"Tips for the Mother"

Wskazowki dla Matki, originally uploaded by *Karo*.

Today I went digging through a bunch of papers that my father foisted on me when my mom died, because I was hoping to find a copy of my birth certificate from Poland so I could find out how much I weighed when I was born. I didn't find a birth certificate, but I did find something better -- a little booklet titled Child's Health Booklet, issued by the Polish Ministry of Health and Human Services. Apparently this was where a child's medical records were stored for their entire life -- I can't imagine what happened if someone lost their kid's book. Anyhow, I can barely make out anything in there because all the handwriting is so bad, but it appears that I weighed 3800 grams at birth (8lbs6oz), which was followed by some chicken scratch and the number 54. I'm guessing that's 54 centimeters length (21.3 inches).

The best part of this booklet is the large stamp placed on the last page, titled "Instructions for the Mother." Please feast your eyes on the following instructions given to new mothers in Poland in 1976:

1. Breastfeed _6_ times a day from the hours of _6:00 a.m._ to _11:00 p.m._

2. Feed boiled sugar water. 1 tsp. of sugar per 100 ml. of water.

3. Bathe daily.

4. Go on walks daily.

5. Wash umbilical cord with rubbing alcohol twice a day.

6. Report to Room D in two days.

Also included are two recipes for what I can only assume is something you're supposed to be feeding your kid from the get-go. One is 1/2 kg. of carrots boiled in 1 liter of water for 1 hour and passed through a strainer. The other is 3 tsp. of powdered milk, 1 1/2 tsp. sugar, and 100 ml of water boiled for 5 minutes.

I really, really wish my mother was still alive so I could ask her if people really starved their babies for 7 hours a night. Jesus.

Comments

[Loren]

Thanks for the insihgt. It brings light into the dark!