The Four Epochs of Woman's Life; A Study in HygieneGalbraith, Anna M. (Anna Mary)
Science
The Four Epochs of Woman's Life; A Study in Hygiene
Galbraith, Anna M. (Anna Mary)
Women -- Health and hygiene
Care should be used not to fasten the abdominal bandage too tightly;
the bath is given on an empty stomach, and allowance should be made
for this; the binder should be loose enough to allow two or three
fingers to easily slip under it.
The Meconium.-- The First discharge that comes from the bowels is of a
dark, greenish color, and should come away during the first
twenty-four hours; if it does not, the baby may suffer a good deal of
pain, and an enema of warm water must be given. As this substance is
very difficult to be washed out of napkins, the first ones used should
be old and afterward be burned.
Cleansing.-- Every time the napkin needs to be changed, even if it is
only wet, the baby should be washed with warm water. A napkin should
never be used twice without washing; it chafes the child, and it is an
unsafe as well as a filthy practice; the napkin must always be removed
as soon as it is wet.
The Infant's Toilet.-- After the application of the binder and napkin,
comes the undervest; the fingers of the nurse are passed up through
the sleeve to seize the infant's hand and pull it through; as soon as
it gets a little older the child will grasp a finger laid in its palm,
which greatly facilitates this part of the toilet. The stockings are
next put on and pinned with safety-pins to the napkin; then comes the
petticoat, the band of which is also loosely fastened with
safety-pins, and with the slip the toilet is complete. All the
clothing should be changed night and morning.
The eyes and mouth should be washed out with separate pieces of gauze
or old linen. For the mouth, a small piece of cloth wet in warm water
is wrapped around the little finger of the right hand, going into the
left angle of the baby's mouth and coming out at the right, going
between the gums and cheeks as well as over the tongue. This procedure
should be gone through with every time preceding and following the
nursing, and in this way the milk is prevented from souring in the
mouth, and the digestion is kept in good condition. A sore mouth in a
baby indicates carelessness on the part of the nurse.
A soft hair-brush may be used, but the scalp is too tender to permit
the use of a comb.
After the toilet has been completed, the baby is laid in its crib, on
the right side of the body, and warmly covered. The weaker the baby,
the more attention must be paid to the external warmth. It may be
necessary to place a warm-water bottle in the crib, but this must
never touch the infant.
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