Perfect Artificial Diet for a New Born

Feeding new born babies is a fairly straightforward process for all those mothers who are healthy and have adequate milk to nourish their young ones. Mothers worldwide have always preferred to breastfeed their babies. This has been the most safe, easiest, healthiest and least expensive source that ensures an infant's survival. Studies have shown that breast milk contains certain antibodies, nutrient proteins, lipids, vitamins and minerals to help a baby ward off many diseases, infections and allergies. But in some cases breast feeding is not possible because of many reasons, then we are forced to think of an alternative. It should definitely replace the breast-milk as possible.

-This can be obtained by a mixture of cow's milk, water, and sugar, in the following proportions. Fresh cow's milk in two thirds and remaining boiling water or thin barley water, one third and sugar, a sufficient quantity to sweeten but you can even feed it with out sugar. This is the best diet for the first six months, after that some farinaceous food may be combined.

-In preparing this diet, it is very important to obtain pure milk, not previously skimmed or mixed with water and in warm weather just should be just taken from the cow. It should not be mixed with the water or sugar until the feeding time comes, it must be prepared fresh at every meal. It is best not to heat the milk over the fire every time, but let the water in the boiling state be mixed with it, and thus gives the infant tepid or lukewarm.

-There are two ways to feed this milk by the spoon and by the nursing-bottle. The first ought never to be employed at this period of infancy, as power of digestion in infants is very weak, and their food is designed by nature to be taken very slowly into the stomach as being procured from the breast by the sucking act, in this act a great quantity of saliva is secreted and poured into the mouth, this mixes with the milk and is swallowed with it. This process of nature should be emulated as far as possible, and this should be imbibed by suction from a nursing-bottle. This is thus obtained slowly, and the suction employed secures the mixture of a due quantity of saliva, which has a high influence on digestion. Whatever kind of bottle or teat is used, it must never be forgotten that cleanliness is absolutely essential to the success of this plan of rearing children.

-In early stages, mothers are too much in the habit of giving thick gruel like panada, biscuit-powder, and such things, thinking that a diet of a lighter kind will not nourish their baby. This is big a mistake as these preparations are much too solid and they overload the stomach which cause indigestion, flatulence, and griping. These create a necessity for purgative medicines, which again weaken the digestion by unnatural irritation. This is why many infants are kept in a continual round of repletion, indigestion, and purging with the administration of cordials and narcotics. If their diet were in quantity and quality suited to their digestive powers, there would be no need of aid from physic or physicians.

-As the infant advances in age, the proportion of milk can be gradually increased, this is necessary after the second month, when the proportion can be three parts of milk to one of water may be allowed. But there should be no change in the diet if the health of the baby is good, and it appears to be perceptibly improving. Nothing is more absurd than the notion, that in early life children need a variety of food. But we forget that only one kind of food is prepared by nature and it is impossible to transgress this law without marked injury.

- The quantity of food to be given at each meal must be regulated by the age of the child, and the baby's digestive power. By little experience you will soon be able to do this as a careful and observing mother. As the baby grows older the quantity of course must be increased.

-The chief error made in rearing the young is overfeeding and is a most serious one but which may be easily avoided by the parent following a systematic plan with regard to the hours of feeding, yielding to the indications of appetite, administering the food slowly in small quantities at one time. This is the only effective way to prevent indigestion, bowel complaints and the irritable condition of the nervous system. As it has been well observed that "Nature has never intended the infant's stomach to be converted into a receptacle for laxatives, carminatives, antacids, stimulants, and astringents and when these become necessary, we may be assured that there is something faulty in our management, however perfect it may seem to ourselves."

-As a general rule the frequency of feeding must be determined, by allowing such an interval between each meal as this will insure the digestion of the previous quantity and this may be fixed at about every three or four hours according to the age of the baby. Because when the child receives a fresh supply of food every hour or so then time will not be given for the digestion of the previous quantity, and as a consequence of this process the food passing on into the bowel is undigested, will ferment and become sour, this will inevitably produce colic and purging, and no way contribute to the nourishment of the child.

- It is important to discuss the posture of the child when fed. The baby must not receive its meals lying, the head should be raised on the nurse's arm, the most natural position, and definitely no danger for the food going the wrong way, After each meal the little one should be put into its cot or on its mother's knee for at least half an hour. This is very essential for the process of digestion, as exercise is important at other times for the promotion of health but not immediately after feeding.