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No. 9 (Spring 1954)
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MOTHERCRAFT
The Maori Mother and her Child

By KERITAPU

Preparation for the Coming Baby

Both parents should look forward with pleasure to the coming baby. Father, of course, cannot share the strain and discomforts of pregnancy, but he should know how very important it is for his wife to have proper care and sympathetic understanding at this time.

He should assist her with some of the hard work about the house such as heavy lifting, scrubbing, and washing; and help in every way to make her life as pleasant and free from irritation and anxiety as possible.

A joyful attitude of mind towards parenthood, joint planning for baby's arrival and observance of instructions given by the doctor and public health nurse, all help towards laying a good foundation for baby's future and promoting health and happiness for the mother.

Apart from following the rules of health, the expectant mother must make certain other preparations for baby's arrival. It is also important that father is interested in those preparations. After all, he has a share in the all important coming event.

Care of the Baby

In order to keep the baby in good health, there are certain definite essentials. Water, air, food, clothing, bathing, exercise, warmth, cleanliness, regularity of habits, mothering, management, rest and sleep. These simple requirements should be met by all parents. Let us consider how they can be applied in any home.

The baby should be in the charge of the mother for at least a year, unless she is suffering from tuberculosis or other severe illness, or unless baby is premature or delicate, in which case the nurse must be consulted at once.

Registration of Births

Itis necessary to register the baby within two months of birth. Registration forms can be obtained from the Registrar of Births and Deaths of Maoris in your district and he is usualy the head teacher of Maori schools. (A registration certificate must be produced before family allowance can be claimed.) Do it early.

Baby's Clothing

Baby's clothes should be warm yet light in weight, non-irritating, simple, attractive and easy to make. All garments should be in the loose magyar style with no bulky bands. They are easy to launder and can be trimmed with embroidery or lace if desired. Usually about three sets of clothes are necessary. The extras such as pilchers, shawls, bonnets, bibs, and bootees can be added later. They are frequently received as gifts to the baby.

It is a wise mother who prepares baby's clothes as well as her own before the eighth month of pregnancy and has everything ready for her confinement. It is an old time superstitution, and is still believed in some cases, that baby's layette must not be got ready before he is born, or something will go wrong. The point is, baby's clothes must be laundered before he wears them. Frequently, a new baby arrives with no clothes ready, a wild rush is made to buy something from the stores, full of stiff starch and dust. For guidance as to suitable material and patterns consult your public health nurse.

This list is a good guide for baby's outfit:

For day wear:

3 cellular cotton shirts (to be worn next to skin).

3 silk and wool singlets.

3 petticoats.

4 frocks, material suitable to season.

For night wear:

3 nightgowns, material suitable to season.

24–36 napkins, flannelette or towelling.

3 flannel squares.

2 small towels.

2 face washers or cloths.

2 clean cotton binders, to keep cord dressings in place.

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3 matinee jackets.

2 pairs of gloves for cold weather.

In warmer weather care should be taken to reduce the weight of baby's clothing. Less woollen stuff should be worn as baby overheats the same as an adult, and often breaks out in a heat rash usualy caused by too much woollen clothing.

The use of plastic or water-proof pilchers should be condemned, as these are apt to cause an irritation of the buttocks.

Baby's Room and Cot

Baby should always sleep in a cot by himself—never in his Mother's bed—preferably in a room by himself. If a separate room is not possible for baby he must sleep in the far corner of his parent's room, so that a current of air can pass between his cot and his mother's bed. The room should be well ventilated. Baby's cot should be screened at the head to keep draughts off him, but not covered up so much that no air is admitted. Covering up baby's face while he is asleep is dangerous when the covering is of heavy materials. A mosquito net is best.

The cot should be of the open wire or wicker kind. These can be easily cleaned and conveniently carried. No drapings or frills should be used, as they harbour dust and exclude the air.

The canvas folding type of cot is frequently seen, but it is less satisfactory than the wire or wicker one. The cot should be made up with a firm horse-hair mattress, chaff mattress, and pillow; enveloping and cuddling blankets, bed blanket, small mackintosh sheet, and quilt. Soft blankets are much warmer than those that are thick and felted. In cold weather a hot water bag may be used, protected with a flannel cover, and filled with water at a temperature of 108 degrees F., placed between the mattresses (not next to baby), the stoppered end towards the foot of the cot.

Baby's clothes and equipment should be kept separate from those of the rest of the house-hold. The task will be a lot easier if he has a rom to himself, if possible. If father is handy, he can make the screen and chest of drawers for baby's clothes, the low stool for bathing and mothering, and toilet tray, the tin with a lid to cover, one other for soiled napkins and clothes.

The new born baby requires special care. For the first week he should be kept indoors, and if the weather is cold a fire may be necessary; after that he must be kept in the open air and sunshine as much as possible. If it is

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fine and warm, place the cot in the garden in the shade of the hedge or a tree, or on the verandah protected by a dark screen from the glare of the sun.

In summer a mosquito net may be necessary to keep off flies and insects. If baby has to sleep in his pram during the day, see that the wheels are fixed to prevent the pram running away.

Care should be taken to see that he is not too hot. He should be placed on his side, tucked firmly and securely but with a certain amount of freedom for movement. He must not be wrapped up tight with no freedom for movement. His position should be changed every time he is attended to.

As baby gets older he can be taken out in his pram, which should be made with a ventilated wicker hood lined with green. There should be no ball fringers or rattles on the front of the pram. This is injurious to the eyes because of the constant movement when the pram is wheeled about.

Many a mother is afraid that cool air is bad for baby, and liable to give him a cold. This is far from right. Provided baby is properly clothed and accustomed to being out of doors whenever the weather permits, he is much less likely to catch a cold outside than if he were kept in a warm, stuffy room.