Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-04-08
IL. S. FIELD WORKERS COMBAT
HIGH MORTALITY OF MOTHERS
Department of Labor Seeks
Reason Why This Country
Leads 10 Others.
Dr.. Frances Rothbert Relates
Experiences in Virginia
and Kentucky.

baking on rock-bound mountain passes.
to the happy, gurgling infant nesting
in his proud mothers healthy arms.
1t is hard road which the Depart
ment of Labor's Children's Bureau field
workers travel in their march against
the United States tragically high
mother mortality rate.
But it is the hard-headed mule, the
paths of personal discontinue and
the willingness of the Children's Bureau
workers which combine now to strike
this country from the head Of the list
of IS nations in the number of mothers
whose lives are lost as children are
born. The Department of Labor studied
the records of Just that many nations
and the United States, despite Its boast
ed standards in hygiene, sanitation and
medical science was found to have the
highest mother mortality rate Of them
all
Two years have elapsed since that
study.
Hope to Lower Rate.
Out of the remote regions Of the
United States: out from its congested
cities are coming doctors of the buA
reau's maternity and infant hygiene di-
vision bringing with them the fruits
of painstaking research and investiga-
ton of the conditions they found. 1t
is upon their reports that the Children's
Bureau hopes to base findings which
will lower the mother mortality rate.
DR.. Frances Rothbert is one of these.
While her official report on her work
In Virginia and Kentucky is not to be
made public at this time, the stories of
her own experiences with rough roads,
bad weather-and mules-bear testi-
mony to the gallant attack the bureaus
field workers" are making upon death
as the companion Of life-a-borning.
Somehow mules made mighty strong
impression upon this young physician,
who took her bachelor of arts degree
at the University OF Indiana in 1917.
and her NJ. D. a few years later at
Columbia University. There were days
on end when she rode those hard
headed beasts to reach the humble
home of some little family tucked up
in the mountains. Most of the time
she found it fun, but not little Of the
time, thanks to flying sleet and snow,
it was labor and honest suffering. Then
other times the mule would be his
"orneriest."
Spur Proves Help.
On one of those occasions, DR.. Roth
bert bought herself single spur to use
in her argument with the beast to get
beautifully; a little prod and the mule
got the idea and carried his burden
just where she wanted him to. Now
DR.. Rothbert and her associates in this
field work Of mercy have expense ac-
counts and when she made out her
account for the trip on which she
bought the spur, she entered that item
in her list-''one spur
But Uncle Sam says that If he has
an article on hand, similar one should
not be purchased, and so the depart
ment refused to reimburse the doctor.
Its explanation was that when it paid
for the spur the spur at once would
become the property OF the Government
and the Government already owned
spur or two. Further, il any other of
the Children'S Bureau investigating ply
sicianS needed a spur to urge their
mules to locomotion they would be
obliged to send to the Department OF
Labor for the spur which DR.. Rothbert
had purchased. Anyway-Dr. Rothbert
paid for the spur.
1t was .up in her mule country"
where DR.. Rothbert found superstition
playing its active part in cases where
evan the simplest rule Of hygiene might
have saved life. Scissors and razor
blades were deposited beneath the pill
lows of patients. Needles, strung on
thread. were worn about other suffer-
ers' necks. The idea7 The scissors, the
razor blades and the needles are sup
posed to cut the pain. Death takes its
toll.
The weather and the impossible roads
which DELAYED Dr. Rothbert'S journeys
to homes would hold up also other
medical men whose assistance would be
so sorely needed when a mother and
her babe would be struggling for life.
This factor of inaccessibility itself, the
doctor believes, is responsible for many
of the deaths in Americas rural Sec
lions.
Wolves Threaten Woman.
While she herself may have escaped
real danger in her travels, DR.. Rothbert
tells the story OF one OF her fellow
workers who suffered painfully when
the automobile in which she We riding
In New Mexico broke down. TheNorker
was Miss Anita Jones, who formerly
was on duty in Washington, and the
accident befell her last Winter.
Miss Jones was out in the open prairie
CCfCAdl AkOAAA VAAS AA~UA Wv
town when her automobile broke down.
She and a companion set out to reach
the settlement on foot and when they
were crossing a frozen stream Miss
Jones fell through the ice, breaking
her ankle and soaking herself in the
icy water She sat on the bank OF the
stream in the biting cold while her COM
panion continued on to the town for
help. The woman's clothing troze to
her body and bowling coyotes gathered
in the surrounding hills, gradually
creeping toward her. Her waning en-
ergy was called upon to drive away the
animals until after several hours her
rescuers came.
Besides DR.. Rothbert, who now Is COM
piling her report, two other young
woman doctors fthe Children's Blu
reau staff are working in nearby sec
lions of Virginia and Kentucky. They
are DR.. Frances Hennessy and DR..
Margaret Swigart.
Despite her youth, Dr. Rothbert car
ried into her work wealth of expert
ence, for, following her graduation from
Columbia, she served an internship in
the New York City Hospital. during
which she rode the emergency ambu-
lances with the other young doctors of
the institution. Subsequently she did
extensive hygienic welfare work under
the Kentucky Board Of Health.