Putnam patriot. [volume] (Putnam, Conn.) 1872-1962, 1917-06-15

the same year gives the city an infant
death rate of III per 1000 births. The
infant death rate for the birth regis
tration urea of The country, which com
prises about one-thifd of the popul alton
of the u nited States, was 100 per 1000
births in 1916. 1t must also be re
membered that this latter figure in
eludes the infant death rates OF the
largest cities where conditions are
least favorable 10 infant life, and that
for city such as Putnam, the rate
should be prorerlionateiy lower.
1t Is seen therefore, that the Putnam
baoies have not only an actually but n
relatively poorer chance for living out
their first year than should be their
lot. Why is this? 1t is not always
easy 10 put ones finger on cause and
effect when dealing with community
death rates, but in this instance it
would seem that the trouble should
not be hard TO find.
In the first place, it should be re-,
membered that infant mortality is an
extremely sensitive index of the eff
ficiency Of preventive activities. No
other age period responds so readily 10
SO little effort.
Taking these p deaths by causes as
stated on the death certificates, we
find that large proportion of them
are pfeveniable-due TO such causes as
ignorance, poverty and icarlessness.
Under the different headings of "mal-
nutrition, - "cholera infantum,n "gas-
tro.enteritis, we find eight prevent
able deaths, "whooping cough adds
enc and "oroncho pneumonia one
Of two eases, adds at least one more, as
We may assume that this disease, oc-
curing In the last mouths of the first
year of lite is due to preventaele cause,
either the sequel of a preventable in
lection or 90 earless exposure or i'm.
proper clothing "Inanition, due TO
lack OF care gives us another and
should doubtless be !added to the in
tesIinal group Four cases ,of prems-
TUE birth should furnish, probably,
two preVentable cases, had good pre-
natal supervision beensavailsble. Two
Others due 10 'empyma" and "cellu-
litis' are at least open to grave con-
lecture. Here then, out of p deaths Of
Putnam babies,,we find IL are quite
definitely preventable and two or
three more possibly so-sixty per cent.
where control measures would have
counted so tremendously.
To sum up, poverty, Ignorance and
bad living conditions, coupled with
the lack of any efforts At prevention,
have eNseted their usual toll of infant
life in Putnam.
Inquiry further shows that there is
no prenatal supervision Of expeetant
mothers, no expert advice for mothers
with young bsbies, no clinics, no in
structton ii home and infant hygiene
none of the usual activities that have
4 done Sc much TO reduce infant NOR.
tallty rates in othersplaees. Not only
I this, but there is no medical superyis.
ion over tho health of schoo! children
OF over th4s Of children between in-
fancy and school age.
My are these things absent from
Putnam civic life9
Because there is appropriated for
health purposes but about SS05 a year
OF Al cents per capita.
| understand from Miss Teooutt that
there are several plans on foot 10 Sc
cure the services of public health
nurse in the near future. l very much
hope that these plans may msterial'
ize and that the different ones in
terested will be .able TO secure ths
needed amount.
AS / have said above, however,
feel that this should be . municipa