Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1913-07-25
Little Ones Often Die of Pre-.
ventable Diseases, Says
Federal Bureau.
PURE MILK IS NECESSARY
Government Department Urges That
Greater Attention Be Given
TO Prenatal Care of
Mothers.


ment of labor. has prepared a compre.
hensive bulletin devoted to babies. I,
10 the first general contribution that
ants have mad to the governments
educational publications. 1t tells all
about babies and their troubles-why
they cry and get sick and die. And
then 1T tells what a relatively simple
thing 1T would be to reduce the great
mothers would only use common sense
and keep their babies clean.
1t points on the tremendous strides
that have been made in New York
and Philadelphia since communities
have been making concerted efforts to
Here is one OF the opening para
graphs:
THE efforts Of city health officials
have results in the last 10 years in
reducing the general death rate in
cities below that OF the rural districts
and villages. Babies die of diseases
which to a large extent are prevent
able, and when welfare work is dt-
rected toward saving their lives the
response is imemdiate and decided. In
certain large cities, such as New York
and Philadelphia. the result Of sys-
tematic baby saving campaigns has
been shown in a reduction of between
80 n 10 per cent in the deaths of
children ur.der 2 years, in the wards
where the work was concentrated"
The bulletin complains OF shortage
of funds. and 1t commends the motto
Of the New York health department.:
public health is pu~rchasable: within
natural limitations a community can
determine it's own death rate.''
Here are some of the principles laid
down for raising babies:
A baby nursed by it's mother has
approximately 10 times the chances 20
live that a bottle-fed baby has.
Clean milk is fundamentally neces-
sary. Cities should not tolerate the
sale Of dipped" or loose milk. The
bulletin continues:
The ideal is: Nothing short of
need for h prompt remedy of bad
milk conditions is more urgent in it's
relations to the welfare of babies han
to that of adults, since dirty milk is
largely responsible for the occurrence
of diarrhoea and enteritis, the most
frequent causes Of death among in
fants. h remedy lies in the intelli-
gent and effective inspection of farms.
the means of transportation and the
shops where milk is Sold"
The bulletin advocates the establish
ment Of municipal milk stations such
as are now maintained in some cities.
THE milk station" it says, us simply
a room sufficiently large to accom-
O 0AAN VITA
a large ice box, a desk. some chairs
and a table. An ordinary store is
suitable for q station and sometimes
q school room may be used for the
purpose. The station ia usually under
charge Of a nurse and a physician is
IN attendance at stated hours.
Prenatal Caro- Of Mothers.
More attention should be given to
the prenatal care OF mothers. MI
inequalities are Just beginning to
waken to the Importance OF this sort
of work and to understand that much
Of the waste of infant life il due to
causes that were operative before the
Saby was born. Some cities have IA
special maternity nurse. who gives all
her time to these cases: other cities
direct the general nurses to take
charge OF them.
who are ~caretakers Of little children in
the care OF babies is regarded as OF
Immense Importance, not only in the
improved care which is given to the
babies In their charge. but in the in
.duence which 1t cannot fail to have
In tho prevention OF infant mortality.
"The housefly as a death distributor
IL only recently receiving the attention
1t deserves. Flies carry injection, not
only to exposed milk, but directly to
the baby's mouth or to the nipple of
its bottle. Insistence upon screens for
the baby's rooms and for the baby's
lnfantile mortality. n the work
%struction of flies by every known
method and the removal Of breeding
places"