ABSTRACT
A MOTHER will try to suckle her baby very soon after birth, and if the flow of milk is delayed she gets alarmed. When baby has started sucking then she will feed it irregularly, at all hours, trying to pacify it in this way if it cries. The baby often gets more milk than it can digest and is sick in consequence. Babies are fed at the breast for quite two years, and generally much longer, the rule being that at least two years should elapse before the birth of another child. Before they are weaned babies will be given a cooked stick of cassava root or a sweet potato to suck, or a little mealie porridge. When weaned they eat almost anything. Mothers generally bring a little hand-basket to church or to class with some food for the child to keep it quiet. The shells of ground-nuts, bits of cold porridge, and other scraps are often left scattered about on the floor of the church. Children are often spoilt, and their mothers let them scream with passion as long as they like. We have often considered the advisability of having a crèche outside for the babies during the hours of service.
