hbdlicka] 



PHYSIOLOGICAL AND MEDICAL OBSERVATIONS 



77 



and the substances on which the child is fed when lactation is delayed 

 are here summarized:" 



San Carlos Apache 



Wdiniin could hcgin lo mirso ;ift(>r liirlli of 

 child- - 



Ch.M fell iiicHiitinio on- 



One very soon, had milk before delivery . 

 One within one-half day (about 6 hours) . 



One after a night (about 10 hours) 



One after Iti hours 



One after 18 hours 



Three after 24 hours 



One after 3(1 hours , 



One after 3 days , 



One after several days 



Three (one mother) ninth to tenth day.. 



Thin soup of Hour and Wiiln- and a little mescal 



juice with water. 

 Weak coffee. 

 Cow's milk. 



It happens only very rarely that an A]){iche woman after delivery 

 is permanently without milk or with but little milk. In such a case, 

 or if the mother dies, a nursinij; woman amon<^ her relatives helps in 

 caring for the baby, or it is l)rought iij) on fresh cow's milk or on 

 condensed milk and other liquid <liet. The nursing is es])ecially 

 prolonged when the child has been sick or if it is weak. The Apache 

 women do not continue to nurse children for long ])eriods with the 

 aim of preventing by this means new conceptions. If a nursing 

 woman becomes pregnant anew, in many instances she does not stop 

 nursing. A few nurse the last preceding baby imtil the new one is 

 born, and rarely a mother nurses both children at the same time. 

 The flow of milk does not seem to stop l^ecause of ])regnancy. 



Among the San Carlos people feeding begins generally about the 

 time the baby commences to sit up (after the seventh month). At 

 first the child usually gets something "light," as coftee, milk, soiij), 

 crackers, tortilla, or fruit. One of the women said that she 'Svould 

 not think of giving the baby anything solid to eat before it could 

 chew," When the child begins to eat, however, it gets everything 

 it desires of wdiat can be provided, incliuling even candy. The 

 earliest case of additional feeding of the nursing infant was recorded 

 among these Apache in a girl of 85 months, but was almost the rule 

 among older children (see details in Appendix) . 



Some of the women among the Mescalero Apache do not begin to 

 nurse the child until two days after it is born and is "cleaned out." 



Among the Hopi a boy was pointed out to the writer who, though 

 he nuist have been nearly 5 years old, was still occasionally nursing. 



The Zuni infant begins usually to receive articles of diet other than 

 the mother's milk after it is 4 months old. 



a From the detail table with the chapter on Labor, pp. 66 et seq. 



