessary to supplement or supplant mother's milk, the food chosen should be cow's milk, properly modified to meet the digestive conditions found in the human species. It is not necessary to give the particular reasons why cow's milk should be the basis of an artificial food for infants; it is an accepted fact and any food, which is not based upon this principle, is detrimental to the child. Milk Supply.--Milk should be procured from a dairy where proper precautions are taken against contamination. The herd should be under competent veterinary supervision to insure protection against tuberculosis; the udders and teats should be washed and dried before milking; the milkman's hands and clothing should be clean; the stables in which the milking is done should be scrupulously clean, free from flies and dust, and should not be used for any other purpose than milking. The milk must be bottled in sterile bottles immediately after milking and cooled on ice. No person should be allowed about the dairy, in whose family there exists any contagious disease. When milk is delivered to a house where there is a contagious disease, the bottles should not De taken away until the quarantine is lifted; they should then be removed by someone not connected in any way with the process of milking, bottling or delivery, and should be sterilized at some place other than the dairy. These precautions are necessary to insure a healthful supply of milk and are so important that the mother or physician should investigate thoroughly before selecting a source of milk supply. Dairy supply co...