A Book of Medical Discourses, in Two PartsCrumpler, Rebecca Lee
Science
A Book of Medical Discourses, in Two Parts
Crumpler, Rebecca Lee
Child care; Children -- Health and hygiene; Infants -- Care; Infants -- Health and hygiene; Women -- Health and hygiene
If at any time a white fluid should be discharged from the vagina, or
private parts, of a girl child, it should be washed away as often as
seen, and the parts washed out with a solution of common salt I have
seen mothers become greatly frightened at this common occurrence.
Cleanliness and perseverance will remove the trouble. If families would
make it a rule to have a thermometer in the nursery or the
sleeping-room, by which to regulate the temperature of the body, many of
these baby-ills would be banished from our midst. The nervous system of
babes deserves a large share of our sympathy. But if one were to judge
from the treatment they sometimes undergo, it might be inferred that,
like dolls, infants have no nerves or rights which men are bound to
respect. Children of the same family differ much. One may be sprightly,
making frequent music by crying; the other may be comparatively docile.
And if a child is quiet and does not cry, or act silly, it is called
stupid, and everything is done to arouse its ire.
Children cry for pastime; so they should. It develops the lungs and
relieves the air-tubes of any collections of phlegm. Besides, it causes
them to be noticed by some one who might forget their existence. There
cannot be any comfort in being rocked, tossed, shook and kissed, and
that, too, without any regard to the odor of the breath. It is decidedly
injurious to wake babes from a quiet sleep, or even to excite their
attention while lying quiet. Mothers should early learn to listen and
become familiar with the different tones produced in the cries even of
the same child. Listening should be cultivated more; then the
possibility of making a crying baby more noisy, by shocking it with
additional noises, will need no more explanation. “Oh,” says one, “they
get used to it and look for it.” True,—bred, born, aye and raised in
excitement; never can hear or understand anything but noise, noise,
noise.
Currents of cold air from a window or door should not be permitted to
pass over the exposed body of infants; as, by so doing, the sudden
change may, like electricity, direct the irritation to some vital organ.
It is considered much safer, when the weather permits, to put on
suitable wraps and take them in the open air. The most trouble arises
from keeping the infant too warm from birth. Hot-house plants rarely
endure the changes of the open air, until it becomes equal to what they
have been used to.
CHAPTER IX.
ARTIFICIAL NURSING.
Should the mother afford no milk by reason of malformation, or
otherwise, the child should be accustomed to the most healthful kind of
food from the first. Milk from one animal should be sought. Animals that
are fed on corn, hay and fodder, make the best milk in winter; those fed
on clover and cured hay, the best in summer. The milk of animals fed
mostly on turnips, cabbages, and potatoes, is more apt to disagree with
the stomach.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account