Evening star., 1926-09-23
Women Who Have Important Tasks
i'm the Government Service
nv ALICE ROGERS HAGER
DR.. Blanche M. Hams.

One Of the most important pieces OF
work done by the Children's Bureau
in the past four years has been
the administration of the maternity
and infancy act, better known as the
| Sheppard -Towner law. This author
lied the establishment Of health in
struction centers in cooperation with
the States for the betterment of con-
ditions among mothers and young
children.
DIR. Blanche NJ. Hains Of the bureau
has been charged with this difficult
and valuable task since last Fall. and
she gives a significant account of the
good that has been accomplished. In
the two years of 1924 and 1925 33,7O1
child health conferences were held in
43 States and Hawaii. with 594,346
children examined. There were es-
tablished 253 permanent prenatal CEN
ters, 600 nutrition classes, 127 ,O29
mothers and 1882 little mothers" at
tended classes, 448,100 home visits
were made by the nurses, 3,32O.OOO
pamphlets and leaflets were distrib-
uted. and out of the $4,000 midwlves
estimated in the United States 35,592
came to instruction classes in the
period, although only 10,S41 completed
the course.
In and Of themselves these are dull
statistics, but look behind them to the
human story written large in their
pages. The greatest message they
carry is the saving of babies and
mothers from death and disease. 1t
is too soon to have more than indl-
vidual instances to cite. but DIR. Hams
observations in her own State of Mich
igan lead her to feel confidently that
already the mortality among mothers
in child birth is being lowered, and
the rate in this respect has been 'ap-
pallingly high. OF course, life and
health for the mother means a CORE
spondingly greater chance for sur
vival Of the babies.
To teach the eXpectant mother how
to care for herself and what to de-
mand from her doctor or her midwife,
to teach the midwives the tremendous
Importance Of sanitation and hygienic
methods, to see that the mother has
the care she needs after the baby ar
rives until she is completely recov-
ered-this is the work under the
Sheppard -Towner act.
Until September, 1925, DR.. Hams
had been engaged in health work in
Michigan. For three years she was
director of the Michigan Bureau of
Child Hygiene and Public Health
Nursing, with years Of experience in
private practice and public health.
She was pioneer among women who
served as municipal health officers. In
1924 she was secretary to the Medical
Women's National Association, and
she had three years administration of
the maternity and infancy work in her
own State during her term as director
before coming to the Federal bureau.
She did much writing there. both in
connection with the demands Of her
position and outside it, and she is now
preparing a pamphlet for Federal dis
tribution on breast feeding.
There can be no finer work GER
tainly than this that DR.. Hams is
doing. The Women's Bureau says
continually, America will be as strong
as her women" and the Children's
Bureau, through DR.. Hains, is reply
ing, 1--WE will take the peril out of
motherhood so far as it Is humanity
possible and we will help you to keep
the women strong. Then there will
need to be less concern about the fu-
| ture of the country's welfare, because
| the children will be WELL"
DR.. Hains belongs to the American
Medical Association. the Michigan
Medical Society. and she was on the
State Board for the Registration of
Nurses until she came to Washington