Whey is used with babies who cannot digest the insoluble protein of cow’s milk. This is often the case in premature babies and is manifested by a persistent vomiting of curd. The energy requirements are obtained by the addition of cream and lactose to the whey.
Buttermilk Mixtures and “Eiweissmilch.”—It is often found desirable to use some other form of milk than whole, top, or even skimmed milk, and for this purpose lactic acid, milk and the albumen or “Eiweissmilch” are substituted. In the buttermilk mixtures the precipitation of the casein is brought about by lactic acid bacilli (Bulgarian culture). This prevents the coagulation of the casein into tough curds. Lactose buttermilk or lactic acid milk is used in the feeding of infants who have persistent green stools, and in cases of acute toxic diarrhea brought about through the action of gas bacillus.
Buttermilk is more difficult to administer to babies than formulas made from plain milk by reason of its flavor. However, the results are remarkable in the above-mentioned conditions.
“Eiweissmilch” is used in atrophic cases where there are bad green stools.
“Homogenized Milk.”—Dr. Ladd of the Children’s Hospital in Boston has presented many cases of infants who showed an intolerance for butter fat. These cases he has treated with formulas containing foreign fat, usually olive oil. This milk is subjected to a treatment which brings about a more complete emulsification of the fat than is possible in cow’s milk, causing it to resemble in character the quality of the mother’s milk. Homogenized milk has been used with success in cases where it was impossible to supply the infant with breast milk.
The process is accomplished by the use of an apparatus known as an “homogenizer”[72]; in this machine the fat globule is crushed and so finely divided as to prevent its re-formation. The greatest drawback to the use of this process lies in the scarcity of available machines. Cod liver oil is now used in many cases where the infant shows a failure to gain or is in possible danger of developing rickets, with the homogenizer it is possible to add the oil to the formula, thus facilitating its use.
Technique of Milk Modification.—The absolute necessity for cleanliness has already been dwelt upon in respect to milk, and in infant feeding the vigilance which must be observed in the preparation of the food cannot be too strongly emphasized. The milk itself must be of known purity. Where there is any uncertainty about its source, it must be sterilized or pasteurized according to the doctor’s orders. The bottles and nipples should be washed as soon as they are used, first with plain water to remove the milk, then with soapsuds and a bottle brush. The bottles should then be filled with boric acid or bicarbonate of soda solution until needed, when they should be emptied and placed in a deep pan filled with cold water and allowed to boil for a few minutes. They should not be taken from the water until they are to be filled with the milk mixture. The nipples are washed thoroughly and boiled once a day and dropped into a solution of boric acid or bicarbonate of soda when not in use. The plain black rubber nipples are best as they can easily be turned inside out and cleaned. If the milk drops too slowly from the bottle, the nipple may be pierced in one or two places with a darning needle.
The morning is the best time in which to prepare the baby’s food; the milk has not stood too long and it is easier to regulate the feedings if a fresh start is made each morning. Let the bottles and the rubber corks with which they must be stopped be boiled and cooled while the milk mixture is being prepared.
Preparation of Diluents.—If barley or oatmeal water is to be used as a diluent, let that be prepared first, that it may be cool before adding it to the milk. Cover the table with a clean cloth or oilcloth, upon this place the pitcher in which the milk is to be modified, have the funnel, milk dipper, and spoon which are to be used boiled with the bottles, cover the mouth of the pitcher with a clean square of gauze or cheesecloth, read the formula carefully and measure the sugar, dextri-maltose, lactose, Mellin’s Food, or cane sugar as directed and place it in a clean glass; now measure the diluent, water, oatmeal water, barley water, or whey; use part of this diluent to dissolve the sugar.
Measuring Milk according to Percentage of Fat.—Now dip off the required layer of top milk, that is, the layer containing the desired percentage of fat and protein. Mix this thoroughly and dip out the requisite number of ounces into the pitcher. If there is not sufficient cream in one quart bottle to fill the formula, the cream must be dipped from a second bottle and mixed with that of the first before it is measured into the pitcher. The dissolved sugar and rest of the diluent, together with the correct amount of limewater, are strained into the pitcher, mixed thoroughly, and strained through the absorbent cotton lining the funnel into the bottles, allowing the correct number of ounces for each feeding in every bottle.