Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-10-14
CARING FOR BABIES.
French Home Where Little
Ones Are Reared.
ASSISTED BY THE STATE
Story Of La Pouponniere-Conserva'
ton Of the Population-Looking
After Mothers.
From the London Queen.

village surrounded by fields and forests
is little group of spick and span houses
each in its own garden. In these gardens.
either lying in perambulators or sprawl
ing on the grass or toddling off on the
| hundred and one tiny enterprises Of per-
| sons under three years old, may be seen
almost every variety OF little French
baby. Such at first glance is La Pou-
ponniere.
Its 80 children represent a determined
effort by French philanthropists. aided
| by the state, to stem the tide Of diminish.
ing population in France. Their success,
within the limits of the institution, has
been astonishing, for the death rate of
babies from one day to one year old is
! ) per cent there. compared with 80 per
cent in some of the large towns.
incidentally, the Pouponniere acts as
rescue home for girls who have given
birth to a first child. for the infant popu-
! lation is made up half Of babies belonging
| to deserted wives or unmarried girls and
| half Of the offspring of working class
parents in circumstances which make II
| especially hard to bring up children al
| home. These unmarried girls or deserted
| wives are admitted, each one with her
baby. and each is given as a foster child
| one of the other class OF infant inhabit-
ants. the baby who Is put out to nurse
at the Pouponniere for a weekly payment
| by its parents.
Infants in Paris.
Each woman, therefore, is in the posi-
ton Of having twins to care for. The
supervision is SO thorough that there is
little possibility of her favoring her own
child at the expense OF the other. should
she be tempted to do so. The babies
have alternate feeds from the breast and
from the bottle. and, strange as 1t may
seem, these meals are all taken In COM
| mon. The women meet together In
large room at fixed hours, the superin-
tendents weigh each baby with the most
minute exactitude, and the mothers then
feed them, after which they are weighed
again.
There are slight variations in the or
ganization Of the different houses. In
| some each mother has a room to herself.
| in which are her own bed and two cradles
for the babies. In others again the
| babies sleep alone and the mothers in
dormitories. one person being up all
night to give the necessary attention.
In this way the mothers are only dis
turbed to provide last meal at 1890 at
night.
Light and Air.
A supreme degree Of cleanliness reigns
throughout. 1t is less an absence Of dirt
than something positive. a feast OF light
and air. This result is obtained partly
by the free use Of glass instead Of wood
the cupboards. for instance. and the up
per parts Of doors and some partition
walls are Of glass, admitting light every
| where. and on which no particle OF dust
! can lodge undetected.
Not only in those buildings given up
| to the immediate use Of the babies is the
perfection Of cleanliness and organization
| reached, but also in those on which the
health OF the infant community almost
| as directly depends. Perfectly clean and
airy is the stable in which nine mag
pasture. Again. the laundry. where some
fourteen thousand articles are washed
weekly, is not only admirably efficient In
its washing and drying arrangements.
but 50 well aired that the always arduous
conditions OF laundry work are reduced
to q minimum. Hero the girls 50 busily
at work are former mothers" who are
learning a useful trade before going out
into the world again
School for Teaching.
A recent and interesting development
of the Pouponniere is a school for teach
ing what is known in France as pueri-
| culture. A boarding house has been
opened for girls wishing to become nurses.
VI 1OI IIioSC WIZ 0O llOI ACCQ 10 e0II1
their own living but are anxious to have
some training in this all-important mat
ter. Here they have a fine lecture room
laboratory and library, besides q kitchen
for the preparation Of modified milk and
other infant foods, while the close
proximity Of the $50 babies gives them
ample opportunity for practical work. At
the end OF their course they have an ex-
animation, which entities them, II sue
cessful, to a diploma instruction 10 not
however. confined to these special
students. The mothers themselves have
the most thorough training imaginable
from growing vegetables in the garden
to infant hygiene, sewing, cooking and
nursing.
No one who has visited the Pouponniere
could describe it, however slightly. with
out emphasizing the delightful spirit
which reigns throughout. The affection
of each young mother. looking so fresh
in her pink check cotton dress, for her
two babies is obvious. She is full Of in
terest in her congenial work, eager in
most cases to do her best. to show her
gratitude to those who have helped her
in her extremity and to earn her wages
to the full. For she is paid for her work.
and this is probably no small factor in
her moral rehabilitation. The babies
too, have a naturally trusting outlook
on the world. and the toddlers Of two
years old who can speak a little answer
Ia vic in,