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Home Medical and Vet Remedies, as Recommended by
19th century Doctors and Vets!
The Selection of a Wet-nurse.
The Selection of a Wet-nurse:
Various circumstances, sometimes quite unexpected, may
compel the mother to cease nursing her infant. Indeed, the instances are not infrequent in which some hereditary taint or
acquired disease makes it desirable that the mother should not,
even if she can, suckle the child. In such instances the best substitute is, of course, the wet-nurse, though circumstances often
compel the employment of another and less expensive mode of
sustenance - artificial feeding. Methods for accomplishing this
latter object will be discussed in subsequent pages, but a word
with reference to the selection of a wet-nurse may be in order
here. It is desirable that she shall be able to furnish sufficient
milk of good quality, and free from any constitutional taint. The
best index to her physical qualifications is the condition of her own
child. Generally speaking, a wet-nurse should be between eighteen
and thirty years old; her confinement should have occurred at
about the same time, or a little later, than that of the woman for
whom she is to be a substitute ; one who has previously borne
children is to be preferred, not only because of the increased experience gained, but also because the milk is of better quality in
subsequent than after the first confinement. After the applicant
has given satisfaction as to her character and history and present
condition, she should be submitted to a rigid and thorough examination by a physician in order that no contagious disease which
may be lurking in her system shall be overlooked; for it should be
understood that an apparently healthy woman may be capable of
communicating, either through her breast or her lips, a disease
which would either destroy the infant's life or prove a lifelong
curse.
If the child be stillborn, or die soon after birth, the mother's
interest will be promoted not by drying up the milk at once, but
by encouraging the secretion for at least six or eight weeks. The
object of this is to promote the involution of the womb, which
proceeds more rapidly and surely if the breasts are kept active.
The same principle applies if it be necessary for the mother to discontinue nursing during the first two months of lactation. In
either case the best substitute for the child is the judicious application of the breast-pump, at regular intervals, aided by gentle friction of the breasts toward the nipple.
Now tell your friends!
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ANIMAL INDEX - OLD VET TREATMENTS AND REMEDIES.
FARMING INDEX - OLD FARM PRACTICES AND REMEDIES FOR ANIMALS, PLANTS AND FIXING THINGS.
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