﻿INFANT FEEDING. 377 



The elucidation of the technical problems in this connection is for 

 members of the medical and chemical professions. A study of the avail- 

 able supply of infant food in Manila is necessary and in the preceding 

 pages an effort in this direction has been made, but the weapons provided 

 by this discussion are to be used by all the people. A successful adminis- 

 tration looking to the improvement of conditions can only be furnished 

 by extensive organization and education. Members of our profession in 

 Manila are often indifferent in questions of infant feeding. This is 

 shown by the fact that there are but very few records of examinations of 

 milks, either human or animal, to determine their nourishing properties, 

 to be found in the laboratories of the city. 



There is, therefore, entirely too much left to chance in the composition 

 of the foods recommended and not enough adjustment of food values to 

 special conditions as they are represented by individual patients. Di- 

 rections should be very specific and given in writing. It is not enough 

 to order a mixture of condensed milk and limewater to be given from a 

 boiled bottle. The average, or even the most ignorant, mother knows 

 how to prepare such mixtures herself, as she can read the directions on 

 the label of the can of milk. We must far more closely study each 

 infant and order a food which will properly nourish the child or remove 

 the abnormal condition. 



The service of one of us at St. Paul's Hospital has shown some of the 

 most serious of errors in very general use, one which we wish especially 

 to call attention to, namely the use of excessive quantities of limewater 

 as a diluent. This is a very common practice, and many of the patients 

 suffering from proteid starvation and chronic diarrhoea, marasmus, 

 gastric atony, etc., are more apt to have the trouble caused by an exces 

 of lime than by any inherent difficulties in the milk administered. 



The preparation of infant foods for all kinds of the many conditions 

 encountered is a difficult task, which can best be undertaken by milk 

 laboratories similar to those now in use in many American and European 

 cities. This procedure would cost a considerable amount of money, but 

 with organization and education, funds might become available either 

 through the Government or by gifts from philanthropic sources. 



A discussion of the conditions confronting us in Manila together with 

 analyses of food stuffs has been given in chapter three, and in order to 

 give a more clear understanding, the following Table No. 15, representing 

 a majority of the varieties of food supply obtainable in Manila, is 

 inserted. 



