CHAPTER V
BOTTLE FEEDING
Suggestions for demonstrations. 1. Show and demonstrate the care of utensils to be used in modifying milk. 2. Demonstrate the process of modifying milk. 3. Demonstrate the process of pasteurizing milk.
Foods. Condensed milk and proprietary foods should be used only in emergency or on the advice of a physician. They are of value only in the rare instances when a baby cannot digest cow’s milk or when prescribed by a physician.
Cow’s milk. If a baby cannot have breast milk, the next best food is properly modified cow’s milk. Cow’s milk, when used for the baby, must be fresh. It should be delivered in sealed bottles. Milk sold from open cans should never be given to a child. Milk should not be left standing on the doorstep nor in a warm kitchen, but should be placed in the ice box as soon as received, where it should be kept covered and at a temperature between 35° and 45° F.
Choice of milk. Whenever possible, certified milk should be used. Certified milk is milk produced under conditions that conform to certain standards of cleanliness laid down by the state. Uncertified milk may of course often be used without danger, but if there is any question about its purity, it should be pasteurized (see page [52] for directions for pasteurizing).
COMPARISON OF MOTHER’S MILK AND COW’S MILK
| Mother’s Milk | Cow’s Milk | |
| Fat | 3.50 per cent | 4.00 per cent |
| Sugar | 7.00 per cent | 4.50 per cent |
| Protein | 1.25 per cent | 3.50 per cent |
| Salts | .20 per cent | .70 per cent |
No matter how cow’s milk is modified, it differs from human milk in certain other ways that we do not understand, and this renders it less desirable for infant feeding than human milk.
Modified milk. The formula for the baby’s food must be given by a nurse or a physician. The following general directions for feeding a baby that does not require a special formula have been prepared by a committee of the American Medical Association:
Beginning on the third day the average baby should be given three ounces of milk daily, diluted with seven ounces of water. To this should be added one tablespoon of limewater and two level teaspoons of sugar. This should be given in seven feedings.