CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH
HOW TO GIVE THE BABY’S BATH—CARE OF THE VARIOUS ORGANS—THRUSH AND ITS
TREATMENT—SPECIAL BATHS FOR DELICATE CHILDREN—HABITS OF CLEANLINESS
Cleanliness is one of the foundation-stones on which is reared the
beautiful structure of baby’s good health and good temper. When it is
neglected, all sorts of weaknesses, discomforts and irritations creep
in.
Uncleanliness invites disease and furnishes a lodging-place for germs.
Moreover, the baby that starts off life by being comfortable through
cleanliness forms habits of neatness, which it never loses. Whenever
a mother tells me that she cannot keep her three- or four-year-old
baby clean, that it simply “attracts” dirt wherever it goes, whatever
it does, I wonder how she started it off at birth. Moreover, I have
noticed at Better Babies Contests that many minor defects and small
ailments can be traced by the examining physicians directly to
untidiness on the part of the mother.
Looking back on the babyhood of my own children I can recall no happier
hours than those spent before the open fireplace in the adobe cabin
of a Western ranch, where the babies were sponged and patted dry and
cuddled off to sleep by the light of the dancing flames.
The mother who allows plenty of time for the morning bath is sowing
seeds which are bound to blossom in habits of cleanliness in the child.
So, in planning for the coming of a new baby, she should spend more on
the equipment for the bath than on embroidery for the layette.
The little baby should not be bathed in the family tub. It should have
a small metal or enameled tub of its own. This tub should be used for
no other purpose. The skin of the new-born baby is very tender, and
infection is always at hand. At the Better Babies Contests I have
heard more than one physician trace an eruption on the baby’s skin
to careless bathing or care of the tub. Doctors say that bad cases
of boils can be traced to an infected tub. In fact, there are women
who love their babies, yet who are so thoughtless as to leave diapers
soaking in the bathtub, where, after a superficial rinsing off with
warm water, baby is bathed. Diapers, all of baby’s clothing, in fact,
should be soaked and washed in separate utensils, never in the bathtub.
The task of bathing the baby will be lightened if the tub is placed on
a low table and the mother stands before it. When the tub is on the
floor and the mother has to kneel or bend, it is not so easy to handle
the baby. The top of the table may be protected with a pad, which can
be dried after the bath, or with a piece of oilcloth and a square of
muslin.
In addition to the tub there should be provided a large, but light,
pitcher, preferably of enameled ware, for carrying the water from the
bathroom or the kitchen to the nursery; a china or enameled bowl for
the boracic acid solution; castile soap; squares cut from old, clean
handkerchiefs, or old linen, for wash-cloths; a number of well-worn
soft towels; a bath thermometer for testing the temperature of the
water; medicine dropper for washing out baby’s eyes; shaker of talcum
powder; absorbent cotton and aseptic gauze for cleansing the nose,
ears, and mouth; soft hair-brush; and a needle and thread for sewing on
the bands.
The bath equipment should not be allowed to stand on the table between
baths. It should be kept, away from dust, in a closet or chest.
A word of caution about the bathtub which has been used for other
babies. When it is handed down from one baby to another, or perhaps
has been rescued from attic or cellar, the tub may be a bit battered
or rusty. If the paint is worn off, the rough spaces may offer a
lodging-place for germs. It is a very simple matter for some member of
the family to give the tub a fresh coat of enamel paint, which comes
for the purpose. This precaution may save the baby from irritations of
the skin, and the mother from wakeful hours.
Never use strong washing-powders to cleanse the tub, as they irritate
the skin.
Always throw away the cotton and aseptic gauze or old pieces of linen
used for washing the baby.
Never use new towels or new, rough wash-rags for bathing the tender
skin of the baby. Old fabrics, well washed, and dried either in the sun
or before the nursery fire, are much better.
Never use a sponge for the baby; it cannot be kept clean. A germ-laden
sponge may cause many forms of skin diseases, chafing and general
irritation.
Do not start the task of bathing until you have everything at hand. The
aprons, rubber and flannel, for the mother should be hanging over the
back of the chair; the equipment for the bath arranged on the table;
and the baby’s clean clothing hung to air and warm on the rack near the
fire.
The temperature of the room in which the bath is given should be at
least 70° F. The temperature of the water should be tested by the bath
thermometer. For the first eight weeks of the baby’s life the bath
thermometer should show that the water is 100° F. From two months to
six the temperature should be 98° F. From six to twenty-four it should
register from 85° to 90° F. The baby under two years old should never
be given what is known as a cold bath, even when it is suffering from
the effects of heat in the summer. A bath thermometer is a splendid
investment for any mother; but if it is not within the financial
possibilities, then the mother must test the bath very carefully by
thrusting her bare elbow into the water.
During the first week or ten days of the baby’s life it is sponged off
without laying it in the tub. After the navel cord has come off the
baby gets its first real bath in the tub.
Now for the important process of bathing. Have the bathtub two-thirds
full of water, with the temperature carefully regulated. Lay the baby
on your lap, flat on his stomach. If his garments open in the back,
roll these up and draw them over the head, not over the feet, and lay
them aside. Then wrap around him the flannel apron or square which you
have laid over your rubber apron.
Wash the eyes with a bit of absorbent cotton which has been dipped into
a lukewarm solution of boric acid—one even teaspoonful to one pint of
water. Nostrils and ears are then cleansed with absorbent cotton and
the boracic acid solution, a fresh piece of cotton being used for each
operation. While the baby is very small the cotton may be wrapped
around a wooden toothpick, from which the sharp point has been removed.
Next comes the very important washing of the genitals, which, if not
properly cleansed, will soon become chafed. With a girl baby the organs
should be washed daily with a solution of boracic acid stronger than
that used for the eyes, ears, and nose—two teaspoonfuls of boracic
acid to one pint of water. If any discharge is found, the boracic acid
solution must be used not only at the time of the bath but again in
the evening. Wash the genital organs of a boy baby daily; the foreskin
should be pushed back at least twice a week, while the parts are bathed
gently with absorbent cotton and boracic acid solution. If the foreskin
cannot be drawn back or is tightly adherent, the mother should call
the family physician’s attention to the difficulty, and he will decide
whether circumcision is advisable. Under no circumstances should the
mother or nurse attempt to stretch the skin forcibly.
All the special organs having been cleansed with boracic acid solution,
the face and head are washed off with clean gauze and patted dry with a
soft towel.
If there is a tendency to scurf or scales, rub the head every night
with sweet-oil, vaseline, or cold cream, wash it gently off in the
morning and, after drying, apply witch hazel or alcohol and water in
equal parts. Never use a fine tooth comb to remove these scales. If
the growth of scales or milk crust is persistent, it may be necessary
to stop washing the head, and cleanse it only with oil or cold cream.
Now baby is ready to be soaped and laid in the tub. Make a good lather
with castile soap and warm water, and rub the baby’s body thoroughly.
Be careful not to get the soap in the eyes. Rinse this off in the tub.
There is an art in laying the baby in the water. Support the back and
head with your left hand, grasp the ankles with your right, and very
gently slip the little body under the water, being careful not to
immerse the head: the sensation of water running into the ears, mouth,
and eyes startles the baby and implants in him a fear of the daily
bath. Support him with the left hand, and, with the right, rinse off
the soap, using a piece of gauze or absorbent cotton. The very young
baby should be kept in the water only long enough to rinse off the
soap. As he grows older, and shows pleasure in the bath, he may remain
in the water three, four, or five minutes. If, from the first bath, a
child shows great fear and does not seem to outgrow this, do not plunge
him directly into the water. Have a large square of muslin stretched
over the tub, lay him on this and gently lower him into the bath,
always keeping his head above the water.
Once the soap is rinsed off lift him out carefully, the left hand
supporting the back and head, and the right hand holding the ankles.
Have a warm bath-towel at hand, spread it over the flannel apron on
your lap, and roll baby up comfortably in towel and apron. Pat him dry.
Never rub. Rubbing may start up irritation in the tender young skin.
Dust him with talcum powder; and be particularly careful about drying
and powdering the creases.
Next sew on the belly-band. Draw on the shirt by slipping it over the
feet, never over the head. Next comes the diaper and, finally, the
Gertrude skirt and slip. Draw these up from the feet, never over the
head.
Then the baby is ready for his feeding and good sleep.
Physicians quite generally agree that the best hour for bathing the
baby during the first year is in the morning before the second feeding.
This gives the busy mother a chance to get her breakfast work out of
the way, her husband off to business, and the older children off to
school. As one who has been her own housekeeper and cook, I know that
it seems very hard to stop in the middle of a busy morning, when every
room in the house calls for attention, and give half an hour or more to
bathing the baby, but if this becomes a habit with mother and child it
means a quiet, comfortable baby, and several peaceful hours in which
the mother can catch up with her household duties. Irregular bathing
is disturbing to a baby, and, while the average mother may think that
she can spare the time better just before his bedtime, she should
realize that this is the family supper hour, and if she postpones it,
baby’s sleep is disturbed.
You will notice that I have not spoken of washing out the baby’s mouth.
Many of the best baby specialists claim that Nature has supplied
a cleansing element in the saliva and that washing the mouth is
unnecessary; that it may cause thrush or other affections of the mucous
membrane. Other equally good authorities hold that the mouth may be
cleaned with a swab made by wrapping absorbent cotton around a wooden
toothpick; this is dipped in cool water that has been boiled, and the
folds between the gums, lips and cheeks are gently cleaned out at the
time of the morning bath and also before the baby is put to bed for
the night. Both medical factions agree that the old custom of wrapping
a bit of soft linen around the mother’s forefinger and using that to
cleanse the baby’s mouth is dangerous, as it is too large and apt to
injure the delicate mucous membrane. If the mouth is washed at all it
must be done with great care.
In case of thrush or sprue, which consists of tiny white threads or
flakes on the inner side of the lips and cheeks, and even on the
tongue, the mouth must be washed carefully, after every feeding or
nursing, with a solution of borax—one even teaspoonful to three ounces
of water. Thrush or sprue may come from other causes than washing the
mouth, and it is wise to call a physician if it appears and spreads.
The system of bathing and cleansing so far described is suited for the
normal baby only. Some children should not have a daily tub bath. This
includes anemic or very delicate infants, and babies suffering from
acute illness, when the exposure and fatigue of a bath might drain the
already depleted system too heavily. In case of eczema and certain
other skin affections, bathing with soap would increase the trouble.
Your family physician will prescribe a method of cleansing the baby’s
body in case it suffers from eczema or any other serious eruption. The
very feeble child may be rubbed with sweet-oil when too weak to stand
a tub bath, and common cooking salt or sea salt has been found useful
in giving a bath to a delicate child. The water is prepared by adding
a cupful of cooking salt or sea salt, which can be purchased at any
druggist’s, to each two gallons of water.
When a child is suffering seriously from prickly heat, soap should
not be used. Instead tie a cupful of bran-meal in a bag of muslin or
cheese-cloth and squeeze this in the water until the latter takes on a
milky color; this bath is particularly soothing to infants with very
delicate skins.
When a child chafes easily, particularly at the buttocks, a soda or
a starch bath is soothing. One tablespoonful of bicarbonate of soda
should be added to the water in the usual infant’s tub, or half a
cupful of laundry starch, powdered very fine, to the same quantity of
water.
When a child is suffering from fever, due to teething or indigestion,
and in very hot weather, in addition to the regular morning bath it may
have a sponge bath just before bedtime. This may be of plain, tepid
water, or of water and alcohol—a quart of warm water to eight ounces of
alcohol.
Many mothers think that the daily bath is sufficient to provide for
cleanliness in a child. This is a mistake. From the very start a child
should learn that to be clean is to be comfortable. Particularly if
the mother is careless about changing the diapers and the bedding, the
baby will actually become accustomed to the discomfort which follows
and will not resent it. If the diapers are changed immediately they are
wet, the baby will cry bitterly when he is neglected and allowed to lie
in a wet diaper or other clothing.
At four months the healthy, normal baby should be trained to sit upon
a small infant’s chamber at certain times in the day for the bowels
to move. These chambers come in very small sizes and, as the baby
is too small to sit alone, the mother holds the chamber in her lap
and supports the baby with her arm or against her breast. When he
is strong enough to sit up alone, the chamber is covered with a low,
comfortable chair, which allows the feet to rest on the floor. The
seat of the chair is protected by a rubber ring, which can be bought
from any store where sanitary supplies for children are sold; this can
be taken off and cleansed, and is a great improvement on the ordinary
wooden seat. The use of a chamber of adult size is most undesirable
for two reasons: it is so uncomfortable that the child cries and the
movement is retarded rather than encouraged; and in the strained
position certain organs may be displaced. It is best to use the little
chamber and low chair twice a day, directly after the feeding in the
morning and before going to sleep at night. When the child is older he
will become accustomed to one movement of the bowels each morning.
At eight months the mother should begin to train the child not to wet
the diapers. To this end he is placed on the chamber or chair every
hour, and in a surprisingly short time he learns, by training and
instinct, that he can control the urine. The baby thus trained will
never lie contentedly in wet or soiled clothing, and will develop into
a child of cleanly habits.
A word of warning here about the care of the diapers. They should never
be used twice without washing. When soiled by a movement of the bowels,
they should be washed off immediately and then dropped into a pail of
water until the mother or nurse has time to wash them thoroughly. Each
wet diaper is added to the same pail. It is a great mistake to wash
these diapers in a solution of sal soda, washing-powders, or strong
soap. If a good white soap is used the mother will be repaid in the
freedom of her child from chafing or eruptions. The diapers, like all
of baby’s clothing, should be rinsed until absolutely free from soap.
Nightdresses, skirts, and slips should not be starched. Diapers may
be taken from the line when dry, smoothed, folded, and placed under a
weight—never ironed.
All of this takes time; but it is also a time-saver, because the dry,
clean, comfortable baby makes very little trouble in the household
and interrupts the mother in her duties only for the regular routine
of bathing, feeding, and undressing. Many mothers who spend hours
embroidering tiny frocks or sewing on yards of lace will hurry through
the process of bathing, or be careless in the handling of diapers and
other clothing which will chafe the baby’s delicate skin. Love which
expresses itself in the overdressing of the child is far less practical
than that which expresses itself in cleanliness and sweetness for all
that surrounds the child.
The careless, untidy mother has no right to expect Nature to keep her
child fine and healthy. He may be well proportioned and strong at
birth, but he will soon lose strength and health if he is not kept
clean. A child has the right to cleanliness; and the child who grows
up careless, untidy about his person, generally owes his displeasing
habits to the thoughtlessness or indifference of the mother, however
well she may love him.