FIG. 66.—An improvised bed for the premature baby, consisting of a closely woven clothes basket with padded bottom and four flannel covered bottles of hot water, attached to the sides. The necessary thermometer and special feeder are shown in the basket. (By courtesy of Dr. Alan Brown, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto.) ] The basket in which the baby lies should be placed in a darkened, well ventilated room and should be carefully screened from drafts. As the baby needs moist air there should be a large, open vessel of water in the room. Since the premature baby’s lungs are not fully expanded, respirations are likely to be shallow and irregular, thus failing to supply the amount of oxygen which he needs. And as crying always causes deep breathing, it is a common practice to make the baby cry at regular intervals during the day. In feeding the premature baby, breast milk is the most desirable food. In fact, many doctors feel that his life virtually depends upon it. If the baby is too feeble to nurse, the milk may be expressed from the mother’s breast, being immediately covered and placed in the refrigerator unless used at once. Breast milk is sometimes used whole and sometimes diluted with sterile water and is often given from a medicine dropper or through a special feeder. Such a feeder consists of a glass tube with a small nipple on one end and a rubber bulb on the other, by means of which the milk may be gently expressed into the baby’s mouth. (See Fig. 66.) The premature baby’s bath is of considerable importance. It almost always consists of sponging him with warm olive oil as he lies in his bed and with the least possible exposure and turning. It is given every day or every second or third day, according to his condition. The eyes are wiped with boric pledgets and the nostrils with spirals of cotton dipped in oil. The buttocks are wiped with an oil sponge each time the diaper is changed. It must be borne in mind constantly that the premature baby is particularly susceptible to infection. He should be safeguarded by having everything that comes in contact with him scrupulously clean; being protected from drafts, chilling and dust, and allowing no one with a trace of a cold to come near him. The person who cares for him should wear a freshly laundered gown and protect her nose and mouth with a gauze mask while attending him. TRAVELING WITH YOUR BABY