I get such joy from the many wonderful things my grandmother saved during her life, from the rose she carried at her wedding to her letters from a European trip. My latest fun find is a set of doctor’s instructions from my uncle’s infancy in February-May 1945, which provides a fascinating window into state-of-the-art baby care, 1940s-style. Primarily her doctor is instructing her how to mix her own formula using a variety of brand-name supplements. Though the mid-century decline in breastfeeding is usually tied to the introduction of formula in the ’40s, it appears that the proliferation of such supplements also contributed. Though we now know that breast is best, this baby was born when better living through science was the national religion.
You’ll also see instructions for cleaning the baby’s navel, which respond to a different innovation from the ’40s: the introduction of newborn nurseries in hospitals, which increased the risk of cord infections. Judging by the dates, mother and baby were in the hospital for a week post-birth. Though the duration put baby’s belly-button at risk, overall the length of stay is one way in which the ’40s had it right.
Here are some of the highlights. Click on any image to see it full-sized:
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- First ingredient of the formula recipe is Karo (corn syrup)
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- “Widely used as a carbohydrate supplement to milk in infant feeding” (source)
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- “Mother can’t always get Karo for my rations”
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- The other main ingredient is irradiated milk (fortified, condensed milk). The card lists “Pet milk,” once a major brand, though this doctor seems brand-agnostic. The instructions for the navel mention mercurochrome, which is now banned for containing mercury, which is poisonous!
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- “Many thousands of babies are building sound and vigorous bodies from these extraordinary qualities of Pet Milk.”
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- Addition of ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) and Navitol (Vitamins A & D). The navel is now treated with Phemerol (Benzethonium chloride), still used today in anti-bacterial products.
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- “Convenient for Mothers”
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- Addition of Pabena (pre-cooked oatmeal)
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- “Oatmeal enriched with vitamin and mineral supplements…requires no cooking”
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- First food! Cereal, hard boiled egg yolk, and bananas!
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- New food! Soft-boiled egg yolk, canned vegetable soup, and strained fruit!
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Now I understand why it is called infant “formula.” That never made any sense to me before. Not only the corn syrup but also egg yellows and vitamin A would be contraindicated today. But somehow people managed to survive childhood back then. Have you seen this http://www.huffingtonpost.com/amy-morrison/motherhood_b_2271349.html
That article is awesome. “I can’t find the baby’s footprint keepsake kit” — ha! I do think we overly fetishize childhood in this country (and I’m on the front lines with my incessant photography of my nieces). Sometimes I wonder if we’re somehow aware on a subconscious level that we live in this rare, privileged time & place where children can enjoy childhood and are largely guaranteed to survive it…
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