Better babies and their careRichardson, Anna Steese
Science
Better babies and their care
Richardson, Anna Steese
Infants -- Care; Infants -- Health and hygiene
The safety of the child that is to be fed on modified cow’s milk
depends largely upon the source of milk supply. The mother should
acquaint herself with this source of supply and the conditions under
which the cows are housed and milked. If you had to hire a wet nurse,
you would not choose a tubercular or personally unclean woman. Why
permit your baby to drink milk that comes from a tubercular cow, or one
which is milked in a filthy stable?
If you live in a city, write to your department of health or your
health officer for information regarding properly inspected dairies.
If no such information can be furnished you, then it is high time that
you started a campaign for dairy inspection in your town. If you live
in the country, find a dairyman or a neighbor whose cows will stand
the test and whose stables are clean. Do not buy baby’s milk at a
grocery-store or dairy whose source of supply you cannot trace.
Cow’s milk which comes from a herd of healthy cows, or at least several
cows, is preferred to that which comes from a single animal, as it
varies less in quality and elemental proportions. It is not necessary
to order rich milk from highly bred Jersey and Alderney cows. In fact,
physicians agree that the milk produced by ordinary grade cows in the
herd is better suited to the needs of the child. You should be quite
sure, however, as to the age of the milk. In cold weather it must not
be fed to the child after it is forty-eight hours old. In summer it
should never be more than twenty-four hours old.
In nearly all large cities are now found agencies of dairies which
specialize on milk for infants. This is sometimes known as certified
or guaranteed milk. The cows from which it is drawn are carefully
inspected, the stables and milkers are clean, all the utensils,
pails, cans, etc., are sterilized before use, and the milk is cooled
immediately after it is drawn from the cows and kept at or near a
temperature of 50° F. until delivered to the purchaser. Milk produced
in this way saves the mother anxiety and trouble. It costs only a few
cents more a quart than milk which is not certified.
When certified milk is received in the home, the stoppered bottles
should be placed immediately in the refrigerator or set in a pail
of ice-water to remain until it is modified for use during the next
twenty-four hours.
The city mother, with her stationary refrigerator and convenient
ice supply, has no possible excuse for not keeping the baby’s milk
in perfect condition. Some of the new refrigerators have separate
compartments. One of these should be used for the baby’s milk. In many
well regulated homes you will find special nursery refrigerators which
can be bought at any department or house-furnishing store. These have
their own supply of ice and nothing but the baby’s milk is stored in
them.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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