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 The Care of the Baby 
 
 By Frances Sage Bradley, M.D. 
 
 Chairman for Georgia of the 
 
 Committee for Public Heahh Education Among Women of the American Medical Association: 
 
 State Chairman Public Health Committee, Georgia Federation of Women's Clubs 
 
 Published by the 
 
 Department of Child-Helping of the 
 Russell Sage Foundation 
 
 105 East 22nd Street 
 New York City 
 
 August, 1913 
 
By 
 
 BIOLOGT 
 LIBRARY 
 
 Grateful acknowledgments are extended to Dr. A. 
 JacobI, Dr. L. Emmett Holt, Dr. James Lincoln 
 Huntington, Dr. Stafford McLean, Dr. Charles E. 
 Boyton and Dr. S. A. Visanska, who kindly read 
 the manuscript of this pamphlet and offered helpful 
 criticisms and suggestions. 
 
» > ) J 3 « 
 
 The Care of the Baby 
 
 THE EXPECTANT MOTHER 
 
 Responsibility The finest thing on earth is to bring into the world a child who will 
 grow up strong and clean of body and mind, full of courage, of energy 
 and ambition to carry on the world's work. 
 
 As soon as you know that a little baby is coming engage the best doctor and nurse 
 
 you can afford. 
 Preparation Many little lives have been lost; many children have become 
 for blind; the future health of many mothers has been lost through 
 
 Motherhood false economy at such times. 
 
 With your doctor's help get yourself into the best possible condi- 
 tion, morally, mentally and physically. 
 
 If you wait until your baby is born you have waited nine months too long. 
 The anxious, overworked, underfed woman cannot expect to have strong, vigorous 
 children. 
 
 Make up your mind to nurse your baby as the Lord intended. 
 Expectant mothers must have plenty of simple, nourishing food. 
 
 It is not quantity but quality of food, and the condition of a 
 Food woman's digestion, that will strengthen the mother and build up 
 
 bone, muscle, and nerves for her child. 
 Pies, pork and fried food are unfit for the expectant mother. Remember that tea 
 and crackers alone will not make milk. 
 
 The pregnant woman needs meat, fish or chicken once a day; thoroughly cooked 
 bread and cereals; fresh fruits and vegetables; and plenty of milk and eggs; also cocoa, 
 broth, soup, lemonade, and at least eight glasses of water a day. She should avoid 
 strong tea and coffee. 
 
 Buttermilk, corn bread, beet or turnip salad, okra, sweet potatoes, and our own 
 field peas; plenty of ripe peaches, grapes, and melons are good wholesome food. 
 
 Keep the bowels, skin, and kidneys acting freely. 
 
 From three meals a day there is continued accumulation of waste 
 Waste matter to be thrown off by these organs. 
 
 Clogging of one means overwork for the others, and trouble follows. 
 Notify your doctor if the bowels do not move at least once a day; if the kidneys seem 
 sluggish; if the skin is parched and dry. 
 
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A c/jjd; $aJ|, -w^ter, 'S'pjonge'^to-th'e Waist should be taken every morning, with special 
 ■5' ', .'. I ' ' r' '.'" -ca're ^iVen! t<y tbe -nipples. 
 
 Bathing A warm tub-bath at night followed by a rub of cocoa-butter or 
 
 cotton-seed oil over the breast and abdomen will insure a good night's 
 rest and add greatly to later comfort. 
 
 Loose, comfortable clothing is essential to the comfort of the woman and the welfare 
 of the child. 
 Clothing Well-fitting corsets during the first six months are not necessarily 
 
 harmful to the woman who feels their need. 
 
 The expectant mother needs more rest and sleep than usual. She ought to have a 
 nap every day and at least eight hours' vsleep at night, with plenty of 
 Rest and fresh air; if possible, she should sleep out-of-doors. 
 Exercise The working woman needs rest at least six weeks before and six 
 
 weeks after confinement. 
 She must do no heavy housework, such as washing and ironing; no scrubbing; no 
 machine work, especially during the latter months. 
 
 She must have moderate daily exercise out-of-doors, but never enough to make her 
 overtired. 
 
 Listen to no tales of woe; keep yourself happy and free from all worry, care and 
 anxiety. 
 General Heed the call of your little unborn babe that you receive it with 
 
 Care open arms and heart. 
 
 Do not anticipate trouble, but if there is swelling of the hands or 
 feet, puffing about the eyes, nausea, headache, pain, or bleeding, send at once for your 
 doctor. 
 
 Do not send, but take to the doctor, each month, a 24-hour sample of urine. 
 Put no faith in fables of cravings, markings, signs, or superstitions. They are all 
 unfounded vagaries of ignorant old women and will not bear investigation. 
 
 With sane mind and joyful heart make yourself the wholesome, well-balanced, self- 
 , ..rolled person you want your child to be. 
 
 During the whole nine months save all old underclothing, bedding, table linen, etc. 
 Have them washed, boiled, aired, and folded away in clean packages 
 Preparation for emergency use. 
 
 for Old soiled bed-quilts and unclean clothing have laid many a woman 
 
 Confinement in her grave from "child-bed fever." 
 
 When pains come on send for the doctor and nurse. 
 Take a full bath, wash out the bowels or take a dose of salts or oil. Do the hair in 
 two braids. 
 
 Use only clean clothing for body and bed. Have the bed prepared according to the 
 doctor's instructions. 
 
 Be sure that your clothing and the baby's are clean, complete, and in separate places. 
 See that all things necessary are in the house not later than the sixth month. 
 
 
LIST OF NECESSARY THINGS 
 
 FOR THE BABY X lb. sterile gauze 
 
 i/i yd. thin, light weight flannel ]4 lb. sterile absorbent cotton 
 
 2 light weight woolen blankets 2 doz. safety-pins, large and small 
 
 3 cotton and wool undershirts 
 
 4 flannel skirts FOR THE MOTHER 
 3 long outing flannel gowns 6 gowns 
 
 6 cotton slips iK Y^- square oil cloth or rubber sheet- 
 
 2 doz. diapers i8 in. ing 
 
 2 doz. diapers 22 in. 3 yds. unbleached muslin 
 
 I box boric acid 2 lbs. absorbent cotton 
 
 I box talcum powder 2 lbs. sterilized gauze or equivalent in old 
 
 I piece Ivory soap clean cloths 
 
 CARE OF BABY UNDER ONE YEAR OLD 
 
 Be sure that the doctor takes proper care of the baby's eyes. Hundreds ot helpless 
 babies have grown into blind men and women because their eyes 
 When the were neglected at birth. 
 
 Baby Have the baby rubbed with olive or cotton-seed oil, wrapped in 
 
 Comes a warm clean blanket, and left lying on its right side till the mother 
 
 is bathed and made comfortable. 
 
 If the baby is full term and in good condition, give it a sponge-bath of warm water 
 and Ivory soap, or some other pure white soap, not wetting or dis- 
 Bathing turbing the gauze or cotton dressing of the cord. 
 
 The cord must be held in place by an abdominal binder, to be 
 changed only when absolutely necessary. Under no circumstances is the dressing to 
 be touched until the cord dries off. Use no salve, grease, or powder on the cord. 
 
 A strong, healthy baby need not wear a binder after the navel is healed. 
 
 After the navel is healed the baby should have a warm tub-bath daily with special 
 care to the creases of the neck, back of ears, and groin. These parts will not get sore 
 if kept clean and dry. 
 
 After the baby is bathed, wash its eyes and mouth very gently with boric acid solution 
 using a separate piece of gauze (not absorbent cotton) for each, and burning the gauzv 
 immediately. 
 
 Never allow scurf to form on the baby's head. Soften it with oil, wash gently with 
 warm water and soap, and rub with witch-hazel or alcohol and water in equal parts. 
 
 The baby should have its own wash-cloths and towels. 
 
 Clothing Undershirts of cotton and wool are cheaper, softer and more com- 
 
 fortable than all wool. 
 Old flour-sacks make good diapers. Never use heavy or rubber diapers. 
 Squares of old soft cotton worn inside the diaper may be burned when soiled and save 
 labor. 
 
 Soiled diapers must be kept under water till washed and must be boiled, thoroughly 
 dried and aired each day. 
 
 Teach the baby habits of cleanliness and regularity. A baby of six months should 
 have one or two movements a day, usually after feeding. 
 
 Do not load the baby with clothing. A few simple one-piece garments are better. 
 
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Dress the child according to the temperature of the day, not the season of the year. 
 
 In warm weather all the baby needs are a shirt and diaper, with little slips for dress-up 
 occasions. 
 
 In cold weather a long coat, cap, mittens, and stockings fastened to the diaper are 
 necessary. 
 
 In cold weather the baby may have a woolen sleeping bag with a draw-string in the 
 bottom. 
 
 The young baby should do nothing but sleep and eat and grow. 
 
 Until he is two months old he needs from i8 to 20 hours' sleep 
 Sleep out of the 24. 
 
 The healthy baby will sleep from 9 p. m. till 6 a. m. unless taught 
 bad habits. It is not good for the mother or child to be disturbed at night. 
 Never allow him to be disturbed for anything but feeding and bathing. 
 The baby should not sleep with his mother. He is entitled to the rights of any other 
 individual, and should have a bed to himself. 
 
 He will be happy and content in a basket, a box or on a couple of chairs close to 
 mother's bed. 
 
 Don't make him sleep on feathers, but on a folded quilt or blanket. A tick filled 
 with straw makes a good bed for the baby. 
 
 The baby's arms and legs must have full play, that they may grow strong and straight. 
 He should have a pen all his own with folded quilt to lie on, where 
 Exercise he may stretch and kick to his heart's content. Move the pen into 
 the fresh air but place it out of the sun. Keep it covered with mos- 
 quito netting when there are any flies about. 
 
 From the time he is four weeks old he must be a fresh-air baby. Next to stomach 
 
 and bowel trouble, bronchitis and pneumonia kill more babies than 
 
 Fresh Air any other diseases. The baby raised out-of-doors is resistant to 
 
 disease. Hot water bottles, hot bricks or stones may be used, if 
 
 necessary, to keep the baby warm when out-of-doors. 
 
 Fresh air is as necessary to the baby as fuel is to the fire. 
 
 Nothing insures a good supply ot breast milk like regular, persistent nursing. 
 
 The baby should be put to the breast as soon after birth as the 
 Food mother and child are rested. 
 
 The nipples should be washed each time with boric acid solution. 
 For the first month the baby should be nursed every two hours during the day and 
 twice during the night. The second month it should be nursed every two and a half 
 hours during the day and twice during the night. After the second month it should 
 be nursed every three hours during the day and once during the night. After the sixth 
 month the baby should be nursed once every four hours. 
 
 The healthy baby should be nursed regularly and for not more than twenty minutes 
 at a time. Lay the baby on his back to rest after each feeding. 
 
 He gets little nourishment for the first three days and loses weight, but usually regains 
 the birth weight by end of the first week, after which he should show a steady gain. 
 
 [6] 
 
The first milk, while scanty, satisfies the baby temporarily and moves his bowels 
 better than oil, fat meat, or teas of any kind. 
 
 Insist that nothing shall go into your baby's mouth but your own breast milk and cool 
 boiled water; no sugar, whiskey, paregoric, or soothing syrup should be given, however 
 much he may cry. 
 
 Never be tempted to feed your baby except as the Lord intended. Mother's baby 
 
 has a right to mother's milk. No manufactured food is as good. 
 Reasons for Mother's milk contains every element necessary for the growth 
 
 Breast and development of the child's body. 
 
 Feeding It contains elements in the right proportion for the growing child, 
 
 as no other food does. 
 It is absolutely free from filth and germs as no other food can be. 
 It protects the baby from many infants' diseases. 
 
 Breast-fed babies seldom have diarrhea, the disease that carries off" more babies than 
 any other disease of childhood. 
 
 Breast-fed babies are easier to raise into strong, sturdy men and women. 
 
 Never consider weaning without first consulting the doctor. But believe that when 
 you wean your baby, your troubles are beginning. Your baby's 
 Weaning life is at stake. If absolutely essential the doctor will help you find 
 a wet-nurse. 
 
 If no wet-nurse can be found, your doctor will teach you to modify cow's milk — the 
 only allowable substitute. 
 
 When the baby's teeth begin to come, whether at eight months or fourteen, it is 
 nature's assurance that he is developing enough to digest other food than breast milk. 
 Not until then are you justified in giving him anything else. 
 
 Substitute for one nursing a bottle of clean fresh cow's milk modified according to 
 your doctor's instructions. If all goes well add later a second bottle. Then try, one 
 at a time, such simple things as gruel made from cereals, broth, soup, beef juice, orange 
 juice and toasted bread (not fresh biscuit). If he thrives on this diet he should be thor- 
 oughly weaned by twelve months. 
 
 Milk, however, should be the chief article of his diet for two or three years. 
 
 The young baby should have three or four stools in twenty-four hours. 
 
 After the black tarry movements of the first few days, the stools 
 Bowels should be yellow, smooth, and of even consistency. 
 
 Any variation in color or character, mucus, lumps, green or white 
 stools, frothy, bloody, constipated or loose movements all suggest faulty digestion, 
 and should be reported at once to the doctor. 
 
 Don't take the baby up at the first cry. Try to find out first what the trouble is. 
 
 His vocabulary is limited and you may not understand that he is 
 
 General only asking to be turned over or to be changed ; he may be too warm 
 
 Care or too cold; his clothing may be uncomfortable; he may want a 
 
 drink; or the wee one, though only a few weeks old, may well need 
 
 the comfort of his own mother's voice in this strange, vast world. Cuddle the baby, 
 
 but never let any one kiss the baby on the mouth. 
 
 (7) 
 
Don't rock, or trot, or walk him. Have a little pity and think how you would 
 such treatment. 
 
 Remember that he is a human being, entitled to the best care and consideratioij 
 those responsible for his being. 
 
 Don't try to make the baby show off. The most precocious child does not make 
 surest progress. 
 
 Protect his eyes from the glare. 
 
 Protect his body from mosquitoes and flies, which carry filth and disease. 
 
 Colic is only another name for indigestion. Your doctor will help you find the caij 
 If the baby loses his milk soon after nursing, he is being fed 
 If the Baby is much or too often; or is being handled while his stomach is full. 
 Sick If he seems sick, stop all food, give a dose of oil, and send for 
 
 doctor. 
 
 Don't get panicky over teething. The breast-fed baby will cut his teeth withl 
 trouble unless he has been the victim of experiment. It is not teething that makes 
 sick, but being upset with wrong feeding just when he needs to be in good conditioi^ 
 
 Depend upon your doctor's advice and obey his orders. 
 Register the Your marriage is recorded. See to it that your baby's birtl 
 Baby's Birth registered. Such a record is often of vital importance. 
 
712277 
 
 •lOLOCV 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA UBRARY 
 
 THIS BOOK IS DTJU ON THE LAST DATE 
 '■'^ STAMPED BELOW 
 
 AN INITIAL FINE OF 25 CENTS 
 
 OVERDud '^" 1 
 

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