Milford chronicle., 1923-12-28
THE VALUE OF MIDWIFE
SUPERVISION IN DELAWARE

Instructions to midwives have beer
conducted at frequent intervals dur
ing the past two years under the reg
ulatiOn of the State Board of Health
by the Supervisor of Midwives, Miss
Blanche E. Lockwood. Through hel
efforts, many practicing women have
been discovered, instructed and grant
ed yearly licenses to practice, prOVid-
ing their application for license was
signed by a practicing physician who
had knowledge of the character of the
applicants work.
The number of women licensed in
1871 70
The number of women licensed in
1917 ~
The newly appointed State Health
and Welfare Commission in spite of it's
limited means, intends to make every
effort towards the continuance of mid
wife supervision, and during the past
month has held eight conferences of
instructions for these women. By ne
cessity these must be fewer than they
should. Delaware has the largest
death rate of infants in the U. S. A.
and her still births and injuries at
birth are extremely high. Both rural
and urban Delaware have no reason
to feel proud of their chances for in
fants to survive. While many worthy
and expert midwives are practicing
with fair degree of success and sat
isfaction, there are decidedly more ig-
norant and unintelligent women fill
ing these ranks than the average citi-
zen is aware of. Women who have no
other ability to earn living appear to
feel capable of assisting at ushering
in the helpless baby and ministering
to the mother, at a time when she is
most apt to contract infection at the |
hands of the unclean.
The Federal Children's Bureau
through a study made by an expert |
physician found the annual deaths of |
maternity to have not decreased in
forty years. The annual death toll be-
ing 6.8.
Every citizen can and should assist
their state in reporting to the State
Board of Health, the names of any
women who are operating as mid
wives. If the midwife is known to
them she will have had some previous
instructive conferences with her and
have tried to improve her method of
service to her cases. If she is not
known, she should be, and every
chance given her to do her work with
out infections. Hence, while there is a
chance that many of these women
WILL not and CAN not be taught any
clean methods, others CAN and DO {
improve markedly. We must have bet &
Ter attention to the maternity case. l
We must lower our maternity death
rate. We must save our new born. I
Won't you Delaware citizens, in the l
name of some little suffering child, n
blinded at birth, crippled for life, do e
What you can to prevent the "slaugh-
er Of the innocents," and the MAIN a
ng of these young bodies? These mo- a
hers that go dragging through life
MANNED through carelessness and ig- b
can not undo the wreckage j
# their bodies, but everyone else can
nd should, contribute some effort in e
the recurrence of the OPP
for midwives to repeat such is
ctivities. e.
For the information of the public,
re will state that no person is grant d
d a permit to practice midwifery it
1nger than one year. Every permit W
xpires August LIST yearly unless re-
pplication is made, the woman who al
practicing illegally is liable to a Al
ne. al