The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1925-11-27
THE PUBLIC HEALTH NURSE
AND CHILD HYGIENE

From State Dept. of Health.
Asked to outline the duties of the
Public Health Nurses in Maryland
in caring for mothers and young
children, Miss c. Ethel Monroe, the
State Advisory Nurse, turned to q
circular from the Bureau of Child
Hygiene that was lying on her desk
and quoted THE Bureau of Child
Hygiene of the State Department OF
Health was organized to help Mary
land mothers and children keep
we'll, because many mothers die un-
necessarily from some complication
of childbirth; many babies and
young children die each year from
preventable diseases, and many
children enter school each year
handicapped by some physical de-
feet that could have been prevented
or corrected. The Bureau works
with and through the Local Health
officer and the Public Health
Nurse"
1.-THE Public Health Nurse" Miss
Monroe continued, usually gives a
large share of her time to activities
in furtherance OF these aims of the
Bureau of Child Hygiene. To help
prevent complications of child birth
the nurse visits every expectant
mother who is referred to her. She
urges her to place herself under the
supervision of her physician very
early in the prenatal period, and
she helps her make the necessary
preparation for her confinement.
She also advises in regard to the
outfit for the baby.
lowing to extended territory that
has to be covered by each nurse and
to the variety of duties of the Public
Health Nurses, it Ms impossible for
them to give nursing care to the
mother during her confinement or
to do the daily bedside nursing fol
lowing the arrival of the baby. No
phase OF the nurses work is more
important than the help she is able
to give the mother-to-be, and it is
hoped that each year more and more
of this can be done.
In a number OF counties, the
nurse receives regularly from the
Local Registrars, the names of the
new born babies, so that she may
visit each mother and help and ad
wise, her in the care of the young
baby, il the family physician re-
quests it.
Under the direction OF the Deputy
State Health Officer, the Public
Health Nurse arranges for the Wei
Baby Conferences and the child
health conferences that are held at
regular intervals in each county
and assists the examining physician.
After the conferences, the nurse
visits the parents of the children
that need such follow-up care and
offers her assistance in getting the
corrective work done.
I'm her visits in the homes, the
Public Health Nurse can render {
further service to young mothers
and ir ,identally to the entire com
munit by showing the parents how
to follow the Doctors directions ir
his efforts to prevent the spread OF
communicable diseases and par.
tieulariy the so called children's
diseases. 1t is common thing for
nurse to hear a mother say
Johnny has the measles and am
letting all the children play in his
room so that they can all have it at
once and have it over All wrong
of course. But the nurse often has
to use all her powers OF persuasion
TO make the mothers realize that it is
not. necessary for all children to have
these diseases ii proper precautions
are taken to prevent their spread.
THE duties OF the Public Health
Nurse include in addition to those
already outlined, the supervision anc
instruction of the midwives.
I'm the field OF Child Hygiene as
in all other phases of her work, the
Public Health Nurse finds much to
do along health education lines
holding classes for mothers, organ
izing little mothers clubs, giving
talks and distributing literature
In her Child Hygiene program, the
nurse finds some of her most con-
structive work"