Arizona sentinel and Yuma weekly examiner., 1913-06-26
BABY SAVING CAMPAIGNS


 of Labor, Children's Bureau, Washing ton, D. C., comes the following inter
 esting report:
 What the American cities are doin
 and can do toward preventing infan
 mortality and the high death rate o children under years of age is tn subject of a bulletin now in press b. the Children's Bureau. It is the pun pose of the bureau to issue a simila bulletin annually and in time to mak it complete manuel for municipa and philanthropic activities in the di rection of child welfare. Summe
 campaigns for babies lives have beel waged with such marvellously good ef feet in some cities, that it seems to tn,
 bureau important to enlist the energie,
 of as many cities in this work as possi ble. To this end it will be helpful tt
 collect and>present for the information
 of all, the little or much that is being
 done by the various cities.
 The efforts of city health official:
 have resulted in the last ten years il reducing the general death rate in the cities, below that of the rural districts and villages. This reduction in the general death rate san encouraging indication of what is possible of accom-, plishment in efforts to reduce the in. fant death rate. Babies die of diseases which to a great extent are prevent able, an dthus when welfare work is directed toward saving their lives the response is immediate and decided. In certain large cities such as New York and Philadelphia the result of system atic summer baby-saving campaigns has been shown in a reduction of be- tween 30 and 40 per cent in the deaths of children under two years of age, in the wards where the work was con- centrated.
 Practically the only limit of the good results to be obtained by enthusiastic campaigns lies in the financial side of the question. The investigations of the Children's bureau indicate that the principal impediment to ef- fective work in the health depart ments of most cities is the lack of adequate funds for carrying on proven tive measures intelligently, and exper ence verifies the truth of that motto of the New York Health Department Public health is purchasable; within natural limitatins a community can determine it's own death rate.
 ENCOURAGEMENT OF BREAST, FEEDING It is estimated that a | baby nursed by it's mother has approx | imately ten times the chances to live hat a bottle-fed baby has. All vel | fare workers, therefore, are advised O encourage mothers to make every | effort to carry out this most import | ant maternal duty.
 INSPECTION OF MILK SUPPLY. A clean supply is a fundamental need. The ideal is; Nothing short of clean milk for everybody. But the need for the prompt remedy of bad milk conditions is more urgent in its 'elation to the welfare of babies than o that of adults, since dirty milk is argely responsible for the occurrence )f diarrhea and enteritis, the most requent causes of death among in. ants. The remedy lies in the intel igent and effective inspection Of arms, the means of transportation md the shops where milk is sold, and n ordinances governing the sale of dipped" or loose" milk.
 MILK STATIONS constantly in reasing number of cities of all sizes Ire establishing milk stations and dis 'ensing milk, whether pure whole milk, certified, modifier, pasteuriZed, or ster- liZed milk to mothers of babies that nuts be bottle fed. Some of the cit es in which such institutions are main aimed are: Albany, Baltimore, Bos- on, Buffalo, chicago, Dayton Hartford. Honolulu, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Mass, Louisville, Lowell, Newark, New Bedford, New Haven, New York, Peoria, Pitts 'urg, Providence, Rochester, St. Louis, Springfield, Ohio, Waterbury, Wilkes Barre, 'Worchester, Yonkers and Utica.
 The milk station is simply a room large to accommodate the ( 'atrons and equipped with large ice { 'ox, desk, some chairs, and a table Ii An ordinary store is suitable for a II tation and sometimes, as in the case l ,f the station at Utica, N. Y. a chOol may be used for the purpose. f The station is usually under the char Ii ,e of a nurse, and a physician is in I ttendance at stated hours. ( BABY CLINICS. Baby clinics are { n almost inevitable outgrowth of the [ 1ilk stations. It becomes apparent at nco that many mOtharS nnpd advice /