Though I have no living relatives who had children in the 1920's, I
treasure my copy of a book published in 1917, for the insights it gives
me into the life of my own grandmother and other women of her era.

The book is "Advice to Women on the Care of the Health Before, During and
After Confinement", by Florence Stacpoole, (Diplomee of the London
Obstetrical Society and Lecturer to the National Health Society, Author
of "Our Sick, and How to Take Care of Them"), and Lydia E. Anderson, R.N.
(President of State Board of Nurse Examiners, University of the State of
New York).

>From the content of the book, I have to agree that urban women who had
the means, were more likely to deliver in hospitals, and  probably had a
whole different set of factors impacting their breastfeeding experience
than rural women delivering at home.

While there are opinions in the book that make me wonder how anyone got
off to a good start, there are bits and pieces here and there of advice
that sound great still today.

On the one hand, it states that "the best thing to use for preparing the
nipples for nursing is this ointment, which is recommended by many
experienced physicians: Ointment for the Nipples - 1 part of subnitrate
of bismuth, 1 part of borax, 8 parts of simple ointment-mixed.

This can be had from any chemist for a few cents. For some weeks before
the confinement is expected, the nipple should be washed night and
morning, then dried, and a little of the ointment rubbed into them, after
which they should be covered with a piece of clean linen to keep the
ointment from soiling the clothing. Surely this will not give much
trouble; but if it gave ten times as much, it would be worth it,
considering what trouble it may save. Only those who have suffered from
it know what is the torment of a cracked nipple . . . ."

"Treatment of Overdistention of the Breasts. When the milk secretion
begins, the breasts often become painfully swollen and knotty. This need
not cause alarm. The chief means of cure is to apply the baby to each
breast regularly every two hours during the day and two or three times at
night. A healthy baby who can suck well is the best cure for distended
breasts. . . .. "

We're still re-inventing the breastfeeding-in-the-hospital wheel, 82
years after this book was written!

K. Jean Cotterman RNC, IBCLC
Dayton, Ohio USA

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