Salt Lake Telegram | 1928-04-20 | Page 21 | Your Baby and Mine

A Y By MYRTLEI EREL Q fu ED Mrs Eldred will willbe willbe willbe be glad to answer all questions pertaining per per- tanning to babies and children A stamped and self self- addressed envelope fi S 'S t ope forwarded to The T e legram m will bring a personal per reply G HOLDING BREATH NOT ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS AL AL- WAYS INDICATIVE OF TEMPER 1 There her is a rather commOn common belief bellef and sometimes truly danger dangerous uS u'S to the child that when he is mad he holds his breath It is a rather common trick for babies to hold the breath when it is im impossIble impossible impossible im- im possible for them thorn to hurt themselves themselves themselves themselves' them them- selves selves' by so doing if it is just tempel tem tem- per pel Inevitably they must draw a breath and then it is over There is another kind of ot breath holding which has no relation to temper at all and which is in fact an indication of one of two things Neither one can ran afford to be dis dis- regarded and dub dubbed clubbed ed temper A mother may notice that wh n a achild achild achild child becomes excited or cries hard or is hurt he suddenly turns very blue goes limp and afterwards is almost ill for the rest of the day This is not temper for a baby who holds his breath from temper shows no such after effect The usual cause of this other breath holding is an enlarged thymus thymus thy thy- mus gland bland The thymus gland situated situated situated sit sit- in the upper chest is very large in the infant and gradually deteriorates If it is unusually large it causes trouble for for it presses prE on the respiratory organs and when there is any excitement the effect is the one described above When the child reacts this way on many occasions dont don't call it temper but take the child to a doctor who will X ray the gland and see if it ft itis itis is larger than it should be X-ray X treatments are then used to reduce its size and the symptoms will end If the baby has a weak heart he would react much the same way to excitement or injury and naturally slapping his hands or throwing water water wa wa- ter in his face which seem to be bethe bethe bethe the things thing mo most t mothers are ad- ad IRed to do for holding holding- is far from the proper proper procedure anc and I would only tend to excite the child more In treating breath holding the mother can call it temper i ithe if the child shows no bad effects o ohis of his little spell If he is weak and limp afterwards he is holding his Is breath not because he lie wants to gain his own ends b but t because he lie cant can't get his breath for he is temporarily tem tem- suffocated We Ve hope that this explanation 1 Is going to prevent some small smaIl baby being spanked and slapped fo for breath holding instead of being hurried to the doctor as s he should be