The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1905-04-02
Thinks Birth Insurance Betters Gen.
eral Conditions.


the best
Thinks Birth Insurance 6etters Gen.
eraI Conditions.
"I believe in birth insurance" she
says. because I think it makes for
better conditions generally. As a nurse
L saw many things that lead to this
belief
In the first place. the question of
finance is always a perpleXing one to
young parents-how To provide for the
necessary medical expenses, clothes,
etc. being more than many could eX-
acuy answer. Therefore. IT seemed to
me that anything which would provide
the necessary money for these expenses
was a good thing.
we insure against accident, fire,
death and burglary Why not against
birth?
Another good feature Of the scheme
is that persons SO insured cannot re-
CeiVe a premium for a second birth un-
less at least eighteen months have
elapsed. This. il Will be seen, does not
encourage too rapid increase in fami-
lies, which tax the mothers strength
too much and deprive both children Of
their birthright. This matter cannot
always be regulated, but anything that
tends to discourage it is, to my mind,
good.
Then, again. you see the money
financial factor in the family. Under
existing conditions many men look up
ON their wives and children as eXDen-
sive necessities. BY this system, the
father is not i'm il. so far as paying the
bills are concerned. unless il is that he
pays the premiums Then his expense
is comparatively small.
My nursing experiences led me into
families Of moderate and small means.
I'm one case, after ten days. while the
mother was yet in bed. the father de-
cided that they would be unable to
keep me longer. There were two other
children, the oldest under 3. so this
mother, with three listle children. and
only middle-aGed woman to assist
her. was left to assume the whole care
when she should have been cared for
herself for at least a week longer.
In another case ] was engaged for
two weeks. The mother, anxious TO be
UP and capable of caring for herself and
little one. did too much on the twelfth
d2y. So that she had to go back 90 bed
and I had to stay longer.
"In Yet another case the family tried
10 do without Il regular nurse. depend
inE on one young girl to do the house
work and the neighbors and the father
to do the nursing. This treatment. to-
EetheT with an incompetent doctor. sue
ceedcd i'm keeping the mother an in
valid for over six months.
I'm all these cases $50 would have
seemed large amount to the parents.
It would have enabled the mother 10
have had little delicaCies. a competent
housckeeper to relieve her mind o
housekeeping cares or some little gar
rent which she coveted for her baby.
Insurance a Means of Putting Moth
erhood on a Paying Basis.
Last. but not least, the husband
would have looked upon his wife diff
forently. In all my nursing experiences
it has been the mother who has been
called upon to save expenses at this
time The father has been glad to have
his baby. but his feeling seems to have
been that the mother could have given
u to him without expense. In many
instances the father IN the sick room
has cited cases where his mother. or
his aunt, or n woman he used to know
washed and dressed her baby the third
or nth day. He would not want his
wife 20 do il. for he thinks too much of
her. but babies are an awful expense
All this should not be, but all this
is a fact, and insurance, by putting
motherhood on a paying basis, will do
much toward lifting the burden of eX-
uense from the mind of prospective
mothers who avail themselves of its
benefits.
such cases as these 7 have cited
make for race suicide. OF which good
talk. in my early days i'm Vermont
W mere I was born on a Royalton farm
81 years agO-large families were the
rule. because expense did not enter as
TT does now. NJ the old district school
there were many such families as the
president delights in.
AT Montpelier seminary there were
many girls in my class who were of
large families: few Of Them, however
have large families themselves.
Then fN-fhinor a Ie4N--
ing the seminary. and boarding around,
as the custom was then, gave me an
insight into many of the troubles due
10 the expense OF motherhood.
Later I saw more of the same thing.
when I left the Rhode Island hospital
after taking a course i'm nursing. In
the next five years nursing in Vermont
I saw many tough cases.
Personally. / cannot say that my eX-
perience has been hard. but the pay
ments of even $50 when babies come
are very welcome. That. as l under
stand it. is the smallest one can get,
while it is possible, If one is paying
assessments long enough, to receive as
high as $500. That gives a chance not
only 20 provide for the little stranger.
but TO lay something away in the bank
for the joint use of the family. for
the little one itself. when il becomes
Of age 10 go to college, say.
Husband Agrees With Wife-Noted
Women Back of Plan.
Il have two babies-Marfon. aged 3.
and James. who is but . months. There
is Marion, who can speak for herself.
She likes To have her pictures taken.
Little James, or Billy Buster as his
father calls hints not so good a sub
Ject. We try TO bring up both on what
might be called advanced lines.
Marion, for example. has had one
or Philips Brooks beautiful hymns for
her cradle song since she was born. and
she has been able 10 repeat il since
she was ?.
Ihen she has her baby book. and
she is very fond of that. In il. Won
see, are various pictures of her, mostly