The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1935-04-30
SURVEY SHOWS
NECESSITY FOR
PRENATAL AID
81 Per Cent of Mortality
Cases Traced to Lack
of Attention.

The Childrens Bureau in Wash
ington, in its effort to check the
deaths connected with childbirth.
made a survey of recent deaths IN
13 states, including Alabama.
Lack of prenatal care seemed to
be responsible for a large number
of the casualties. In fact, the adj
ViSory committee of the Children's
Bureau says that 81 per cent of the
women in the reports had had no
prenatal examination by a phySi-
clan.
In only l per cent was the care
up to the standard that it is the
right of every pregnant patient to
have and to demand, the report
states.
The study covered cases in two
recent years within II of the states.
and a one-year check-up in the
other two states Physicians on Staffs
of state boards of health or of the
u. S. Children's Bureau interviewed
the physicians who attended the
deaths from puerperal causes.
1881 Fatality Cases
In an analysis of the report by
DR.. Frances c. Rothert of the bu-
reau, it is stated;
in these states and years, 1887
deaths were assigned by the division
of vital statistics of the bureau of
the census to the group the puer-
peral states in accordance with the
international list of causes of death,
1920 revision, and the manual Of
joint causes of death. These deaths
were taken as the basis of the study.
A copy of each death certificate,
and when possible the birth certi-
ficate of the infant, was obtained
from the state bureaus of vital sta
tiSticS each month and the attend
ing physician or midwife was visited
as soon as possible thereafter. In
hospital cases the hospital also was
visited.
Physicians Give Aid
''The physicians interviewed were
most cooperative in giving time
and information for the study While
relatively few had kept case his
tories, their memory of the case
was usually vivid. But in many cases
either the opportunity or the facili-
ties for a thorough study of the
case had been lacking. In relatively
few cases had any laboratory work
other than urinalySis or blood pres
sure examination been done"
Investigation showed that in q
number of these cases, death was
not due to causes connected with
maternity. and the number was thus
reduced to 1880; on this basis the
maternal mortality rate was So per
thousand live births.
The advisory committee comment
ed fully on various factors Of the
problem. For the deaths of the
women who had no prenatal exami-
nation the attending physician
could hardly be held responsible,
for he was not consulted until the
emergency had arisen" the commit
tee states.
Gross ignorance, careleSSnesS,
and sociological and economic prob
lens all had a share in this re-
SponSibility. However, in those
cases in which the physician was
consulted he was responsible for
providing adequate maternal care;
and in many of these cases phySi-
clans failed in their responsibility
for half the women who did consult
a physician had poor prenatal care"
Operative Factor
Commenting on the fact that halt
of the women had some operative
procedure before death, the commit
tee said:
In a study of this type the ply
Sician'S ability to do well the opera
ton he has chosen can be evaluated
only by the results, which show that
many of the operations either were
badly chosen or were poorly done
In nearly 40 per cent of these op-
erative deliveries it was admitted by
the physicians that their technique
was at least unsatisfactory as to
aSepSiS. 1t is therefore not to be
wondered at that 26 per cent of the
deaths following forceps deliveries
and 10 per cent of the deaths fol-
lowing versions we're due to SepSiS
-. An operative delivery is a sur