FEEDING AND CARE OF INFANTS 



THE fact that fully one-third of the huinan family 

 perish before the age of five years is sufficient 

 apology for devoting a brief section to the con- 

 sideration of this subject. Notwithstanding the im- 

 mense number of physicians, nurses, and mothers who 

 have had much experience in the rearing of children, 

 the amount of accurate information on the subject of 

 infant care and feeding possessed by the general pub- 

 lic is very meager. We shall endeavor to summarize 

 as precisely as possible the most reliable information 

 to be gathered from experience and research on this 

 subject. 



INFANT DIET 



Carefully collected statistics show beyond room for 

 reasonable doubt that the most active cause of infan- 

 tile disease is improper feeding. This cause is par- 

 ticularly acti\e during the warm season of the year, 

 which occasions the immense number of deaths from 

 various digestive disorders at this period. The care- 

 ful observance of the following suggestions will rarely 

 fail to secure immunity from disorders of the digestive 

 organs : 



1. Milk is the natural and proper food for children 

 from infancy to the age of twelve or eighteen months. 

 Starchy foods cannot be digested, owing to the fact 

 that the digestive element of the salivary secretion is 



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