Dear all, in my lunch break todayI called into one of my favourite 2nd hand
book shops and found a gem titled  ' Domestic Medicine ' 1877.  Written by
Ralph Gooding, Member of the Royal College of Surgeons of England.
Breastfeeding has a goodly mention, then comes the description of 'artificial
food'  (the author's words) commonly used - ' made by boiling crumb of bread
in water, care being taken to prevent its burning, and a small quantity of
sugar being added to make it palatable; when the child is five or six months
old, a little milk may be mixed with the bread, previously boiled in water,
the quantity of milk being increased as the child grows older.  Good wholesome
nutritious food may be made from the farinaceious mixture prepared by Hards,
of Dartford, from Lemann's Biscuit Powder, or from Liebig's Food for Infants.
In all cases in which it is necessary to feed a child with artificial food,
this should be done by means of a proper bottle, and not by an ordinary spoon,
for by the constant use of the former the healthy action of sucking is
encouraged.  The best feeding bottles for infants are those manufactured by
Messrs. Maw,Son, and Thompson.  They are made in three different forms, one of
which is call the "Export" and another the "Alexandra"; but the one the author
recommends is the third form of bottle, named the patent "Fountain", which by
a simple mechanical arrangement cleverly imitates the action of the natural
breast.'
He then describes the teat and where you can buy 'the "Fountain"  from a Mr.
Howard, Royal Hill, Greenwich, London and other reputable chemists'
The author states that milk contains 'albumen in the form of casein, oil in
the form of butter, and sugar as lactose or sugar of milk.  On careful
examination there are also found phosphate of lime, various salts, and a trace
of iron.'   ' The system of the mother must be well supported during the
period of suckling, meat should be freely partaken of, and she will require a
liberal supply of ale or stout. Health must be duly maintained by the
avoidance of late hours.  The influence of mental emotion upon the lacteal
secretion is very marked, and in some cases the milk has by its action become
much altered in character, and even rendered injurious to the child.'
Now comes weaning - ' Between the ages of 9 & 12 months the infant should be
weaned; this must be done gradually, the mother giving it less and less of the
breast.  If possible she should leave home for a week or two, transferring the
care of her child to a trustworthy servant or nurse, with whom he should now
sleep.  The breasts of the mother will in all probability become tense, full,
knotted, hard, tender, and somewhat inflamed, but may be relieved by acting
upon the bowels by the administration of some mild purgative - Take Sulphate
of magnesia, 1 ounce.  Wine of colchicum, 2 drachms.  Compound tincture of
lavender, 2 drachms.  Pure water, 6 ounces.  Mix and let a 6th part be taken 3
times a day.  the breasts should be gently rubbed with the following liniment
- take of Opodeldoc, 2 ounces.  Spirits of camphor, 2 drachms.  Make a
liniment, and let the parts affected be rubbed every night and morning. '
Recognise any of this? ! !    :-D   Kindest regards, Helen Woodman, NCT
Breastfeeding Counsellor, UK