The Detroit times., 1910-11-10

row and suffering
involved Is appal-
ling.
II has been estimated by ID. Irving
Fisher that AZ per cent OF all the
deaths OF children below the age oil
two years could be prevented II the
country exercised its knowledge OF
sanitary measures. He estimates that
81 per cent OF the children who die
between the ages of two and eight
years, might have their life-span
Heightened IL only ignorance. poverty,
and dirt were banished from the
neighborhood OF the cradle and the
trundle-bed.
Last year the American Academy
OF Medicine called conference OF
men and women interested in pre-
venting infant mortality to meet at
Yale University. The call challenged
the support OF nearly every leader In
the child welfare movement In the
United States The literature brought
out on the question OF preventing in
FAINT mortality was so rich In sugges-
tons that II was decided TO create an
association, to meet annually. for the
purpose of mutual study and consid-
L GIAllOn Vi the plOOAChA OCAOAN NhoN
conference. The papers read before
the conference have been published
in book form for the information OF
the medical fraternity and the human
itarians of America.
The academy at the Yale confer
ence went on record as in favor OF
uniform birth and death registration
laws; the reporting to the health au-
thorities, of all communicable dis
eases; and the training OF all school
teachers in the essentials OF physical
life, that they In turn may conscious
ly guide their pupils into more in
telligent valuation OF the Inheritance
OF life and the responsibilities, and
duties of home making. II believes
the saying that the training OF a
child begins with its grandparents is
true, and would, therefore, study I'm
timately the prenatal as we'll as the
postnatal influences that make for the
health and well-being OF the infant
population of the nation.
The situation confronting the
American people today Is a peculiar
one. Preventive medicine gradually
has extended the span of life OF those
beyond the infantile period; but in
the face of a gradually decreasing
birth-rate, little has been done toward
decreasing the infant death rate. This
spells an economic scarcity OF chill
dren, and has aroused the thinking
men of the nation to the necessity Of
infant conservation. II is true that
In certain progressive cities the In
FAINT death-rate has been wonderfully
curtailed. II is not long since one
child out of every three born in New
York City. died before it's first birth
day. Now the rate is only one out
OF every six.
Medical men and sociologists gen.
| orally agree that there are many pre-
natal conditions conductive to a high
death-rate among infants. The asso-
citation is aiming TO arouse the peo-
pie OF the country to this situation,
so that every child that comes into
the world may be blessed with a
healthy parenthood, unhandicapped
by inherited conditions.
Perhaps the greatest menace TO
child life Is impure milk. In the city
Of Rochester the mortality rate
among infants fell of So per cent af-
ter the institution OF carefully
guarded municipal milk supply. II
also has been shown that, even under
the best possible conditions, cows
milk is not as good for the infant as
natures nourishment. Calves may
flourish on 1t, but the records OF
Europe and America show that the
bottle-fed baby has less chance OF
winning lifes struggle than the one
to which the bottle is a stranger. The
association is strongly of the opinion
that a baby unnecessarily forced to
live on bottle Is having its life
gambled away. This is especially
true in view of the fact that nearly
three-fourths OF the babies of the
country who are bottle-fed get milk
unsuited to their needs, IL IL has not
indeed been produced under unsanl-
tary conditions.
Ignorance reigns with reference to
other things as we'll as the handling
of milk A statistical inquiry among
large number of poor mothers show
ed that only one out Of every five
gave their babies water to drink. The
same is true In the case OF salt. One
physician records the fact that he
asked a mother what she fed her
baby. Same thing my mother fed
me-" was the laconic reply. What
was that?" pressed the physician.
Same thing she ate" was the an
swer. When he further queried what
her mother had eaten. she replied
that il was buttermiIk and rye bread.
Asked what she was eating, she re-
Piled: "Saurkraut and sausage"
Figures covering many years show
Il is far better to be born in the coun-
try than in the city The country
baby has so per cent more chance
successfully TO weather the dreaded
first year than the city infant This
is attributed in part to the excess of
bottle-feG babies in the city and in
part TO the better sanitary surround
| ings OF the country. Wherever city
children have been taken TO the
country in numbers, the result al
ways has been diminishing death
rate among them. The improved
transportation facilities that permit
the city worker to have a suburban
home have proved an important fac
tor in the child-saving campaign.
The experience of the social work
ers at Sea Breeze and Junior Sea
Breeze indicate how much may be
done in lowering the infant mortality
rate by the observance OF known
rules Of health. Sea Breeze is a New
York philanthropy for INDECENT moth
ers and helpless babies. A record