Advice to a wife and mother in two parts

by Pye Henry Chavasse

If the “stuffing” be severe, dip a sponge in hot water, as hot as he can comfortably bear; ascertain that it be not too hot, by previously applying it to your own face, and then put it for a few minutes to the bridge of his nose. As soon as the hard mucus is within reach, it should be carefully removed.

108. Do you consider sickness injurious to an infant?

Many thriving babies are, after taking the breast, frequently sick; still we cannot look upon sickness otherwise than as an index of either a disordered or of an overloaded stomach. If the child be sick, and yet be thriving, it is a proof that he overloads his stomach. A mother, then, must not allow him to suck so much at a time. She should, until he retains all he takes, lessen the quantity of milk. If he be sick and does not thrive, the mother should notice if the milk he throws up has a sour smell; if it has, she must first of all look to her own health; she ought to ascertain if her own stomach be out of order; for if such be the case, it is impossible for her to make good milk. She should observe whether, in the morning, her own tongue be furred and dry; whether she have a disagreeable taste in her mouth, or pains at her stomach, or heartburn, or flatulence. If she have all, or any of these symptoms, the mystery is explained why he is sick and does not thrive. She ought then to seek advice, and a medical man will soon put her stomach into good order; and, by so doing, will, at the same time, benefit the child.

But if the mother be in the enjoyment of good health, she must then look to the babe herself, and ascertain if he be cutting his teeth; if the gums require lancing; if the secretions from the bowels be proper both in quantity and in quality; and, if he have had artificial food—it being absolutely necessary to give such food—whether it agree with him.

What to do.—In the first place, if the gums are red, hot, and swollen, let them be lanced; in the second, if the secretions from the bowels are either unhealthy or scanty, give him a dose of aperient medicine, such as castor oil, or the following: Take two or three grains of powdered Turkey rhubarb, three grains of pure carbonate of magnesia, and one grain of aromatic powder. Mix. The powder to be taken at bedtime, mixed in a teaspoonful of sugar and water, and which should, if necessary, be repeated the following night. In the third place, if the food he be taking does not agree with him, change it (vide answer to question 33). Give it in smaller quantities at a time, and not so frequently; or, what will be better still, if it be possible, keep him, for awhile, entirely to the breast.

What NOT to do.—Do not let him overload his stomach either with breast-milk or with artificial food. Let the mother avoid, until his sickness be relieved, greens, cabbage, and all other green vegetables.

109. What are the causes, the symptoms, the prevention, and the cure of Thrush?

The thrush is a frequent disease of an infant, and is often brought on either by stuffing him or by giving him improper food. A child brought up entirely, for the first three or four months, on the breast, seldom suffers from this complaint. The thrush consists of several irregular, roundish, white specks on the lips, the tongue, the inside and the angles of the mouth, giving the parts affected the appearance of curds and whey having been smeared upon them. The mouth is hot and painful, and he is afraid to suck: the moment the nipple is put into his mouth he begins to cry. The thrush sometimes, although but rarely, runs through the whole of the alimentary canal. It should be borne in mind that nearly every child who is sucking has his or her tongue white or “frosted” as it is sometimes called. The thrush may be mild or very severe.

Now with regard to What to do.—As the thrush is generally owing to improper and to artificial feeding, if the child be at the breast, keep him, for a time, entirely to it. Do not let him be always sucking, as that will not only fret his mouth, but will likewise irritate and make sore the mother’s nipple.

If he be not at the breast, but has been weaned, then keep him for a few days entirely to a milk diet—to the milk of ONE cow—either boiled, if it be hot weather, to keep it sweet; or unboiled, in cool weather—fresh as it comes from the cow.