The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1916-03-27
NRS.lMENDENHAlI 6
WRITES OF baby week
IN JACKSONVILLE

IN JhUnUuNllLll
Saturday, March the 18th marked
the close of Baby Week in Jackson
vile. This important event was held
in the Womans Club, and under the
auspices of the Infants Welfare AS
sociation, the Springfield Improve
ment Society, the Federation of
Mothers Club, and the Womans Club.
The clinic was conducted by Dr.
SAGE Francis Bradley, of the Chill
drens Bureau of Washington, who
was assisted by local physicians, DR..
Love, Dr.. Ross, Dr. Wilcox, Dr.
Cason, DR.. Pasco, DR.. Barfield and
DR.. Block. Over three hundred and
fifty babies were examined at the
'stethescoped' if one may coin a
woodland wherever a child fell
short CT the standard in any par
ticular, the mother, or father as the
case may be, was given careful and
minute instructions what to do to
remedy the fault This standard,
which children should reach, having
been compiled by the American Medi-
cal Association, for the examination
of thousands of babies, and is as
follows:
Weight at birth, rs, height, 20.6,
head. 1879, chest, 1874, abdomen,
16 rs. Weight ] year, 81, heighth,
20 3-S, head, Is 1-2. chest IS 3-S,
abdomen, II rs. Weight 2 years,
27 IL, height 33 1-2, head 10 3-S,
chest 10 3-S, abdomen, Is ga
Very few children come up to this
standard, which must, Of necessity
be 3 fair average, and the value of
obtaining expert advice, from one so
well qualified, as Dr. Bradley, who
has made this subject a life study,
cannot be overestimated Not only
is the health and well being of the
child improved, and strengthened,
| but the very life of the child is saved
in an incalculable number of cases,
by just the right nowledge possessed
by the mother, and just this knowl-
edge is what DR.. Bradley has.
1t might be well to take brief
survey of how this important Baby
| Week came to be. 1t was started in
France % years ago as the result
of the alarming death rate among
| infants and the decreasing birth rate
1t was realized that the only solu-
! ton Since that time the movement
so classes were organized for the
education of mothers and fathers by
Dr. Pierre Budin, and so quickly was
the improvement noted in the babies
| whose mothers attended these classes
that ii became national institu-
ton. Since that time themovemcnt
has spread to every civilized country,
and there have been established as
care and well being of children a
constant study.
| In 1909 in this country was estab-
lish"d the American Association for
the study and prevention of infant
mortality. having for its chief OBJ
| ject as the name signifies, the invcs-
| tiSation of the high death rate
Owing to lax birth registration
laws, it was extremely difficult to ar
rive at accurate information, but as
nearly rs could be found in 1909 the
rate to every thousand birth was l24
! deaths of infants under one year of
age. In France it is but rs now,
just nalf of ours; in Russia it is 24S,
just twice ours. In Germany it is
1872, in England %. New Zealand
has the distinction of having the
very lowest death rate of any coun-
try. being but IS. When it is re-
membered that in New Zealand the
women have had voice in the af-
fairs of government. this consarva-
tion Of life is significant With re-
| gard TO our high death rate the first
United States children's report says
'IIcrc is vast and unmeasured loss
of life due to civic and individual
neglect and Ignorance, 1t waIs
once thought high death rate indi-
Gated a greater degree of vigor in