Arizona republican., 1918-04-03
CH|LDREN'S WELFARE
 CLINIC |S POPULAR

Rural mothers are attending the clinic in larger numbers each day and this is a great satisfaction to those in charge. Todays. out of town mothers far outnumbered those from the city proper. Mesa. Tempe, Glendale and Scottsdale were well represented.
 A large part of the morning was giv- en over to discussing feeding prob lens and the questions asked were largely relative to the best substitutes for mothers milk. The answer to these inquiries is always the same. Next to mothers milk properly modified cows milk is always preferable to anything that can be bought in tin cans or pasteboard boxes. Phoenix mothers for some reason have been led to be- lieve that Horlick's Matted milk, Eagle Brand Condensed, Mellin's Food, I'm perial GIanum and the raft of other so- called foods are better, safer and cheaper than cows milk. This, of course, is a mistake. Because some babies live in spite of these things does not mean that they should be deprived of proper food
 The regular morning talk was given by Dr. Orville Harry Brown, 'Pre- ventable Diseases of Childhood ' Mothers were told about bacteria how they grow and how they are transmit ted to the human body. They were told that the old idea about letting children catch measles" while they are little" is no longer tolerated TO protect your child from disease re- quires that you know something about how the disease germs develop, how they are spread and the havoc they play once they are firmly lodged in a decayed tooth or a diseased tonsil." pr. Brown then descibed in detail how to cultivate an immunity by proper living and exercising of proper habits. Special reference was made . to the damage done young children by dis eased tonsils and adenoids.
 At the afternoon session Infant Mortality was discussed by Dr. Tarr ''In the United States nearly half a million babies die annually before reaching one year of age. Fifty per cent of these babies die because of ig- norance on the part of the parent, or those in charge. Nearly 90 per cent die of preventable disease. The re- maining 20 per cent has been called the Legitimate" death rate.
 So far as can be learned from sta tistics one out of every seventeen pregnancies results in abortion, mis- carriage of the birth of premature child. One in 200 babies are injured at birth and perish during their first year. The abortionist must be men, tioned in relation to infant mortality because thousands of lives are sacri- ficed to him each year. An abortion ist, as you know, is an abnormal indi- vidual, a menace to the public, who does murder for money and who is re- garded by society as a necessary evil. He should be classed with the degen- crate who commits rape and a just punishment should be imposed. It would seem that castratiOn and life imprisonment would be only fair for such an individual
 Diarrheal diseases kill more infants than any other one condition. These diseases are usually the result of inn proper feeding and in Arizona alone over 800 babies die annually from this preventable condition. Here again it l is a matter of ignorance or to be more i polite, ill directed advise that is re- | sponsible. Mothers simply must break away from the idea that they know | enough physiology and chemistry to be able to prepare a suitable artificial | food for their babies.
 | Pneumonia carries off nearly as many babies as syphilis, measles and meningitis combined. 25 out of 10o | babies under one year succumb to per-
 tussis (whooping cough). Scarlet fever and typhoid fever are not diseases of
 infancy but now and then case of one
 or the other will develop in an infant The outcome is usually fatal.
 Colds, croup and diptheria are. ir
 most instances, the result of filthy
 nose and throat. Bad tonsils and ade- holds are, indirectly, the cause of ovel half the diseases a children's specialist
 is called to see. The time will soor be here when doctors will be suffi-
 ciently enlightened and bold enough tC
 tell the public that livery child choult have it's tonsils and adenoid removed just as soon as there is any evidence oi
 disease, be the child one year old ol
 three. Certainly by the time he is foul
 years old Irritation with diptheria
 middle ear abscess, whooping cough
 menengitis and mental impairment
 should have been carried far enough
 Small pox has been known to xii babies but 1 have yet to find author.