Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1917-04-26
Baby Week Observed;
Its Meaning Explained
By Grace L. Meigs, M. D.
OF the Children's Bureau Department
of Labor.

| of Labor.
Written for the United Press.
During Baby Week community asks
itself how the youngest citizens are be.
ing protected and cared for. and Baby
Week should mark a fresh start toward
meeting their varied needs. OF course
a community can protect its little chill
dren only as it protects the home in
which they live and so the community
work during Baby Week and afterwards
may well consider three things: Are
we safeguarding the life and health of
mothers9 Arc the parents in this com.
munity learning how to care for their
children so that they will grow up well
and good and happy2 Are we toleratipp
economic standards which make decent,
wholesome, intelligent care impossible :
Of these three things, perhaps the
first Is the least generally understood
and therefore the protection of mothers
might well receive special emphasis dur
ing this years Baby Week.
Some $4,000 mothers are DIVING each
| year from causes connected with child
birth although material deaths are in
large measure preventable and uncount
ed mothers are suffering from unneces-
sary illness because they have not had
proper maternity care. All this reacts
dlsastrously ON the children, who nav
for the lack of strong, happy mother
IN many ways, sometimes with their
own lives, sometimes with unnecessary
illnesses, sometimes with constitutions
permanently weakened past upbuilding
Personally, | believe that many moth.
N M nN,J 4 L. -.
lhey do not realize how important good
maternity care is both to themselves
and to their babies If Baby Week could
help mothers to see more clearly how
much of their illness and danger is pre.
ventable, 1t would mark long step TO.
ward making available to all the means
of preventing unnecessary illness and
death from maternal causes.
At present many expectant mothers
make no attempt to secure skilled super.
vision throughout the months before
their babies are born. They do not in.
slst on hospital care or trained attend.
ance IN their homes during confinement.
ana after,eare and a period of rest un-
VI strength has returned are essentials
absolutely unknown IN many homes,
Then there is the whole field of hy
eiene, which is still very little under.
stood by many people although it is of
primary Importance in preventing com
plications for the mother and the illness
OF her baby Simple and popular state,
ments of the daily care which an ex
pectant mother should have ana the
KIND of care well baby should have
are contained in two bulletins of the
Children Is Bureau and in various short.
er pamphlets which can also be secured
by any mother without cost. During
Baby Week, copies of such literature
can be placed in the hands of many
mothers and wide publicity can be civ. |
en- to the value of such information in |
preventing illness.
OF course mothers may understand
perfectly what they need in the way Of
food and clothing and rest and they
may realize that they should have skill. |
ed supervision and trained attendance.
but they may be quite unable to obtain |
these things, Baby Week can not stop
with campaign Of publicity about the |
mothers needs. 1t must also develop.
or inaugurate, community work hy |
which the essentials of proper care are |
made available to every mother. Visit. |
ing nurses, prenatal clinics. maternity |
hospitals, and infant.welfare stations |
have proved their value in many cities
| doubt ii there is a single community
IN the country-whether congested |
clty, small town, or scattered rural
settlement where further provision for
maternity care Is not urgently needed,