Hygiene
121
General Statements
622. Several instances have come under my notice where children
are being murdered by inches by the mistaken kindness of parents.—
The Health Reformer, September 1, 1866
.
623. The calm, self-possessed course the mother pursues in the
treatment of her child has very much to do in molding the mind of
the infant. If it is nervous and easily agitated, the mother’s careful,
unhurried manner will have a soothing and correcting influence, and
the health of the infant can be very much improved.—
How to Live,
39
.
Diet
624. It ever has appeared to me to be cold, heartless business for
mothers who can nurse their children to turn them from the maternal
breast to the bottle. But in case that is necessary, the greatest care
must be exercised to have the milk from a healthy cow, and to have
the bottle, as well as the milk, perfectly sweet. This is frequently
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neglected, and as the result, the infant is made to suffer needlessly.
Disturbances of the stomach and bowels are liable to occur, and the
much-to-be-pitied infant becomes diseased, if it were healthy when
born.—
The Health Reformer, September 1, 1871
.
Hired Nurses
625. Mothers sometimes depend upon a hireling.... A stranger
performs the duties of the mother, and gives from her breast the food
to sustain life. Nor is this all. She also imparts her temper and her
temperament to the nursing child. The child’s life is linked to hers. If
the hireling is a coarse type of woman, passionate and unreasonable; if
she is not careful in her morals, the nursling will be, in all probability,
of the same or similar type. The same quality of blood coursing in
the veins of the hireling nurse is in that of the child.—
The Health
Reformer, September 1, 1871
.
Frequent Feeding
626. Children are also fed too frequently, which produces fever-
ishness and suffering in various ways. The stomach should not be
kept constantly at work, but should have its periods of rest. Without it