Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1916-01-18

VTT HEN baby arrives in Kansas. he starts life
wv with a certificate from the board OF health
W a book instructions the care of babies
and congratulatOry note from the governor Kansas
begins look for babies before they are oorn
and stands by officially through all their nfentiie
troubles
in the welfare baby This will the big
gest campaign in history for spreading knowledge OF
babies needs The climax is scheduled to arrive early
in March, in the form of a nationwide Baby Week
The Yuma Valley Womens club in Arizona will hold
Baby Week. In Nebraska 200 women's clubs, half
of them in rural districts and of them 80 miles
from railroad, will carry the movement across the
state hundred towns in Florida have started work
on their plans. Some community organization in
state in the Union has already begun preparation
for the coming Baby Week.
There will be all sorts of Baby Weeks. of
them will be municipal, in big cities and rural
in the country districts where the cooperating work
will have from miles around. Some of the
campaigns will be directed by state boards of health
others by local womens organizations The national
campaign is being directed by the General Federation
of Womens clubs
universities Of 81 states will cooperate
by offering special in extension work consist
ing Of correspondence lecture material babies
The cnildrens bureau of the department of labor is
flooded with requests for its literature on How to
hold Baby Week" The baby $ about become a
figure of national prominence.
The purpose of a baby week two-fold. 1t seeks
by unique and striking to awaken the community
to realization of the condition of local
babies; and it teaches the mothers and fathers and
death rate of American babies shows clearly the
cessity for such propaganda
Out Of every 1000 American babies, 124 die before
they are twelve months old Intelligent on the
part of parents and community would cut such NOR
tally half. The figure may not be startlingly high
compared with the of the world-in fact, 1t is
better than average-but 1t is twice high it
need be. Berlin. the infant death rate
runs up per thousand, while in St Petersburg
Moscow it reaches $50. but Londons infant death
rate spite of the unsanary conditions in the poorer
quarters, only little 100. In typical Nor
wegian cities it drops 80 per thousand
and faraway New Zealand sets an example by losing
only babies of thousand in their first
two to every five that lose in America
The American, people nave been hazily aware of a
high infant this country but 1t has been
blamed crowding in big Cities and the large
number immigrants that enter ports yearly and
are presumably less enlightened than the native born
Recent Investigations bring out the startling facts
however education in the of babies is at least
as badly needed in the country in the city. and
that in New York at least, where OF the immi-
infants is lower that among the babies born to
native American parents. .,.r. ..t.
This is the sort Of thing that the promoters of
Baby intend to fight. Several cities held local
baby weeks year. including New York. Chicago and
Pttsburg, but this years activities will be much
illinois, for Instance besides the Chicago
campaign already has the pledged support of 535
ems clubs in. the work for 1915.
Wisconsin has interesting program laid out for
week point that will be especially stressed in