[Ger-Poland-Volhynia] Fwd: question

[Otto]

On Sep 20, 2012, at 9:31 AM, Rita Lyster wrote:

> I have a question from my sister-in-law that maybe someone out there has insight into?  Rita Lyster
> Hi Rita,
> I have noticed something as I look at families in my research. Over and over again a youngest child dies within a few weeks, sometimes a month, from the time a new baby is born. I’d like to know why. Could it be because the mother stopped breastfeeding that child to feed the new one? What other reasons can you think of?
> Just wondering,
> LInda


Good observation.
Breast-feeding for less than two years may be an indicator.
The reason was probably ignorance on the part of parents and doctors of the time period.
"Killing kindness" was usually the culprit."
These were days before Pasteur and Lister.  Death reports used the catch-all phrase, "Cramps."

The mothers undoubtedly supplemented the young child's diet with raw cow's, sheep's or goat's milk. .  .
Usually a village shared "cluster immunity", that is, the adults. Young children were vulnerable due to not fully developed immune systems.
http://www.worldwidehealth.com/health-article-Raw-Milk-Contains-Harmful-Bacteria-that-can-be-Life-Threatening.html
http://www.fda.gov/Food/ResourcesForYou/consumers/ucm079516.htm

http://www.fda.gov/food/foodsafety/product-specificinformation/milksafety/ucm122062.htm

1. Is it safe to consume raw milk?
No. FDA and other health agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control and organizations such as the American Academy of Pediatrics agree that raw milk is unsafe because it can contain disease-causing pathogens, including: (a partial list)
Enterotoxigenic Staphylococcus aureus
Campylobacter jejuni
Salmonella species
E. coli
Listeria monocytogenes
Mycobacterium tuberculosis
Mycobacterium bovis
Brucella species
Coxiella Burnetii
Yersinia enterocolitica
Illnesses caused by these bacteria can be especially problematic for infants, young children, the elderly, and the immunocompromised. One complication that can arise as a result of infection with E. coli O157:H7 is hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), which can cause acute renal failure, especially in the very young or the elderly.

 

A quote from Wikipedia:
"Improperly handled raw milk is responsible for nearly three times more hospitalizations than any other food-borne disease outbreak, making it one of the world's most dangerous food products"

. . .   Otto
         " The Zen moment..." wk. of January 01, 2012-
                _____________________________________
                "The World Is . . . what we make of it."