Abstract
To-day life has become so changed that the great tendency is to make the physical, mental, and moral health subordinate to the acquisition of wealth, and social and political position. . .. each individual should regard his health as sacredly as his character. (p. 3)
Dr. Rossiter was born in 1870 and died in 1967 at the age of 97. He received two medical degrees, one at Rush Medical College and one at the University of Pennsylvania. He practiced at a sanatorium and also had his own private practice, living mostly in California. He wrote several books including The Torch of Life: A Key to Sex Harmony (Rossiter, 1932), which was reviewed by JAMA in 1933, alongside The How and Why of Life, by Dr. Gillmore (1932). While both books cover the topic of sexuality, Dr. Rossiter was reviewed as being too lyrical in his description of what he wanteds to make beautiful, and which the reviewer saw as simply physiological. Dr. Gillmore’s book was described as beginning with zoo animals, lightly brushing over human sexuality, and ending with a chapter admonishing self-control. Dr. Wheat’s book received a positive review in comparison to Dr. Rossiter’s book (Journal of the American Medical Association [JAMA], 1933).
In his Practical Guide to Health, from which this exerpt is taken, Dr. Rossiter gave his readers 660 pages of what he considered to be the state of the science. He mixed his medical knowledge with his spiritual beliefs, and his own biases toward those who were sickly, or worse, had impure thoughts outside of marriage. He suggested a healthy diet full of fruits, vegetables, and grains while avoiding meat, tea, coffee, alcoholic drinks, tobacco, spices, and condiments. He feared for the wellbeing of families in his community and fought against the “quacks” who would take advantage of them, yet in his cures, he used cold baths, electricity, and enemas of all kinds and varying temperatures in a variety of areas of the body. Many of his techniques cause wonderment that we have survived, and yet his work broke down the silo between the practioners of medicine and the family caretaker, a divide that was being actively created during that time (Starr, 2017). He made the workings of the human body accessible to anyone who could read his book.
Dr. Rossiter was practicing at a time when expert opinion was the key to knowledge, and biases were not examined. The prejudices and inequities brought on by racism and colonialism are evident in his book, as they were and are in the medical system. As a moment in time, this excerpt serves to remind us that, in comparison, examination of our own biases has become an expected part of scientific inquiry, and that we can rely on accessible resources and evidence-based knowledge, rather than expert opinion. While original books are out of print, one can find old copies of Dr. Rossiter’s books in museums, at many online booksellers, and even Walmart offers a reprint.
The Journal of Human Lactation does not endorse the techniques offered in this excerpt. It is interesting, though, to hear the echoes of some of the practices he describes within the advice we have given, are giving, or are fighting our way out of giving.
CARE OF THE BREASTS. — Cleanse the nipples before and after each nursing with a saturated boric-acid solution. Let the baby nurse every four hours the first two days. By keeping the nipples clean, cracking may be avoided. If the breasts become hard, there is danger of “cake breast.” If taken in time, any hardness can be entirely removed by massage, in from thirty to sixty minutes. The gland should be manipulated from the outer border toward the nipple. If the soreness remains, and the breasts become tender, apply very hot fomentations for from twenty to thirty minutes, and follow by cold compresses, changing once in ten minutes. Continue for two hours. It may be necessary to repeat this treatment several times. A breast binder frequently gives the patient great relief.
In case the child dies, or it is necessary to feed it artificially, the milk may be checked by applying camphor cloths over the breasts, covered with a binder. Use a breast-pump just enough to prevent the breasts from caking. A bella-donna ointment applied to the breasts will also check the milk. It is said that linseed-oil will have the same effect. (pp. 462–463)
FEEDING. — Until the milk appears in the breast, about forty-eight hours, the baby should be nursed once every four hours. After that nurse regularly every two and one-half hours during the day and twice at night. In case the baby is very strong and healthy, and the mother’s milk is delayed in coming, it may be best to supplement the nursing with other food until the mother's supply is sufficient. For this purpose, give one teaspoon full of cream with seven of warm water. Avoid all kinds of teas. Babies should have warm water frequently. After six weeks nurse once in three hours. Most babies are nursed too frequently and are over-fed. I have examined many children who had a marked dilatation of the stomach, unquestionably due to this cause. After three months a baby does not require nursing between 10 P.M. and 6 A.M. Have a regular time for nursing. If the baby cries half an hour before the nursing time, give a few teaspoonfuls of warm water. Babies often cry because of thirst. At nine months a child does not require more than four feedings a day, and after the first year, three meals are sufficient. After the sixth month it is a safe and good plan to give the baby one or two teaspoonfuls of sweet orange juice twice a day midway between feedings. At nine months more juice may be given, or scraped apple. baked apple, or prune marmalade. During the second year children should receive the juice of half a sweet orange twice a day. Give at about 10 A.M. and 4 P.M. This will take the place of eating between meals, and is much more wholesome for the child. Scraped apple may be given in place of the orange. Lemonade with a moderate amount of sugar may also be given. A nursing baby should be kept at the breast fifteen or twenty minutes, and as a rule one breast is sufficient. Do not allow the baby to doze or sleep at the nipple. It is a bad habit.
The mother should eat an abundance of nourishing food: cereals, nuts, milk, butter, peas, beans. lentils. vegetables, and fruits. Avoid tea, coffee, beer, and all alcoholic drinks. Nursing women need not deny themselves fruit. Any food that agrees with the mother will agree with the child. Worry, fatigue, excitement, or passion excite the child, and may cause colic.
If the child must be fed artificially, modified cow’s milk is the best food. Many of the prepared infants’ foods on the market are wholly unfit to be given to young children. Especially is this true of malted cereal foods and condensed milk. Scurvy and rickets are very frequent among infants fed on such foods. If cow’s milk is properly modified, there are very few babies that will not thrive on it. If it does not agree with the child, it needs further modification. With a little care the right proportions can be found, so that the child will begin to grow and do well.
Cow’s milk contains much more proteid, or curd, than human milk, hence it must be diluted; but it contains less sugar, and so some sugar must be added.
From the first to the sixth week, add four parts of water to one part of milk; during the next six weeks, three parts water; during the next six weeks, two; then, up to the age of nine months, use equal parts of milk and water; after that no diluting is necessary; the baby can take pure milk. Boiled water is the best dilutent.
At birth a baby’s stomach holds about one ounce, or two tablespoonfuls, and it increases one ounce in capacity each month for six months. At the end of four weeks the baby may be given four tablespoonfuls of food at a meal. For sweetening the milk, use brown sugar. Always use fresh milk, and get it from several cows instead of one. Milk that is near the souring point is a prolific cause of bowel trouble among artificially fed children. Unless favored with ice and a good refrigerator, prepare each meal at the time needed. A bottle may be used, but feeding with a spoon is better. It is no trouble to keep a spoon and a granite dish clean. In the end this mode of feeding will save time. If a bottle is used, get a Hygeia [footnote from original publication in JHL: A Hygeia was an early brand of baby bottle, with a wide mouth, similar to a Playtex Nurser. It had a black rubber nipple, with a domed ring, that sat over a large opening].
If possible, milk should be obtained both morning and evening, to insure freshness. Place in a tall bottle or jar, and allow to stand four or five hours in a cool place. The top cream will contain about twelve percent of fat.
In order to simplify matters, and make it as easy as possible to modify cow’s milk, a number of formulas are subjoined, which it is usually safe to follow. The amount is for one feeding.
[Ingredients in formulas include: top cream, boiled water, lime water, milk and brown sugar in varying amounts, changing on day 4, the end of the second week, the end of the second month, the fourth month, sixth month, and tenth month.]
Buy brown sugar; and, in order to obtain a correct measure of the amount required for each feeding, have a druggist weigh out the exact quantity; put it into a teaspoon, and use the amount thus given as a sample measure. This food should be warmed to a temperature of 100°, and kept there while the baby eats. Frequent warming may be necessary by dipping the bottle into warm water, or by setting the dish into warm water.
If a child is doing well, after the sixth or seventh month a little oatmeal or barley-water may be substituted for part of the water in the foregoing formulas. No starch should be given before the sixth month. Make the increase from month to month gradual.
If the child’s digestion is feeble, the percentages given may have to be reduced, and greater intervals allowed between the feedings. A healthy baby with good digestion may have the quantities increased more rapidly than specified.
In changing the baby’s food to modified cow’s milk, begin with the weaker dilution first, and gradually increase the strength as the child’s digestive organs become accustomed to the new diet. As a rule, it is not wise to make any sudden change in an infant’s diet.
In feeding babies modified cow’s milk, bear the following points in mind:
Curds in the stools, and colic, indicate too much raw milk (proteid); hence it may be necessary to reduce this for a time, and then gradually increase it again.
Sour stools indicate too much sugar, and possibly too much fat. Reduce if necessary.
Very offensive and white stools indicate too much fat or cream.
Vomiting immediately after feeding indicates too much food, too tight bands, or that the child is moved too much.
Vomiting one or two hours after feeding, and of a sour, curded milk or watery fluid, indicates too much fat in the milk.
If the child does not seem to be satisfied with its meal, first increase the quantity and then the strength of the food.
It is a great injury to the child to change its food every few days.
COLIC. — This is one of the great trials of babyhood. It is not likely to continue after the third month. Colic is due to indigestion, and to an excess of curd or proteid in the milk. It may also be caused by worry, fatigue, and an improper diet, on the part of the mother. Cold feet or catching cold will also cause colic. It is best relieved by giving quite warm water from a bottle or with a spoon, and elevating the head. This will often enable the gas to pass up from the stomach. Placing hot flannels over the bowels, or laying the child face down over a hot-water bag, will give relief. Often an enema at 102°, using a No. 15 rubber catheter in place of a hard rubber or glass tube, will relieve the pain. The catheter should be inserted from eight to twelve inches, while the water is flowing.
Catnip tea and oil of peppermint are old-fashioned remedies for colic, and at times seem to be very successful. But there are other times when, in spite of all that can be done, baby will regularly have the colic in the small hours of the morning, when sleep is so sweet, and the house is cold. Do not be discouraged, however, for a baby does not die from colic, and time will be a remedy, if nothing else is.
WEANING. — This should take place about the ninth month. It may be done in a few days by substituting one meal a day for the breast, then two, etc. At times it is best to wean more gradually. It is a mistake for mothers to nurse their babies from fifteen to eighteen months. There are very few conditions in which it is necessary for a mother to nurse her child more than a year. As a rule, the child is not benefited, and very often the mother is exhausted by nursing a child far along into its second year. It is well not to wean during the hot months of summer unless necessary. At first, rich cow’s milk should be diluted about one half with water; after the first week, with one third water; after the second week, plain milk may be given, or a thin gruel may be made from milk, granose flakes, or other cereals. (pp. 500–505)
HABIT. — The training given to a child during its early years will, to a large extent, determine its character. Early impression are the most lasting. An infant two days old may be forming either a good or a bad habit. A child that is taken up whenever it cries is trained into a bad habit; the same principle is true in reference to nursing a baby to stop its crying. Both these habits cultivate self-indulgence and a lack of self-control, which are manifested in more and varied ways as the weeks and months and years pass by. Because of neglect to train their children properly, a large proportion of parents are slaves to their children, and are ruled instead of ruling. (p. 508)