Complications of the puerperium

ABSTRACT

The two vitally important considerations for the tropical infant are breast-feeding and avoidance of infection. Artificial feeding may be safe in good social circumstances, but when mothers lack money, knowledge, and facilities the bottle-fed baby usually receives a dilute mixture of unsatisfactory milk adulterated with a starchy pap, often grossly contaminated. Malnutrition and gastro-enteritis inevitably result (AU)