Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-01-08

Until the District Health Depart
ment is sufficiently equipped TO make
| availab BILE to every Washington mother
and prospective mother the funda-
mental principlesl surrounding the
| care required by the born and unborn
child. Washington has little oppor-
tunitv of reducing it's high infant NOR
tality rate.
| Dollars and cents are the require
ments for a campaign of education
| among those who need 1t most. 10
day the Health Department skeleton
| force of child hygiene workers Is only
within shouting distance of the people
! in need But with the CONTAMINATION
of a program now being drafted by
special committee of the Councll Oh
! Social Agencies, the District Will. TO
a degree. cease to scratch the surface
of so vital public problem.
| at is quite generally understood
| that the success or failure of com
munity in reducing it's infant NOR
| tality rate is a good indication OF It's
| intelligence"
This statement comes from one OF
| Washington leading chlld experts
| DR.. John Foote, a member or the Lls
| trict of Columbia Medical Society anu
a charter member of the American
Child Health Association, of when
Herbert Hoover is president. other
prominent physicians here are deeply
| interested in the present movement.
Cites Need of Education.
| "Anv community with a large IL
literate population is certain to have
q high death rate among infants, UNI
less measures are taken to educate
mothers and fathers in the art OF
/ caring for their children. Dr. Foote
adds. THE work of public education
is carried out in three ways:
"First. by distribution of literature;
second bv instructor by private
physicians, and third, by organizations
for health teaching by physicians ana
nurses known as child health centers.
Needless to say. in community
| such as Washington, with raplalS
growing population. there is an IN
| creased need for extension or chlld
| health education work. In view OF
| this. il is obvious that people able TO
consult their own physician should
not overcrowd the health centers to
the detriment of those unable to pay.
The part played by Washington
physicians 80 years ago in coping with
| the infant mortality rate problem is
one in which Washingtonians may
| take pride A group, led by Df.
George NJ. kober, dean of the George
| town University Medical School, and
the late DR.. C. l.. Magruder, are re-
| sponsible, according to present mem
bers of the profession. for reducing
the rate by $50 per thousand. More
than a score of years ago. the rate
was $50 per thousand, and as the re-
suit of a vigorous campaign for pure
milk and water. the huge number OF
infant deaths in the first year of life
was greatly reduced.
Physicians and welfare workers
I have been attracted TO an article in
recent issue of Harper's Magazine by
DR.. Louis /. Dublin, statistician of the
Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. and
noted authority of child health. In
this article, DR.. Dublin says: Every
year 12O, 900 babies die from altogether
preventable conditions during the first
wear of their lives. There is no reason
for this slaughter, except the ignor-
ance of mothers and the indifference
of the communities where they live.
Money Loss Enormous.
Possibly it might make a difference
If our legislators realized that these
babies have a capital value of more
than SO 900 if they are boys and of
81 900 If they are girls. and that CAPT
tai lost throughout the country from
this preventable infant mortality
reached the astounding figure of more
than three quarters of a billion dol
lars a year.
'In the last 20 years" DR.. Dublin
continues, "the infant mortality rate
In the
past one might almost have said that
babies were born to die. for as many
as one-quarter of them did not survive
the first year Today, in most Ameri-
can communities, only about Z per
cent die during the first difficult year.
and two-thirds of these deaths Will be
prevented in the near future.
To-day public health work is in its
infancy. in spite of it's achievements
and the demonstration of it's power,
Dr. Dublin declares at another point.
Most American communities still
have political health administrations,
inadeQuately financed. inadequately
manned Less than so cents per cap
ita probably represents the total e%-
penditure of the American people for
| public health. The money spent for
medical service is almost altogether
for the care of disease and not for its
prevention. The relationship were
better reversed
| Expert opinion of public health Of
fcials indicates that an expenditure
of $3.50 per capita wisely directed
| through organized channels against
the preventable diseases and for public
health education would reduce the
annual death rate two points per
thousand and correspondingly increase
| the expectation from five to seven
years"
Much knowledge Needed.
The extent of the knowledge and
Information necessary to a home eX
Meeting a new baby and after ii has
| arrived is beyond the comprehension
of a large proportion of people here,
as evidenced by the high infant death
rate. The Children's Bureau of the
Department of Labor has issued many
nlhlicationS on this subject. which are
distributed throughout the States
under the provisions Of the Sheppard
Towner maternity act, and are avail
able at the Bureau here to those who
seek them. Two of these treat the
subject carefully. One Is entitled
prenatal Care" publication No. of
the bureau, and the other, Infant
care" publication No. s (raNised).
/ The "Prenatal Care" bulletin covers
40 nages Of detailed information price
less TO the eXpectant mother. 1t opens
! with "A general discussion and then
treats of personal hygiene for the eX-