Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1915-12-09
The Bees Home Magazine page
Why Should Babies Die?

and all mus admit not merely the HUI
: mainly but the imense racial and social
value OF t. And the only magic used is
simply TO spend a httle more money
upon nurses and health inspectors and
to raise the standard of the hygienic
| intelligence OF the community four or
five notches.
Some ten years ago the mayor Of n
large English manufacturing town. Hud-
dorsfield. offered bonus, or literally
birthday present. OF $40 TO every baby
born during his term OF office.
In order that her child be aligible for
the Prize. 1t was necessary that tho
mother should report her condition to the
district nurse or some hospital physician
at least a month before II was born. Then
to see that the money was iudiciously ex-
pended, visiting committee was organ
lied of prominent women and welfare
workers and nurses and physicians. who
made 1t a point to sec that the mother
was at least shown how to provide her
self with every proper requirement in the
way Of food and clothing for the new
conner. and to give 1t the best Of care
when it came
The scheme grew upon, not merely its
shrewd and kindly founder. but upon
those who had VOLUNTEERED their assist
ance. as its wisdom and reasonablenes5
became evident. And before II was 3
months old II had developed into an ad-
mirable and woodworking scheme for
securing proper exemption from labor for
the mother, both before and after the
birth of the child IL she were a mill
hand and sanitary confinement in a
well-managed hospital. improvement in
housing conditions II these were bad, and
well-managed baby-saving campaign
in general The result was that the in
FAINT mortality Of Huddersfield was re-
duced more than one-half within the
first year.
A result pointing In the same direction,
which provokes certain ironic reflection.
was obtained in q large manufacturing
town in southern France. Some public
spirited individual, in looking into the
vital statistics unearthed the fact that
the infant mortality among illegitimate
children was, as is usually the case
everywhere, exceedingly high.
This pitiful fact appealed to him, and
he thereupon donated a considerable sum
of money to be used for the care and
nutrition and protection of illegitimate
children in his city. with the distinctly
unexpected and almost scandaious result
that within year the mortality OF illegi-
innate children fell below that of the
legitimate and respectable babies OF the
town.
Something of this sort OF thing seems
to have cropped out in the recent rather
humiliating finding OF the bureau of vital
statistics that children of American born
parents. born in New York, actually show
slightly higher death rate than the
children Of foreign born parents. 1t
looks as flour energetic and enthusiastic
children's bureau OF the health depart
men was actually giving such excellent
hygienic care to and improving the in
telligence of foreign parents to such a de-
gree that they are beating the native
born parents. who are left more to follow
their own unaided intelligence and enter
prise, such as 1t Is. at the noble and ex-
citing game of baby saving.
The safest place for a baby to be born
is in a well managed hospital. and 1t
really has come to a point where those
classes which resort to the hospitals and
their advantages most freely and fire.
quently are beginning to show the lowest
death rates in the community.
When will the rest OF the community
wake up and proceed to organize for the
manufacture of infant health and the re-
duction of the demand for short coffins?