Raising baby, Call the Midwife style
i AM not surprised that Call The Midwife has become one of the nation’s most popular programmes. it is surely no coincidence that people are nostalgically looking back to the oldfashioned methods of caring for babies. i am amazed no one has linked the obesity problem to modern practice of demand-feeding babies. Babies are not allowed to cry — a necessary and natural function in lung development and the teaching of self-control. As soon as they open their mouths they are picked up and fed. Young children graze whenever they wish. i was a mothercraft nurse in Australia in the Sixties: i would go to private homes for a few weeks to encourage new mothers, smooth out any feeding problems and establish a good routine. The aim was, as quickly as possible, to get the baby on to four-hourly feeds during the day — the first at 6am and the last at 10pm — and encourage them to sleep through the night. if necessary, the baby was given water at 2am to wean it off the night feed. The baby slept in its own cot in a separate bedroom to the parents. it was bathed before the 10am feed, after which it slept, if possible, outside. Orange or rosehip juice was given at 4pm and a wakeful period was encouraged for an hour before the 6pm feed. This well-practised, no-nonsense approach provided the mother and father with the support, confidence, rest and energy levels required to enjoy and care for their newborn baby. establishing a sleeping and feeding routine was essential in giving the infant an inbuilt sense of security and imbued the baby with a base for learning future good behaviour and self-control. For the first few weeks the baby was left to sleep peacefully in a quiet room and the new mother could establish her feeding pattern by breast or bottle and bond with her baby in private. After three months, solids were introduced twice a day, at 10am and 6pm. Young children were given three meals per day — the main one at midday until they went to school. if a child did not wish to eat a meal, no alternative was offered and soon it learned to eat the food provided. There was no snacking between meals. As the children grew up, family meals were served at the table with the TV off. Sweets and cakes were a once-aweek treat! Of course, this is now considered to be old-fashioned, controlling and against modern ideas.
Mrs SUSAN BROOKE, Great Missenden, Bucks.