OUR BABIES.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2455, 20 March 1909, Page 12 (Supplement)

OUR BABIES.

Published, under the auspices of the, ‘ Society: for .the Promotion of tho Health of Women and Children. (By Hygeia.) - FOOD. FOOD FOR EXPECTANT AND NURSING MOTHERS. DIET DURING PREGNANCY. The diet during pregnancy should be good, simple, digestible, and nutritious. There is mo need for any special food preparations, or for taking appreciably more than would be taken at other times. The common counsel to “eat for two’’, is absurd, seeing that the Aveight of the mother and her unborn babe scarcely exceed her ordinary Aveight. Women often bring on indigestion through accepting the advice of nurses to take an excess of food, especially of soft, sloppy foods. The special need of the expectant mother is plenty ol open air exercise and exposure to the elements, and a sufficiency of rest and sleep. This, Avith freedom from undue worry and excitements —a. pleasant, actiA r e country life, Avith no suggestion or trace of invalidism' —is the ideal condition. Regularity oi habits is all-im-portant, and aA r oidance of . the bodily and social conventional trammels to Avhich AA'omen subject themselves —from constriction of the Avaist and feet to the ties and conveniences of excessive “calling” and being called on. None of the special or patent foods Avhich liaA r c come to be so much used ol late years show-any advantage over ordinary food substances; indeed, the hundred-aud-one forms of baked flour, etc., that enterprising business firms have induced people to buy by clever advertising, prove one and all Avhen carefully tested to ho less nourishing and digestible than simple crisp toast. Truly and literally they are dull, stale, flat, and unprofitable, except as regards the pockets of tlicir proprietors. DIET FOR NURSING MOTHERS. As for special diet during nursing, the main point is to take more fluid than at other times. Water may be used plain, or in the form of barleyAvater, milk and water, etc.; and a certain amount as broth, Aveak tea, cocoa, etc. The less the mother takes of tea and coffee the better, and there is practically nothing in cocoa beyond the flavour to cause it to be so much recommended. Does anyone realise that a Avhole brcakfastcupful (lOoz) of the best cocoa, made of the ordinary strength, contains less nutriment than a single ounce of milk? Of course,'milk and sugar may be added, but apart from such additions there is practically nothing in .the* Avay of food in a cup of cocoa. HoAveA’er, of all such drinks cocoa is the least harmful, because it contains a smaller proportion of alkaloids to act prejudicially on the nerves, and it is free from tannin. Fatty cocoas and chocolates tend to cause indigestion. Taking any kind of food or food-drinks between meals is injurious, with the possible exception of a glass of milk and water (equal parts), which is permissible, say, tAvico or three times in the twenty-four hours, with nothing in the Avay of cakes or. sweets. Beer, stout, or alcohol in any form should be strictly avoided. Of course, one knows the irksomeness of all counsels of perfection, but what I have said may at least serve to help mothers to hold out a little against the tyranny of ordinary conA r ontional habits and irregularities, which place such a severe tax on the long-suffering internal organs. The despotism ol dieting is nothing compared to the despotism of social customs and fashions, Avhich take no account of the laws of Nature or the demands of health and comfort.

Gruel is all right if taken in moderation, but at exerts no special influence over the secretion of milk, beyond the fact that it is one way of taking water. Further, it is a good thing to mix some thin gruel or barley-water with milk, as it renders the curd less dense, and therefore more easily borne and digested. On the other hand, tho food taken at ordinary meal-times should be dry rather than mushy or fluid, and it is better to take no drink while actually eating,, beyond, say, a few spoonfuls of soup -at the commencement, of a meal. The staple article of diet at Carlsbad and other • such leading health resoits and “cures” is Zwieback, which is equivalent to crisp toast (made by'drying bread, ono day old, by standing it in thin slices on edge in an oven with the door ajar, and then toasting it until buff), or “pulled bread” (made from twist loaf pulled apart, dried, and crisped in tho oven until tho white surfaces become slightly buffed). Being quite dry, thorough mastication,and iusalivation cannot be avoided; and to most people there is an actual pleasure and stimulation in crunching .quite crisp food. Nursing mothers would do best if they took mainly dry food at along with a reasonable allowance of eggs, fish, lightly-cooked meat, vegetables, fruit, light puddings; ,and, say, about a pint to a pint and a-half of. milk in the-twenty-four hours—best taken warm just a!t ; cr or between meals, with boiling water or thin gruel, and not drunk at a gulp- A. reasonable quantity of milk is beneficial, .but the nursing mother often overtaxes her digestion by taking an excess. - ,•* Personally, L am quite satisfied that in ordinary life food taken only three bimes in the twenty-four hours, with the main quantity of/fluid drunk; just after each meal and as a part of it, and no food between meals, is best; hut it is perhaps an open question as to whether

the nursing'mother may m some cases be benefited by. taking midway between meals a cupful of weak fluid food ((say, milk with water, gruel, barley-water;-or cocoa), though plain water would suffice. In this matter some concession may be made to ingrained habit, preference, and personal idiosyncrasy; but on many grounds my own' opinion is that during nursing, as at other times, Avitli few exceptions, there would be better digestion and appetite, better nutrition, bettor lioalth'and spirits, sounder sleep, and a more normal secretion of milk, if the mother restricted herself to taking food three or at the most four times in the twenty-four hours, though she might .with advantage take a glass of water or barley-water between times, and must take a sufficiency of such fluid in the twenty-four hours—an average of between one and two pints more fluid than she would Avhen not nursing. Of course, there should be plenty of variety, and all food should be as palatable and appetising as possible, apart 'from fattiness, richness, undue seasoning, etc. The latest scientific investigations confirm tho paramount importance of “enjoying” one’s food, as well as thoroughly masticating it. Everything known to bo difficult to digest, such as pastry, rich cakes, hot buttered toast, fried bread, fried potatoes, fried, overdone, or recooked meat, etc., should be avoided; and caution should be exercised, in tlie uso of cabbage, Avhich often causes wind. On tho other hand, it is a great mistako for the nursing mother not to have food pleasantly flavored, appetising, and to her taste. There is no objection to the use in moderation of ordinary condiments, such as pepper and mustard, but pickles and curries should bo avoided. Not only should food be heartily enjoyed, but every moans should bo taken to avoid worries and sources of annoyance, because tho emotions have so much to do with determining the composition of the milk and affecting in other Avays tho health of both mother and offspring. Tho following passages from Charles Reade’s “The Cloister and tho Hearth” is most suggestive and entirely true: 4 “ ‘The child is poisoned.’ ‘Poisoned! By whom?’ ‘By you. You have been fretting.’ ‘Nay, indeed, mother. Hoaa* can I help fretting?’ ' ‘Don’t tell me, Margaret. A nursing mother has no business to fret. She must turn her mind aA\*ay from her grief to the comfort that lies in her lap. Know you not that the child pines if the mother vexes herself?’ ”