A well-known English writer states that "water to the body - to the whole body - is a necessity of life, of health, and of happiness; it wards off disease, it braces the nerves, it hardens the frame, it is the finest tonic in the world."

On the word "tonic" the whole subject hinges. Every one knows that food, even in such a simple form as milk, may be given to excess, with the production of illness, and that medicines are yet more easily abused. Why, then, if the bath be a tonic agent, may it not be often used injudiciously and to the detriment of the child?

Intelligent nurses, who have grown gray in service, often say they have seen babies "washed into heaven." This act has never been actually accomplished in my experience, but it has been often enough approached to justify introducing this chapter with the caution that, should the infant be ailing, the bath had better be discontinued until the physician can be consulted. This, of course, does not preclude ordinary cleanliness, for every part of the child's body liable to become soiled can be readily cleaned by the use of a moist sponge, with or without soap, and without bringing into play any of the medicinal or, in other words, tonic effects of the bath.

The initial bath differs from those that succeed it during infancy in the fact that it involves a special procedure, namely, the removal of the vernix caseosa, a tenacious, white paste-like material, which usually adheres to the skin of the new-born. This should be removed as soon after birth as the nurse, having made the mother comfortable, can turn her attention to the child, and this process consists in first rubbing the whole surface gently, though thoroughly, with a bit of soft flannel covered with white vaseline or fresh lard, and next wiping off the softened, greasy coating with a dry piece of absorbent cotton, or a very soft towel; especial care being taken to thoroughly clean the arm-pits, and the creases back of the ears and in the groins and buttocks. A dry, sterile dressing is then applied to the cord; a flannel binder adjusted; the face washed with warm water and a soft wash cloth of absorbent cotton; the baby enveloped in a warmed blanket, laid in its crib, on its right side, in a quiet and darkened room, and allowed to sleep for six hours.

After this preliminary cleansing, one bath a day should be the rule until the completion of the third year of life.

For the first ten days the infant must be bathed on the lap, or "sponged," a full tub-bath never being given until the cord has fallen off and the navel healed. For the first bath the water should have a thermometer measured temperature of 100° F., the same water must not be used in washing the body, and the face and head, or the reverse, and in giving the bath the abdominal binder is neither to be removed nor allowed to become wet. The nurse, seated on a low chair with her gown protected with an upper flannel and an under rubber apron, should take the infant, naked with the exception of the binder and wrapped in a warmed blanket, upon her lap and proceed in the following way: Wash the face and head with warm water - no soap - and a wash cloth and carefully dry. Clean the eyes by squeezing a solution of boric acid (one teaspoonful to four ounces of water) from a thoroughly saturated bit of absorbent cotton into the inner corner of each eye letting it run under the lids, the infant being placed on its back and the head turned to the right for the right and the left for the left eye; the cotton must be held quite close, a new piece used for each eye, and after the douching the wet cotton is passed over the eyes so as to gently wipe them. The infant being still on its back, clear the nose with a little alboline dropped from a medicine dropper into each nostril, this causes sneezing with the expulsion of the softened nasal mucus. Wash the mouth with a small swab of absorbent cotton wet with normal saline solution, passing it gently over the whole surface, including the tongue, gums, cheeks and roof of the mouth; the nurse's finger must never be used. Clean the ears, so far as possible without penetrating the auditory canal, with warm, unsoaped water and a soft wash cloth. Next bathe the body with castile soap and warm water applied by a wash cloth, being careful not to wet the binder, then wash away the soap with a sponge, and, finally, pat the surface dry with a very soft towel. With girl babies, clean the external genitals, each day, with absorbent cotton saturated with boric acid solution. With boys, the foreskin must be retracted every other day and the parts gently bathed to remove all secretions.

The daily full tub-bath is, as already stated, begun after the navel has healed, and is in some of its details similar to "sponging." This bath must be given by the monthly nurse so long as she remains in attendance; afterward the mother is the proper person, unless the nurse-maid be exceptionally careful and experienced; and even in this event the mother should superintend the process.

A tub with a supply of water, a piece of soft flannel for a wash-rag, absorbent cotton, a fine sponge, a bit of good soap and several soft towels are the necessary articles. A long apron made of soft flannel is also useful, and it is well to provide a low chair and a piece of oilcloth to place on the floor underneath the tub. The former enables the bather to get more on a level with her work and make a deeper lap for the child to rest in, and the latter receives any water that may be splashed about. A stand is now made to hold the baby's bathtub, Fig. 15, and is so contrived that it can be folded up and laid away when not in use. It is convenient, inasmuch as it obviates the necessity of stooping over, by bringing the child more on a level with the bather. It has straps and hooks attached to the sides to hold the tub firmly in place while in use.

Fig. 15. - Bath Table. a, a, elastic tapes for steadying tut