Maternity, infancy, childhood : Hygiene of pregnancy; nursing and weaning of infants ... / By John M. Keating.

  • Keating, John M. (John Marie), 1852-1893.
Date:
1890
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Maternity, infancy, childhood : Hygiene of pregnancy; nursing and weaning of infants ... / By John M. Keating. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library at Yale University, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library at Yale University.

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    scrofula? If she has had other children, were they strong and healthy? Did they thrive upon her milk? If they died, of what did they die? The physical con- dition of the wet-nurse is as important, of course, as her family record. She should have no constitutional dis- ease of any kind; her lungs should be healthy; her skin should be clean, free from any eruption, or the re- mains of one; her teeth should be good, which is an evidence of good digestion ; her eyes bright, her mus- cles firm and well formed ; she should have no loss of hair, sore throat, or chronic nasal catarrh ; her breasts should be well formed and such as I have described on page 32. She should not menstruate. Then comes the question of temper, and indeed it is as hard here to get a satisfactory testimony as it was for the physical condi- tion. She should be pleasant in disposition, not stupid ; energetic, willing, devoid of high temper, and possessed of those traits which will soon endear the child to her. Such a nurse would probably give about two quarts of milk in twenty-four hours. Of course, much of this examination is made by the family physician, who is the one to decide whether the nurse is suitable or not, but there are times wThen the mother, or monthly nurse, has to decide in cases of emergency. On that account I have dwelt at some length on this subject. The nurse's child should be plump, well formed, free from any eruption. Its odor should be sweet and fresh, not sour; should it vomit, the material should be simply the overloading of the stomach and not sour milk. A healthy baby will often take more than its stomach will hold, especially if the mother's milk is plentiful and flows freely. Having, then, decided upon the health of the wet- nurse and on the chances that her milk will be plentiful, she should be questioned carefully about her supply of milk. Indeed, the condition of her own baby will be evidence in itself. There are other matters