The Washington herald., 1920-07-28
Woman is Assigned BY the Surgeon General
To Assist Georgia in Grouing Fine Babies
Public Health Service Co
Operates to Lower
Infant Mortality.

Atlanta, Ga, July 81. - When
chambers of commerce pay more at
tention to the baby death rates than
to the number of smok estacks they
will have a much better claim to
attract people to their cities"
So says the first woman ever as
signed by the United States Public
Health Service to child hygiene. She
is DR.. Lydia Allen DeYilbiss- assign
ed by Surgeon General Cumming to
help State Wealth oficer DR.. T. r.
Abercrombie save the hundreds of
children who needlessly die in this
State.
Georgia Pioneer.
Georgia is a pioneer in the South
in cooperating with the United
States Public Health Service in
child hygiene. Although it's figures
on births and deaths are still in
complete, the statistics which were
collected for the first three months
Of this year showed about one baby
in every eight born dies before II Is
one year old.
Numerous baby health centers
have been established throughout
the State. During the summer
months a drive is being made to
teach mothers how to feed their
children and so avoid the usual
summer ailments. In the fall nutri-
| tion clinics and physical inspection
| of school children will be held.
| Further work will be to get In
| touch with prospective mothers. In
| these and other ways DIR. Abercrom-
bic expects to prevent the loss of
! hundreds of Georgia babies.
The doctors of the State are CO.
| operating. The State Pediatric So
7ciety has appointed a committee of
three, DR.. A. ]. Waring, Savannah;
DR.. W. L. Funkhouser. Atlanta. and
DR.. W. A. Mulherin, Augusta, to as
sist DR.. DeVilbiss and the State
board of health. The baby special
lists of the State are giving their
services free in the baby health CEN
| ters
Help Young Mothers.
The women's organizations OF
Georgia arc making child hygiene
and child welfare their principal
program for the year. A Georgia
Baby Book is to be sent to every
new mother within twenty-four
hours after the baby comes. This
will tell her how to feed and take
care of her baby.
We are sure of some good re-
suls," said DR.. DeViIbiss. But
we could do much more effective
work If We had larger sppropria-
tions. Good health and the
preservation Of life can be a GER
tainty in proportion to the amount
of money wisely spent in carry
ing out public health work"
| only SO cents a year per per-
son would provide abundant funds
for health protection. This amount
of money spent wisely would pre-
vent virtually all of the communi-
cable diseases and would keep
practically the entire population in
good health. This is only a frac-
tion of the amount now spent for
doctor bills.
No Cabinet Omcer.
The United States is cited as the
only first-class power that does not
have a national department of
health with a Cabinet officer.
DR.. DeVilbiss was formerly con-
nected with the New York State
department of health and the di-
rector of child hygiene for the
State of Kansas. She says she
hopes many other women physi-
clans soon will join in the. work
for child hygiene in connection with
the United States Public Health
Service and the State and city de-
partments of health.
The United States Public Health
Service Field Investigations in Child
Hygiene are under direction of AS
sistant Surgeon General Taliaterro
Clark.