In the treatment of a scanty formation of milk, one of the best measures which can be resorted to is the frequent application of the child to the breast. In addition, the flow may be increased by milking the breasts by means of the thumb and finger, suction through a tobacco-pipe, or the breast-pump, or by the use of another infant. Friction of the breasts, and forcible drawing upon the nipples, will make them sore, and so irritate them as to defeat the object in view. A change of scene, fresh air, and outdoor exercise, attention to personal cleanliness, and the improvement of the general health, all increase the quantity, and produce a favourable effect upon the quality, of the milk. A sojourn at the sea-side often promotes an abundant secretion of milk. The diet should be regulated by the condition of the constitution. By those who are weak and pale, a large proportion of meat is required. On the contrary, those who are full-blooded and corpulent should restrict the amount of their animal food, and take more exercise in the open air. Oatmeal gruel enjoys a reputation for increasing the flow of milk. A basin of it sometimes produces an immediate effect. The same is true of cow's milk. Porter or ale once or twice a day, in those with reduced systems and impaired digestion and appetite, will be found useful. Anise, fennel, and caraway-seeds, given in soup, act sometimes as stimulants upon the secretion of milk. The application of a poultice made from the pulverized leaves of the castor-oil plant is a most efficient remedy when milk fails to make its appearance in the breast in sufficient quantity after confinement.
WET-NURSING BY VIRGINS, AGED WOMEN, AND MEN.
As a rule, the secretion of milk is limited to one sex, and in that is confined to a short period after childbirth. But there are many cases on record of the flowing of milk in women not recently mothers, in girls before the age of puberty, in aged women, and even in individuals of the male sex. In such instances, the secretion is induced by the combined influence, acting through the nervous system, of a strong desire for its occurrence, of a fixed attention towards the mammary glands, and of suction from the nipples.
Travellers among savage nations report many examples of such unnatural nursing. Dr. Livingstone says he has frequently seen in Africa a grandchild suckled by a grandmother. Dr. Wm. A. Gillespie, of Virginia records, in the Boston Medical and Surgical Journal, the case of a widow, aged about sixty, whose daughter having died, leaving a child two months old, took the child and tried to raise it by feeding. The child's bowels became deranged, and being unable to procure a nurse, and her breasts being large and full, he advised her to apply the child, in hopes milk would come. She followed his advice perseveringly, and, to her astonishment, a plentiful secretion of milk was the result, with which she nourished the child, which afterwards became strong and healthy. A similar instance, still more remarkable, is recorded of a woman at seventy years, who twenty years wet-nursed a grandchild after her last confinement.
Cases of nursing in the opposite extreme of life are also well authenticated. The distinguished French physician Baudelocque has related that of a deaf and dumb girl, eight years old, who, by the repeated application to her breast of a young infant, which her mother was suckling, had sufficient milk to nourish the child for a month, while the mother was unable to nurse it on account of sore nipples. The little girl was shown to the Royal Academy of Surgery on the 16th of February, 1783. The quantity of milk was such, that by simply pressing the breast it was made to flow out in the presence of the Academy, and on the same day, at the house of Baudelocque, before a large class of pupils. Again, an interesting case is known of a young woman, who, in consequence of the habit of applying the infant of her mistress to her breast in order to quiet it, caused a free secretion of milk. In the Cape de Verde Islands, it is stated that virgins, old women, and even men, are frequently employed as wet-nurses. Humboldt speaks of a man, thirty-two years old, who gave the breast to his child for five months. Captain Franklin saw a similar case in the Arctic regions. Professor Hall presented to his class in Baltimore a negro, fifty-five years old, who had been the wet-nurse of all the children of his mistress.
Instances of powers of prolonged nursing in mothers are not uncommon. Indeed it is the habit among some nations to suckle children until they are three or four years of age, even though another pregnancy may intervene, so that immediately one child is succeeded at the breast by another. In those who have thus unnaturally excited the mammary glands, an irrepressible flow sometimes continues after the demand for it has ceased. Dr. Green published, some years ago, in the New York Journal of Medicine and Surgery, the case of a woman, aged forty-seven, the mother of five children, who had had an abundant supply of milk for twenty-seven years consecutively. A period of exactly four years and a half occurred between each birth, and the children were permitted to take the breast until they were running about at play. At the time when Dr. G. wrote, she had been nine years a widow, and was obliged to have her breasts drawn daily, the secretion of milk being so copious. When, therefore, it is desirable, on account of the feebleness of the child, to protract the period of nursing, a wet-nurse should relieve the mother at the end of twelve or fifteen months.
RULES FOR CARE OF HEALTH WHILE NURSING.
From what we have previously said of the influence of the nervous system over the quantity and quality of the milk, and the instances we have adduced of the danger to the infant of all violent passions—such as anger, terror, anxiety, and grief—on the part of the mother, it will be apparent that it is of the greatest moment, during the whole course of nursing, to maintain a tranquil state of mind. Pleasing and peaceful emotions favor the normal secretion of milk, and go far towards securing the health of the child. When strongly affected by any powerful feelings, mothers should not give the breast, but should wait until they have calmed down to their usual tenor of temper. A case is related of a woman who was always excited by a highly electrical state of the atmosphere, and particularly during stormy weather. If when thus influenced she nursed her child he was sure to fall into convulsions; while, if she delayed doing so until this nervous excitement had passed, no unpleasant symptoms occurred. But we have already dwelt at length upon this subject in speaking of the influence of the mind of the mother over the child at her breast, and need not therefore recur to it. The food while nursing must be nutritious and varied, though simple and unstimulating; and should consist both of meat and vegetables, soups, fish, flesh, and fowl, either in combination or succession. When the digestion requires stimulation and aid, a glass of mild ale twice a day will be useful. Wines, brandy, and whisky should not be taken without the advice of a physician. Moderate exercise in the open air and regular habits are necessary. A defective or excessive diet, fatigue, loss of rest at night, and irregularities and excesses of all kinds are unfavorable to mother and child. The proper methods of combating a tendency to over-abundance or to scantiness of milk have been alluded to. Medicines, unless prescribed by the medical attendant, should rarely or never be taken during this period, as many of them enter the milk and may thus affect the child.
RELATIONS OF HUSBAND AND WIFE DURING NURSING.
After a natural and healthful confinement, the nurse usually remains with the mother for a period of four weeks. During the whole of this time the husband should occupy a separate apartment, and, according to some physicians, this separation should be protracted during the entire period of nursing. But this is unusual, and in most cases unnecessary. Only those women who are warned by the recurrence of their monthly illness that they are liable to another pregnancy immediately, should insist on such an ascetic rule as this.