It is estimated that out of every thousand babies born alive, in this country, forty die during the first month of life, and that more than as many again, or about eighty-five all told, perish before reaching the first birthday.

So hazardous is this period of early infancy, in the United States, that our annual loss of baby life is between seven and eight times as great as was the yearly toll of our young men during the war, for upwards of 200,000 babies less than a year old die each year. That the first month of life is fraught with greater danger than any which follow is shown by the fact that about 100,000 of these deaths occur during the first four weeks.

The tragedy of these figures is made darker by the knowledge that at least half of the babies who are lost die from preventable causes. In other words, they die from lack of proper care.

That is the significant fact for the obstetrical nurse, since more and more frequently she has the young baby in her care during the crucial first month and inevitably plays an important part in increasing his chances to live. She does this by helping to keep the well baby well, rather than by nursing a sick baby.

The dangers which make babyhood such a precarious period may be grouped very largely under the general headings of unfavorable ante-natal conditions, nutritional disturbances and infections. The care and supervision of the expectant mother will remove many of the unfavorable ante-natal causes. Nutritional disturbances and infections must be dealt with after birth.

Faulty nutrition may result in rickets, scurvy, malnutrition, marasmus, acute inanition or the less serious colic, constipation or diarrhea. The most frequent results of infection among young babies are the respiratory diseases in winter, such as bronchitis and pneumonia, and the intestinal disorders in summer, commonly referred to as “summer complaint.” Since undernourished babies are very susceptible to infection, the two conditions are frequently coincident.

With the baby’s frailty and imperfect development in mind, as well as the needs of his growing body and the evils that beset his way, we can understand the reasons for the painstaking, protecting care which he is given during the early weeks of his life.

The essential features of this care are as follows:

1.

Proper feeding.

2.

Fresh air.

3.

Regularity in his daily routine.

4.

Cleanliness of food, clothing and surroundings.

5.

Maintenance of an equable body temperature.

6.

Conservation of his forces.

These requirements seem so rational that one might expect them to be met as a matter of course; but the annual sickness and death rate among babies are a constant reminder that they are not.

The nurse should begin by arranging a daily schedule for the baby’s feedings, fresh air, bath, sleep and exercise, and follow it with unfailing regularity. The hours for the nursings, which vary with different doctors, will constitute the greater part of the daily schedule, and for a baby on four hour feedings, for example, some such program as the following may be arranged:

6	a.m.	Feeding.
8	a.m.	Orange juice (when ordered).
9	a.m.	Bath.
10	a.m.	Feeding.
10.30 to 2	p.m.	Out of doors.
2	p.m.	Feeding.
2.30 to 4	p.m.	Out of doors.
4	p.m.	Orange juice (when ordered).
4 to 5.30	p.m.	In-door airing and exercise (when ordered).
5.30	p.m.	Preparation for the night.
6	p.m.	Feeding.
10	p.m.	Feeding.
2	a.m.	Feeding (when ordered).

The importance of punctuality in the daily routine cannot be stressed too often and it is one aspect of the baby’s care for which the nurse is absolutely responsible. No matter how well the baby is nursed, in other respects, nor how skillfully the doctor directs his care, the baby cannot be expected to progress satisfactorily if his life is irregular.

The Bath. The first office which the nurse usually performs for the new-born baby, and which she repeats daily, is to bathe and dress him. The bath may be given in a tub, under a spray or in the nurse’s lap, according to the wishes of different doctors, while sponge baths are sometimes given with soap and water and sometimes with oil.

The first bath, particularly, is likely to be an olive oil sponge, given immediately after birth, before the baby is taken from the mother’s bedside, and many doctors have the sterile cord dressing and abdominal binder applied at this time. This oil bath is given, not alone for the purpose of removing the vernix caseosa, but also, to lessen the radiation of body heat, which the baby can ill afford to lose. When such a practice is followed it only remains for the nurse to dress the baby and place him in his crib to sleep undisturbed for several hours.

Some doctors have the baby sponged every morning with albolene or olive oil, instead of with soap and water, until the cord separates, when tub bathing is adopted. When the daily bath is given with oil, the baby’s thighs and buttocks are wiped clean with an oil sponge each time that the diaper is changed. Other doctors have the baby’s first bath given in a tub, with soap and water, while still others who fear that the cord may be infected by immersing the baby, have him sponged with soap and water, after the vernix caseosa has been softened with oil.

Sponge bathing is commonly employed for all babies until the cord separates and for frail delicate babies or those suffering from skin trouble. The sponge bath may be given in the nurse’s lap or on a table covered with a pad, either method being satisfactory if the baby is kept warm and comfortable. But one inclines to the idea of having the baby bathed in the nurse’s lap for he seems happier there; more comfortable and less frightened and we cannot be sure that these factors are unimportant.

The best time for the daily bath, during the first three or four months, is about an hour before the second feeding in the morning. After this age the full bath is sometimes given before the six o’clock feeding, in the evening, for a bath at this hour is soothing and restful and often helps toward giving the baby a good night.

Preparation for the bath should made with its possible effects, both good and bad, in mind, for the baby may be helped or harmed according to the skill with which he is bathed. He must not be chilled during his bath, and fatigue and irritation must be avoided by giving it quickly and with the least possible handling and turning. These ends may be served by conveniently arranging all of the articles which will be needed, on a low table at the right hand side of the nurse’s chair, before the baby is undressed.

There should be a pitcher of hot and one of cold water; a bath thermometer; two soft wash-cloths; soft towels; bath blankets; Castile, or some other mild soap; boracic acid solution; sterile cotton pledgets; large and small safety pins, or large ones and a needle and thread if the band is to be sewed on; unscented talcum powder; sterile albolene or olive oil; soft hair brush and a complete outfit of clothing. The little garments should be arranged in the order in which they will be put on, the petticoat slipped inside the dress, and all hung before the fire or heater, to warm.

The temperature of the room should be about 72° F. and if it is possible to bathe the baby before an open fire or a heater, so much the better. In any case he must be protected from drafts. A sheet hung over the backs of two straight chairs will serve very well as a screen if no other is available.

The tub or basin should be about three-quarters full of water at 100° F. for the new baby; about 95° after the third month and gradually lowered to 85° F. or 90° F. for the baby a year old. The temperature of the water should not be guessed at, but tested with a thermometer, though in an emergency the nurse may safely use water that feels comfortably warm to her elbow.

It is a good plan to lay a folded towel in the bottom of the tub, before beginning, as babies are often frightened by coming in contact with the hard surface.

The nurse should wear a waterproof apron, covered with one of flannel over which is laid a soft towel until the bath is finished, when it is slipped out, leaving the dry flannel apron to wrap about the baby. She should wash her hands thoroughly with hot water and soap; sit squarely, with her knees together, in a chair without arms; take the baby in her lap and undress him under a blanket.

In order that the bath may be given deftly and quickly, it is a good plan to give the different parts in the same order every day, for practice makes perfect.

It is usually a routine to weigh the baby every morning, during the first two or three weeks and once or twice a week afterwards. Premature babies and those who are very frail are weighed at longer intervals because of the inadvisability of disturbing them so often. The baby is undressed for his bath, wrapped in a blanket, and laid in the scoop or basket of a beam scale (Fig. 153) and a note made of the entire weight, for if he is placed in the scales without protection he is likely to be chilled and frightened. The weight of the blanket is ascertained separately and deducted from the total thus giving the baby’s exact weight.

The eyes should be bathed first, with pledgets of sterile cotton dipped in warm boracic acid solution, each pledget being used but once. To prevent the solution from running from one eye into the other, the baby’s head is turned slightly to one side and the lower eye wiped gently from the nose outward. The lids may then be separated by placing one thumb below the brow and lifting it slightly, and the eye flushed with a gentle stream by squeezing a freshly soaked pledget just above it. The head is turned to the other side and the eye on that side bathed in like manner.

The mouth is swabbed out very gently with boric-soaked cotton wrapped about the tip of the little finger, care being taken not to abrade the delicate mucous lining. The nostrils are cleaned with little spirals of cotton dipped in liquid petrolatum or olive oil.

The face is then washed with warm water, no soap, and patted dry. The scalp, neck and ears are washed with soap and water and thoroughly dried by patting and wiping gently in the creases. The body should then be well soaped, with the nurse’s hand, only one part being exposed at a time, to avoid chilling. To place the baby in the tub the nurse may slip her left hand under his head in such a way that his head will rest upon her wrist, her fingers support his shoulders and her thumb curve over and hold the upper part of his arm. She may then grasp his ankles with her right hand and lower the little body into the water, feet first. If his arm and shoulder are firmly held and supported by the left hand it is an easy matter to steady the entire body and keep the baby’s head out of the water while giving the bath with the right hand. (Fig. 154.) The new baby is not usually kept in the tub for more than two or three minutes, but when he is three or four months old he may stay in for five minutes and still longer as he grows older.

Hot water should not be poured into the bath after the baby has been placed in it but cold water is often added, for a three or four months old baby, or the warm bath followed by a quick sponge with cold water. The little body is quickly patted dry and rubbed briskly with the palm of the nurse’s hand; the legs and arms stroked toward the body; the back from the neck downward and the chest and abdomen with a circular motion. Babies who react well to cold baths are benefited by them but such “toughening” methods have to be tempered to the resistance of the individual baby and are employed only under the supervision of the doctor.

On Table at Left:

• Basin of sterile water.
• 3 sterile towels.
• 12 small sponges.
• 6 cotton pledgets.
• 1 inch gauze bandage.
• Tube of 00 plain catgut with small needle.
• Needle holder.
• 2 small hemostats.
• Curved Kelly clamp.
• Sharp pointed curved scissors.
• Blunt dissector.
• Mouth tooth forceps.

Stand at Right:

• Large basin of sterile water.

For Baby:

Brandy, 1 dram.	}	In sterile medicine glass with dropper. Used for anesthetic.
Sterile water, 6 drams.
Sugar, ½ dram.

One nurse holds the baby by his knees with his hands under her arms. The second nurse begins the anesthetic, three minutes before doctor begins to operate, by dropping brandy and water on small piece of sterile cotton in gauze in baby’s mouth.

The genitals should be bathed and dried with care; inspected daily and any abnormality reported to the doctor. It is not uncommon for girl babies to have a slight bloody discharge from the vagina. This is unimportant and soon disappears, but a purulent discharge is likely to be an evidence of gonorrheal vaginitis. It is routine in many hospitals to retract the foreskin of male babies every morning at the time of the bath by rubbing it back with gauze or cotton, taking pains that it is again pulled forward into the original position after the part underneath has been bathed with boracic acid solution. If retraction is impossible after several successive daily attempts, the baby is not infrequently circumcised. (Figs. 155, 156.)

When the entire body, including creases and folds, has been patted quite dry, it may be dusted with an unscented talcum powder, but this powdering must not be resorted to as an aid in drying the skin. In order to prevent chafing, the buttocks and thighs should be wiped clean with oil or bathed with warm water, no soap, patted dry and powdered or oiled each time that the diaper is changed.

If the first bath is a tub bath the cord is dressed after the baby is dried and powdered. The form and method of cord dressings vary somewhat with different doctors but in practically all instances the dressings are sterile, to prevent infection, and porous in order that air may gain access to the cord and promote the drying, separating process. The dressing itself may consist of dry, sterile gauze or gauze wet with alcohol, applied to the cord in the manner of a finger bandage (Fig. 157); or it may consist of squares of sterile gauze or muslin with holes in the centres to fit around the cord, and dusted with some such powder as boric acid, bismuth or salicylic acid and starch. These squares are folded about the cord stump which is laid over on the abdomen, being directed upward to prevent its being wet with urine. A gauze sponge is placed over the dressing and the binder applied with firm, even pressure, but not tightly, and sewed on or held in place with safety pins. (Fig. 158.) The cord dressing is not removed until the cord separates, unless it is wet or soiled, but as a rule the band is removed every morning at the time of the bath, or whenever it is soiled.

After the band has been applied the warmed shirt, diaper, petticoat and dress are put on, with the fewest possible motions, and the baby’s hair brushed upward from the neck and back from his forehead. He should be wrapped in a small blanket, fed and laid quietly in his crib to sleep. If his hands and feet are cold a hot-water bottle at 125° F. with a flannel cover, may be placed beside him.

When the baby is made ready for the night he may have either a sponge bath or simply have his face and hands sponged with warm water, according to the wishes of the doctor. The clothing which the baby has worn during the day should be replaced by an entirely fresh outfit. The day and night clothing may be worn more than once, if clean and if aired between times, but it is better not to have the baby wear the same clothes day and night.

Clothes. The baby’s clothes may play an important part in promoting his well-being, and to accomplish this they must be warm, light-weight, soft and porous. They should be simple; fit smoothly and be loose enough and short enough to permit the baby to move unhampered. In order that his body may be kept at an even temperature their weight must always be adjusted to the needs of the moment. The general tendency is to dress the baby too warmly, as a result of which he perspires; is listless, pale, fretful; sleeps badly; is susceptible to colds and other infections and has poor recuperative powers. His digestion is likely to be deranged and he may have prickly heat. On the other hand, if the baby is not dressed warmly enough his hands and feet will be cold and his lips blue; he will cry from discomfort and the general result may be lowered vitality and disturbed digestion. If the baby’s clothes are not comfortable, if they pull and drag or have tight bands, he will be fretful and restless, with disturbed sleep and digestion in consequence.

The little wardrobe will be entirely adequate, under ordinary conditions, if it consists of shirts, bands, diapers, flannel petticoats, dresses, flannel wrappers and sacques with a cap and cloak for extra warmth during in- or out-door airing. (Fig. 159.)

The shirts should have long sleeves and high necks; they should open all the way down the front and come well down over the hips. During the cold months they should be of silk, silk and wool or cotton and wool, as all wool shirts are usually too warm, and during the summer months they should be of all cotton and very thin. Size No. 2 is the best size to start with as the smaller size is soon outgrown.

The first bands usually consist of strips of all wool or cotton and wool flannel about six inches wide and eighteen or twenty inches long, torn across the width of the material and not hemmed. This straight binder is worn until the cord dressing is discontinued, when it is replaced by a knitted band with shoulder straps. If the cord dressing is held in place by a gauze binder, the knitted band with straps is used from the beginning. Whether the binder be flannel or gauze, it must be applied firmly and with even pressure, but not tight. It is a mistake to think that a tight band strengthens the baby’s abdominal muscles for it has the opposite tendency. A tight band may give pain or discomfort and even cause colic or vomiting.

The knitted band is usually worn for three or four months, particularly in cold weather, to provide a little extra warmth over the abdomen. Thin, delicate babies sometimes need this band for a year or more.

The diapers should be of soft, absorbent material, of a loose weave, such as cheese cloth, bird’s-eye, stockinette, thin Turkish towelling or outing flannel; should be 18 or 20 inches square and hemmed. There are two methods of putting on the diaper. One is to fold the square diagonally and bring the diagonal fold around the baby’s waist. One of the lower corners is drawn up between the thighs, the two corners from the sides brought over this and the fourth corner brought up over these and all pinned securely with a safety pin. (Fig. 160.) Small safety pins hold the margins together above the knees. The other method is to fold the diaper straight through the centre, forming a rectangle, twice as long as it is wide; lay the baby on it lengthwise, draw it up between his thighs and pin it on each side at the waist line and above the knees. (Fig. 161.)

In either case the diaper must be put on smoothly and care taken to avoid forming a thick pad between the thighs as this will tend to curve the bones of the legs. Squares of soft, absorbent material, which may be burned, placed inside the diapers, will greatly facilitate the laundry work. In some hospitals a very soft absorbent paper is used for this purpose, sometimes being covered with gauze.

The baby’s diaper should be changed whenever it is wet or soiled, for in addition to making him restless and fretful for the time being, the skin about the thighs and buttocks will grow red and chafed if he is allowed to wear wet diapers. Wet diapers should not be dried and used again but washed with a mild soap, boiled and whenever possible, dried in the open-air and sunshine.

All of this makes it apparent that the regular use of waterproof protectors cannot be justified since the chief reason for putting them on a baby is to avoid the necessity of changing his diaper as soon as it is wet. Under special circumstances such as a drive, a short journey or visit the diaper may be protected by water-proof drawers. Their habitual use saves work for the nurse but makes the baby uncomfortable and unhappy.

The petticoat should be of light-weight, cotton and wool flannel, cut after the familiar Gertrude pattern and hang straight from the shoulders. It may fasten in the back or on the shoulders, with small buttons or with tapes. Tapes are often objected to on the ground that the baby tangles them up with his fingers, which annoys him, and often puts them in his mouth. This petticoat is worn practically all the time, except during very warm weather.

The slips or dresses are most satisfactory if cut after the same pattern as the petticoat, with the addition of sleeves which may be set in, or of the kimono style. The dresses serve chiefly to keep the petticoats clean and make the baby look dainty, and are accordingly made of soft cotton material such as nainsook, cambric or lawn. In summer, it is true, the petticoat is often discarded and the thin slip put on over the shirt and diaper.

The night gowns are made like the dresses but are of soft flannel or stockinette, in cold weather, and tape is often run through the hems in order that they may be drawn up, bag-fashion, to keep the baby’s feet warm. During very warm weather the baby sleeps in a thin cotton slip.

In addition to these garments there are many times when a soft little sacque or wrapper is used to keep the baby warm, and one or two flannel squares (one yard), to wrap around him when he is carried about the house are practically indispensable.

The petticoats, dresses and night gowns are cut about twenty-seven inches long and many doctors feel that they offer sufficient protection for the feet of the average baby to make stockings unnecessary until he is from four to six months old. The skirts may then be shortened to ankle length and stockings added to the little wardrobe. Some doctors think it wiser to put knitted socks or part wool stockings on the new baby particularly if he is born during cold weather.

When the baby begins to creep, he should wear soft soled shoes, part wool stockings in cold weather and thin cotton or silk ones during the summer, and firm but flexible soled shoes as soon as he tries to stand alone or to walk.

During the first month or two, the baby scarcely needs special clothing for out-door wear, as he may be warmly wrapped in one of the flannel squares by being placed on it diagonally, the upper corner folded about his head to form a hood and held under his chin with a safety pin. The corners on the sides are folded about his shoulders, the lower one brought up over his feet and limbs and the additional blankets tucked in over all. But as he grows older and moves about in his carriage, he will need a cap and cloak or wrap with hood attached. In cold weather the cap should be knitted or wool lined and the cloak of soft woolen material or wool lined. In moderate weather the cap may be of one thickness of cotton or silk, or very light flannel, while on very warm days he will need no head covering.

To sum up: The baby’s clothes should be simple in design, hang from the shoulders, fit smoothly but loosely and have no constricting bands; they should be soft, light and porous, their warmth always adjusted to the immediate temperature so that the baby will be protected from being either chilled or overheated. And his clothing must always be clean and dry.

Fresh Air. An abundance of fresh air is one of the baby’s greatest needs as it increases his resistance and recuperative powers, improves his appetite and aids digestion. In general, the more the baby is in the open air and the more fresh air he has while in the house, the better.

The two factors which must be considered in supplying the baby with fresh air are the condition and vigor of the baby himself and the immediate temperature and state of the weather. His age and the season of the year can be only partial guides because of the difference between individual babies of the same age and the variations in temperature, winds and moisture during any one season.

The air of the room which the baby occupies should be changing constantly in order that it may always be fresh, but the temperature should be equable and the baby protected from drafts. As the tendency here, as with the baby’s clothes, is toward overheating, the nurse will do well to remember that the new baby who lies covered up in his crib, may usually be kept in a colder room than is advisable for an older one who is creeping or walking about.

During cold weather the baby’s bed should not be directly in front of an open window and he should be protected from direct currents of cold air by a sheet hung over the head and side of his crib. (See Fig. 153.)

Two or three times daily, while the baby is out of the room, the windows should be opened wide to air the room thoroughly, one of these airings being just before the baby is put to bed for the night.

The usual instructions concerning the temperature of the nursery are to keep it from 68° F. to 70° F. during the day and about 65° F. at night, during the first three months and lower it gradually to 64° F. during the day and about 55° F. at night as the baby grows older. It is customary to begin to open the nursery window at night when the baby is three or four months old, if he is well and the temperature is above freezing.

In planning to take the baby out-of-doors it is wiser, as a rule, to begin with the indoor airing when he is about a month old, except, of course, during the moderate or mild months of the year, when he is taken out at once. If the weather is cold, the baby may be protected with extra wraps and carried in the nurse’s arms, into a room in which the windows are open and kept there for fifteen or twenty minutes. This indoor airing is increased by being gradually lengthened to two or three hours and by having the windows opened wider and wider. By the time he is two or three months old he is taken out of doors on clear, bright days, the best time being between ten and three o’clock, when the sun is high. If he is carried in the nurse’s arms at first the warmth of her body serves as a protection and helps to accustom him to the out-of-door life, when he spends a good deal of his time out of doors in his carriage.

On windy, stormy days or when there is melting snow on the ground the baby may be given his airing on a protected porch or in a room with the windows open. He is not usually taken out if the temperature is below freezing until the third or fourth month. After this time the average baby is taken out when the temperature is not lower than 20° F.

When the baby is dressed in his extra wraps he must be taken out of doors or the windows opened immediately, for otherwise he will become overheated and be in danger of chilling when taken into the colder air.

Warm hands and feet, a good color and the baby’s tendency to sleep most of the time while out-of-doors are evidences of his being adequately clothed for his airing, while the reverse is true if he is not warm enough.

A robust baby who has been gradually accustomed to being out-of-doors during the day will usually be much benefited by sleeping out at night. But he must be protected from winds and his clothing so arranged that he cannot be chilled. Knitted or flannel sleeping garments or sleeping bags (See Fig. 159) are valuable and in addition, the blankets which cover the baby should be securely pinned to the mattress with safety pins and tucked well under it at the sides and foot. The baby should wear a warm cap and the bed should be warmed before he is put into it. Or better still, he may be dressed for the night, put to bed in a warm room and the crib then moved out on the sleeping-porch.