Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1925-12-30
i. S. Bureau Cuts
Infant Death Rate
But 1t Is Still Higher Than
Many Foreign Lands

Washington.-Exa Of nearly
100000 infants and pre-school children
at 26,353 child-health conferences dur
ing the fiscal years 1924 and 1925 was
reported to the children's bureau of
the United States Department Of La
Dor by states cooperating under the
Federal Maternity and Infancy act, ac-
cording to a statement recently made
public. Forty-three states and Hawaii
are cooperating under this act, which
provides federal aid for the promotion
of the welfare of mothers and babies,
Vermont, Louisiana and Rhode Island
having accepted during the fiscal year
1925. States not cooperating are Con-
necticut, Illinois, Kansas, Maine and
Massachusetts. The children's bureau
made public an official report covering
the state accomplishments during 1924,
together with preliminary figures for
1925.
These figures show that, in addition
to the examination of babies and
young children at the child-health con-
ferences, maternity and infancy activi-
ties during 1924 and 1925 included the
holding Of 9,669 prenatal conferences
attended by approximately $4,000 wom-
en-; classes for midwives with a total
attendance of approximately 10000;
the holding of mothers classes with
an attendance Of more than 10000
mothers and the organization of 5000
little mothers classes. The number
Of child-health centers established was
1,706; the number of prenatal centers
245.
Defects Frequently Found
Although centers are for "well" ba-
bies, the report states, defects are fire.
quently found which require correction
before the child is free to gain a maxi
mum of physical fitness. Defects most
frequently encountered are retroactive
errors in the eyes, -pharyngeal
growths and abnormalties, orthopedic
: defects, glandular engagements or in
sufficiencies, dental carries and malnu-
triton, always the large percentage in
every group. Children are always re-
ferred to family physicians for the cor
rection of these defects, if there is a
physician. A few states have arranged
for clinics at which defects may be
corrected by a staff physician or a
specialist Some states furnished esti-
mates Of defects corrected during 1924,
ranging usually from 20 to 40 per cent.
Other important activities under the
act include home visits by nurses in
sparsely settled country where health
conferences are not possible; nutrition
work for eXpectant mothers and for
children; efforts to make good confine-
ment and postnatal care possible for
mothers; inspection of maternity and
infant homes; improvement of birth
registration; the distribution of silver
nitrate solution to prevent opthalmia
neonatorum; anti-diphtheria cam
pa.gns to have all preschool children
examined before school entrance and
general educational work
= The childrens bureau also reports as
to the cost of the act and the total APP
preparations, national and state, spent
I'm accordance with it's provisions. The
act authorizes 81 100000 annually for
five years (the five-year period ends
June 30, 1920, $4,000 of which may
be, spent by the children's bureau for
administrative and investigating pur-
poses. From 1924 appropriations the
states accepted $91S,2SO; from 1925
funds Cup to October, 1925, $949,S27.
During the fiscal year 1924 the chill
dren's bureau spent for administrative
and investigating purposes $35,57S;