If  the  child  is  not  hungry  it  is  better  to  let  it  wait  till
the  next  feeding- time.  The  infant  should  not  be  left  at
the  breast  for  more  than  10-15  minutes.  If  it  is  hungry
it  will  have  taken  all  it  needs  in  this  period.  If  not,  it  is
better  to  let  it  wait  until  the  next  feeding-time.  It  is  not


288  HYGIENE

good  to  allow  the  child  to  go  off  almost  to  sleep  with  the
nipple  still  in  its  mouth.
There  is  some  difference  of  both  opinion  and  practice  in
regard  to  the  best  intervals  of  feeding,  and  it  is  probable
that  it  is  unwise  to  advocate  any  one  hard-and-fast  rule
for  all  cases.  Much  will  depend  upon  circumstances,  but
it  may  safely  be  said  that  the  intervals  of  feeding  should
in  no  case  be  less  than  three  hours  (weakly,  premature
children  excepted)  and  that  there  should  be  an  eight-hourly
interval  during  the  night.  With  an  average  healthy  child
and  mother,  four-hourly  feeds  are  the  best,  and  can  be
commenced  from  birth.  Some  people  find  it  difficult  to
believe  that  a  child  requires  time  for  digestion,  or  that
its  organs  want  rest,  like  those  of  older  persons.  They  have
an  idea  that  the  more  milk  the  child  gets  the  faster  it  will
grow.  This  is  only  correct  up  to  a  certain  point,  beyond
which  indigestion  will  result.  The  breast-fed  baby  has
distinct  advantages  on  these  points,  since  it  is  less  easy  to
over-feed  it  than  the  bottle-fed  baby.  But  if  the  breast
baby  is  not  hungry,  the  gland  will  not  be  emptied,  as
described  above.  It  will  not  be  hungry  unless  the  stomach
is  allowed  time  for  digestion,  and  for  subsequent  rest.
