Happy is the mother, and thrice blessed is the babe when he is able to enjoy the supreme benefits of maternal nursing. The benefits to the child are far reaching; he stands a better chance of escaping many infantile diseases; the whole outlook for health--and even life itself--is greatly improved in the case of the nursing babe, as compared with the prospect of the bottle-fed child. Maternal nursing lays the foundation for sturdy manhood and womanhood. Out of every one hundred bottle-fed babies, an average of thirty die during the first year, while of the breast-fed babies, only about seven out of every one hundred die the first year. At the same time, nursing the babe delivers the mother from all the work and anxiety connected with the preparation of the artificial food, the dangers and risks of unclean milk, and the ever-present fear of disease attendant upon this unnatural feeding. The mother who nurses her child can look forward to a year of joy and happiness; whereas, if the babe is weaned, she is compelled to view this first year with many fears and forebodings. Mother's milk contains every element necessary for the growth and development of the child, and contains them in just the proportions required to adapt it as the ideal food for that particular child. A dirty baby, properly fed, will thrive. A baby deprived of fresh air, but wisely fed, will survive and even develop into a strong healthy man or woman. But the baby raised according to the latest and most approved rules of sanitation and hygiene, if improperly fed, will languish and die. HYGIENE OF NURSING MOTHERS _Outings and Exercise._ It is most highly important that the nursing mother should be able thoroughly to digest her food; otherwise the flow of milk is likely to contain irritants that will disturb the baby's digestion, even to the point of making him really sick. In order to avoid these complications, exercise and outings are absolutely essential for the mother. A vigorous walk, gardening, light housework or other light athletics, greatly facilitate digestion and increase the bodily circulation, as well as promote deep breathing, all of which are of paramount importance to a good appetite and good digestion. _The Bowels._ The bowels should move regularly and normally once or twice during the twenty-four hours. Unfortunately, this is not usually the case: and in this connection we would refer our reader to the chapter on "The Hygiene of Pregnancy," particularly those sections relative to the care of the bowels, recipes for bran bread, lists of laxative foods and other suggestions pertaining to the hygiene of the nursing mother. _Sleep._ Nothing less than eight hours sleep will suffice for the nursing mother, and during the day she should take at least one nap with the baby.