CHAPTER I.. _of the Breast-Milk, &c. &c._

Of the Breast-Milk, &c. &c.

No sooner has the child been ushered into the world than the breasts of the mother pour forth their milk for its sustenance. This bland fluid is secreted from the blood, and varies, in quality and quantity, according to the time which has elapsed from delivery, being peculiarly and wonderfully adapted at every period to the wants of the individual for whose use it is destined. Thus, that first secreted, called colostrum, possesses a purgative quality evidently intended by the all-wise Author of our being for the purpose of removing the meconium,--a process which experience has sufficiently proved to be necessary for the welfare of the newly-born infant. Afterwards, ceasing to possess this aperient property, it is calculated solely for affording nutrition; and finally, at a certain period from delivery, it gradually becomes impoverished, loses its former healthy qualities altogether, and acquires others which are injurious to life. This important change, as above noticed, generally happens at a certain period after delivery; varying, however, somewhat in particular women, and in the same female on different occasions: but, from disease, or other circumstances, the milk may become deteriorated before the time to which reference has just been made. If, for instance, the mother labour under any serious disorder, it is universally admitted that her milk may also become unhealthy; and this may take place even a short interval after delivery.

Although we cannot explain how the brain and nerves act, and probably never shall be able to do so, yet we are well aware that their influence is absolutely requisite for the healthy performance of every function in the human body.

That mental inquietude will impede digestion is a fact familiar to almost every one; but, I believe, it is not so generally known, that it will with no less certainty retard and alter the nature of the secretion furnished by the breasts of the lactescent female. Violent affections of the mind will cause the milk to become thin and yellowish, and to acquire noxious properties: even the fond mother's anxiety, while hanging over the couch of her sick infant, will be sufficient to render it unfit for the sustenance of the object of her solicitude.

The state also of the stomach and bowels and the diet of the nurse materially and constantly influence the nature of the lacteal secretion.

The milk, besides, is liable to deterioration from another cause, namely, the recurrence of the usual periodical appearance--for should this take place in a nurse, it is agreed that her milk is liable to produce disorders in the child who imbibes it; which could not happen, if the former possessed its ordinary component parts, and retained its natural properties.

The recurrence, moreover, of pregnancy in the lactescent female may render the milk of a bad quality, and will invariably lessen its quantity. Mr. Burns asserts that in these cases the milk 'does not become hurtful,' but in this opinion I must beg leave to differ from him; since I have repeatedly seen it, from this cause, palpably altered in appearance, and have observed diarrha and great debility produced in the children who were suckled with it.

An almost universally received opinion among females, and, indeed, one very frequently entertained by members of the medical profession, is, that while a woman continues to nurse her infant she will not again become pregnant; but this, as a general proposition, is unquestionably erroneous; it is even doubtful whether such opinion will hold good in a majority of instances. The continuance of lactation will very generally, it is true, tend to prevent the recurrence of the periodical phenomenon; yet, nevertheless, it will not in every instance prevent pregnancy. Should, however, a woman with an infant at the breast again become pregnant, (a circumstance that very frequently occurs, and of which, from the general though not invariable absence of those criteria by which this fact is accustomed to be recognised, she is not aware until it has made some progress,) one of two things will usually take place; either she will miscarry, or her milk will become impoverished in quality and diminished in quantity. Nor is this wonderful:--it was not intended by Nature that the processes of pregnancy and lactation should go on simultaneously, but, on the contrary, that the one should commence when the other had terminated; and experience sufficiently proves that they will not proceed well together: the reason of which, as it appears to me, may be easily given. During pregnancy, and particularly during its latter periods, the vessels of the womb gradually enlarge, and a much greater quantity of blood than usual is determined to that organ for the increase and perfection of the embryo and its appendages; which, after delivery, becomes transferred to the breasts to supply the material for the secretion of the milk: but if, during pregnancy, lactation be also persevered in, the blood becomes directed at the same time to two different parts of the body, somewhat remote from each other, namely, to the womb, and to the breasts; hence, neither is likely to receive its due proportion of this vital fluid, and, consequently, the functions of one or the other, or both, are liable to become impeded or suspended. If the breasts continue to receive a sufficient quantity of blood, the secretion of milk goes on properly, but the womb is deprived of its necessary supply; the embryo, in consequence, languishes and dies, and, becoming an extraneous body, is thrown off, producing abortion; while, on the other hand, should the womb still obtain its due proportion of blood, the breasts are robbed of it, and the secretion of milk, if not altogether suppressed, is rendered either deficient in quantity or deteriorated in quality.

Finally, the breast-milk may become depraved and injurious by the process of lactation being continued too long, a practice which is, unfortunately, in this, as well as other countries, extensively prevalent.

I have not yet had an opportunity of examining the breast-milk in these diseased conditions except by the eye, and that rarely--but even this slight examination has enabled me to state, that it was greatly altered from its natural condition;--that it was more fluid than usual, and changed in colour, resembling a yellowish turbid serum, instead of displaying its well-known bluish hue.

I propose in future to attend carefully to this subject, and I would beg leave to recommend it as one well worthy the notice of those members of our profession who have made animal chemistry a particular study, having no doubt that they would be able, by a series of accurate experiments upon the breast-milk at different periods after delivery, and under various conditions of the mother, to collect many interesting and important facts--such, perhaps, as would tend very materially to augment our knowledge of pathology, and improve our practice in the treatment of certain diseases.

We cannot but believe that the Supreme Being has done nothing without an infinitely wise and good object, and it is obviously our interest, no less than our duty, to be guided by those indications of the Divine purpose which are distinctly to be traced throughout the creation.

It must appear evident to all who examine the matter in question, that the infant was intended to be nourished for the first few months of its existence through the medium of a fluid; because no teeth are provided to prepare for its use substances of a more solid description; and there can be no doubt that this fluid is the mother's milk;--but when the child has attained a certain age the teeth begin to appear, doubtless at the precise time when they are meant to be used; and, therefore, more solid food should now be given. Besides, in consequence of its new acquisition, the child sucks less perfectly than before, an additional proof that weaning ought at this period to be commenced. Indeed, the teeth are calculated indirectly to produce this effect themselves, the mother being now liable to suffer inconvenience by letting the child take the breast--for the latter bites instead of sucking the nipple, and the pain hence arising may, perhaps, induce the former, for her own sake, to discontinue a practice injurious to both.

It must also be remembered, that when the teeth are usually produced, the milk loses its nutritious properties, and this too at a time when the infant from his increasing size must evidently require a more solid and substantial, rather than a thinner and less nourishing diet. What rational argument, therefore, can be offered why he should still be suckled? If we observe the brute creation, do any analogies appear by which we can defend the propriety in the human species of protracted suckling? by no means:--on the contrary, we find that the female animals soon drive away their young from their dugs; and what is, perhaps, still more to the purpose, I have heard stated, on good authority, as a well-known fact among the breeders of cattle, that if calves be allowed to suck beyond a few months they do not thrive, but, on the contrary, become lean and diseased.

The belief so generally prevailing, that the longer a child is suckled the stronger it will become, is a prejudice, like many others concerning women and children, which has been handed down from mother to daughter for ages, and has thereby become so universally entertained and so deeply rooted in the minds of females, that even medical men scarcely venture to question its propriety. My own experience, however, compels me to declare, that there is not a more erroneous or mischievous doctrine; and I can most truly affirm, that I never yet witnessed an instance where protracted lactation had produced any good effect, though I have seen numerous examples (some of which will be introduced hereafter) where, I believe, it had been the indirect cause of death.

Having thus strongly noticed the impropriety of long continued suckling, it will, perhaps, be proper to state my opinion as to the period when this process should terminate. As a general rule, at nine months after birth the child ought to be entirely weaned; and in no instance should he be permitted to suck more than ten. In many cases suckling may be relinquished with advantage (and occasionally it is absolutely necessary to discontinue it) before the time first above mentioned; in others, however, it may be protracted beyond it.

I by no means recommend the breast-milk to be at once superseded by artificial food, but, on the contrary, that the child should be gradually accustomed to such aliment from a much earlier period; the proportion of the latter being increased by degrees, while the breast-milk is diminished in a corresponding ratio. Hence we shall produce a double advantage; the mother will be benefited as well as the child--the former, by giving suck less frequently, and in smaller quantities at a time than usual, will have the secretion of milk gradually lessened, and, therefore all likelihood of inconvenience, as far as regards herself when the child is entirely weaned, will be completely prevented; while, on the other hand, the child being insensibly estranged from the breast, will have become accustomed to his new food, so that there will be less chance of its disagreeing with him when it forms his sole support; and thus the danger which is generally apprehended from weaning will be either materially lessened or altogether avoided.

The difficulty of bringing up infants by hand, as it is termed, is well known; but I suspect that the great mortality which has been recorded as occurring from this source is not inseparable from the practice itself, but arises mainly from the improper manner in which it is usually conducted. When it is determined to bring up an infant by hand, the substitute offered for the mother's milk should as nearly as possible resemble that fluid; and the child should be constrained to imbibe it in the same manner as it would the milk from the maternal breast; that is, it should be sucked from a bottle contrived for that purpose, instead of the child being gorged with it, by means of a large spoon, or some other equally improper instrument, as is the usual custom. It is a fact too palpable to be questioned, that the food generally given to infants brought up by hand is not only administered in an improper manner, but is also of an improper quality; their tender stomachs are daily overloaded with solid instead of liquid aliment, and hence arises the numerous train of evils which, in my opinion, produce the great mortality just referred to.