THE MILK FEVER.
Very many women have milk in the breasts before the birth of a child.
Others do not have any for some days after confinement, yet may appear
comfortable. It is no uncommon thing for them to forget that they have
another very important task to perform,—that of preparing healthy meals
for the offspring. If, at this time, company is allowed, talking and
laughing indulged in, the symptoms of the coming milk may be greatly
augmented; so that what might have been a slight chill, headaches or
fever may become so severe as to require prompt medical aid. Indeed
diarrhœa, convulsions, or even insanity may be brought on through the
means of any excitement whatever, between the birth of the child and the
establishment of the milk.
Giving castor-oil or other nauseous drugs (as has been, and to a great
extent is now, the custom) is quite risky, even when prescribed by a
physician; as many women are of such a costive habit, that it requires a
very large dose to move the bowels. I repeat, it is risking too much,
when given in the ordinary ways, for both mother and child. On the part
of the mother, an overdose may cause excessive purging and consequent
weakness. On the part of the child, should it be nursing while the
physicking is going on, the result may be griping and purging, ending
its life in a few hours. Every means should be resorted to to move the
bowels, where such relief is really needful, before administering
physic.
Many women have a large passage during the delivery of the child; and
therefore need not be disturbed about that matter for days, or even a
week, all other things being favorable. For it should be borne in mind
that the internal organs are, in a measure, paralyzed by the
interruptions of nature during labor, and that time is needed to rest
the nerves and bring things in proper order. Headache, so commonly
complained of after delivery, is more from exhaustion of the nervous
system than from constipation. For this reason should extreme quiet be
observed for about nine days. When physic must inevitably be given
during the coming of the milk, it is decidedly best to keep the babe
from the breast until it is all through with.
But, as a general thing, other means will answer; such as wringing a
cloth out of hot water and applying over the abdomen, or belly, rubbing
down and across the back and loins, giving large drinks of hot water
without sugar, keeping the body warm and moist for a while, but never an
injection unless directed by a practitioner.
I would suggest that a few dollars paid to a physician for a half-dozen
extra visits during the first weeks of confinement, might prevent months
and years of gloom in many families. Again, there are many women that
take suddenly ill with vomiting and purging about the time for the milk
to appear. The violence with which this trouble progresses, and the
depressing consequences by which it is characterized, have indeed caused
it to be termed “child-bed cholera”; and although it may arise from a
previously disordered liver or stomach, it seldom happens unless there
has been indulgence in suppressed laughing, inhaling peculiar odors,
over-eating or drinking. Although the coming of the milk is most
commonly ushered in with some degree of chill or fever, there are as
many, no doubt, who experience no change whatever, it being so slight.
Hence it probably would be best if the term “milk fever” were never used
until really apparent. If, after lactation has become perfect, it should
go and come, means should be at once resorted to insure its continuance.
Wine, ale or beer are not advisable for this purpose. They may surely
lead to the habit of moderate intemperance, while their benefits are
only temporary. Pure blood is the basis for pure milk, therefore
nutritive articles of diet are of more permanent use.
It is well to bear in mind that a scarcity of milk during the month
should never be taken as an excuse for refusing to nurse the child; for
if it can get but a spoonful a day, it greatly encourages the chance for
increasing it. The mother’s milk is the fountain of life to the babe,
and therefore seldom dries up unless there be some unnatural
obstruction. It has been said by many close observers, that when the
milk goes away without some perceptible cause, the child is not to live.
What will cause the milk to disappear in some women, will not in others.
Peculiar odors, or pungent, volatile applications will completely and
forever drive the milk from the breasts of some women; and a cessation
of the milk is frequently a forerunner of consumption of the lungs or
tumors about the ovaries. If the nipples crack and bleed, they should be
anointed with goose oil, occasionally cold cream, or wet with a solution
of sal ammonia, or vinegar and water. This done in the intervals of the
babe’s sleep, care should be taken to wipe the nipples before offering
them to it. When a mother gives up to the thought that the suckling is
the hardest part to bear, and impatiently deprives her infant of the
breast, the pleasures of life must be to her of small value. “Try, try
again,” is an adage worth heeding.
Should there be humor in the blood, as there ofttimes is, the nipples
will not readily heal while the child nurses; in which case it is
advisable to feed the child from a bottle and treat the mother. After
relief is obtained, the nursing can be resumed. In ordinary cases a
poultice made of bruised burdock root and elm flour, together with a tea
made by steeping burdock root and drinking a pint a day; keeping the
bowels regular, eating rye and Indian bread, and taking about a half
teaspoonful of calcined magnesia dissolved in water, once a day, will
effect a cure. The poultice should be made soft and applied fresh twice
a day between two thin cloths.
A lady of wealth may get discouraged and give her babe to the care of
another, whose babe may in consequence have lo be put in some
charity-house or otherwise to board. Her babe may thrive and live; while
that of her wet-nurse may soon pine away and die. No one can avoid
distressing others unless he strives, to the best of his ability, to
bear his own burdens.