By JANINE RANKIN – Manawatu Standard | Thursday, 10 July 2008
Increasing use of man- made materials, instead of old- fashioned wool, means many babies are not getting the sort of heat their young bodies need.
“It is pretty horrifying,” says midwife Kelly Manninen.
“I probably see it once a month, it might be in a state house, with no heating, and no woollens for the baby, and it’s just not a safe environment.”
It’s partly poverty and partly ignorance, she says, that’s seen a decline in parents using woollen clothes and blankets.
“We see babies who are cold and suffering.”
She says a lot of knowledge about baby care has been lost, because grandparents are busy and often separated from young parents who just don’t know that natural fibres are best for babies.
“They are trying, but just don’t have the resources sometimes.”
Price was a barrier when a woollen singlet might cost $20, but cotton singlets could be picked up for $2.
“And we hardly ever see woollen blankets. It’s all polar fleece and fake mink that looks pretty but doesn’t do a good job.”
Colleague Annie Kinloch says babies struggling for energy to keep warm are slower to thrive and put on weight.
And the risk with synthetics is not just that babies get cold, but they can also get too hot under layers that don’t breathe.
If they get hot and sweaty, they are in double trouble through risk of dehydration and because when they do cool down, their clothes and bedding are damp. Wool, on the other hand, is warm even when wet.
“It’s quite significant the number of homes we go to where they have nothing made from wool.”
Feilding knitter Lynda Allan is doing her bit to help, but she’s looking for more knitters and more wool supplies so that she can provide woollen garments for midwives to give away or sell for a small donation to families they see struggling to clothe a young baby.
“There’s a real need out there, and I see the midwives getting quite stressed.”
Mrs Allan says she understands that modern mums don’t want to dress their babies in frumpy styles of past generations, and she has patterns for making woollen knits that are fashionable.
She can also give advice on how to wash wool to dispose of the argument that man-made fabrics are so much easier to launder and keep in shape.
“I just want to help them stock up with something to give to those who desperately need it.”
She says donations for knitted items will be used to buy more quality woollen yarn to keep volunteer knitters in supplies.
Helpers can contact Mrs Allan on 323-4755.
