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[121]
CHAPTER X

NURSING MOTHERS

THE DIET OF NURSING MOTHERS--CARE OF THE NIPPLES--CRACKED
NIPPLES--TENDER NIPPLES--MASTITIS IN NURSING MOTHERS--INFLAMMATION OF
THE BREASTS--WHEN SHOULD A CHILD BE WEANED?--METHOD OF WEANING--NURSING
WHILE MENSTRUATING--CARE OF BREASTS WHILE WEANING CHILD--NERVOUS
NURSING MOTHERS--BIRTH MARKS--QUALIFICATIONS OF A NURSERY MAID.

THE DIET OF NURSING MOTHERS.--A nursing mother should eat exactly the same
diet as she has always been accustomed to before she became pregnant. If
any article of diet disagrees with her she should give up that particular
article. She should not experiment; simply adhere to what she knows agreed
with her in the past. More, rather than less, should be taken, especially
more liquids as they favor milk-making. It is sometimes advisable to drink
an extra glass of milk in the mid-afternoon and before retiring. If milk
disagrees, or is not liked, she may take clear soup or beef tea in place of
it. In a general way milk in quantities not over one quart daily, eggs,
meat, fish, poultry, cereals, green vegetables, and stewed fruit constitute
a varied and ample dietary to select from.

Every nursing mother should have one daily movement of the bowels; she
should get three or four hours' exercise in the open air every day; and she
should nurse her child regularly.

The diet of the nursing mother during the period immediately after
confinement is given elsewhere.

Alcohol, of all kinds, should be absolutely avoided during the entire
period of nursing.

Drugs of every variety, or for any purpose, should never be taken unless by
special permission of her physician.

CARE OF THE NIPPLES.--As soon as the mother has had a good sleep after the
confinement the nipples should be washed with a saturated solution of [122]
boracic acid, and the child allowed to nurse. The milk does not come into
the breast for two or three days, but the child should nurse every four
hours during that time. There is secreted at this time a substance called
colostrum. This is a laxative agent which nature intends the child should
have as it tends to move the bowels and at the same time it appeases the
hunger of the infant. It also accustoms the child to nursing and gradually
prepares the nipples for the work ahead of them.

After each nursing the nipples should be carefully washed with the sa