Vol. 60, 1909 - University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS. 381
ffivehuiidred midwives, less than 10% nourishment and employment which pre-
^I.t''^^' , vent women from nursing; and to educate
These women determine the feeding, and mothers to realize not only the importance
e responsible for much unnecessary wean- of maternal nursing, but als-'o the value of
g. No instruction as to mfant feeding or sanitation, infant feeding, infant hvoieiie
irsnig IS given. No caution as to the dan- and the proper care of'lheir infants and
r of cow's milk in hot weather is given, themselves.
Right here it must be said that removal Illegitimacy is a factor in high infant
)m the breast is done constantly by medi- mortality. In Glasgow in 1873, the death
1 men without adequate investigation, rate of legitimate children was 154 per
le fact that immunity to disease is greatly thousand against 293 per thousand for illehanced
by nursing is not sufficiently rec- gitimate children.
"•zed. We have little idea of the large number
With the tremendous advance in our of infants "farmed out" to die. Amonoowledge
of medicines, there should be a the negroes, baby farms have done an ex"irked
decrease in infant mortality. The tensive business here in Richmond. The
mthly Dullelin of the Health Department death rate of negro children in Washington
Richmond, Virginia, shows that infant is seven times that of white children. The
)rtality under two years of age, due to white people of the South have sacrificed a
;turbance of nutrition, increased 10 per large number of their children by turning
It. during the first six months of 1909 as them over to the ignorant, but kind, negro
npared with the first six months of 1908. mammy or nurse who cannot raise her own
July, 1909, there were 229 deaths in child.
:hmoiid. Of these, 34, or l.=5 per cent., It is important for us to determine what
re due to diarrhea in infants under two diseases occasion the largest mortality of
irs of age. Twenty-three, or 10 per cent. , the first year. Statistics furnished by Pro-
re due to tuberculosis for all ages. Nine, fessor W. Pransnitz, of Gratz, are very in-
3.9 per cent., of the deaths were due to structive. He recorded the causes of death
ihoid fever. of 1,000 children in the first year, accord-
In June, 1909, there were 213 deaths in ing to the German statistics, for 1900. For
city of Richmond, of which 39, or 18 every 1,000 births, 225 deaths occurred in
cent., were due to diarrhea in infants the first year. Of these, 84, or more than
ier two years of age. Eighteen, or 8.4 one-third, were caused by stomach and
cent., were due to tuberculosis for all bowel trouble. Diphtheria, croup, whoop-
;s. There were no deaths from typhoid ing-cough, measles and scarlet fever toer.
gether account for only one-twentieth of
t has been estimated that 1.50,000 deaths the entire mortality: tuberculosis, inflamilt
annually in the United States from malion of the lungs and other inflammatory
erculosis, and that .lOO.OOo infants per- ailments of the respiratory organs for'about
annually during the first year. In one-tenth; congenita] weakness and dence,
the tragedy is well pictured in the bility, 32, or 14 per cent.; other known disnch
chart, familiar to every child-spec- eases, 68, or 30 per cent.; unknown, S, or
St, called the "Kiffel-Tower." Here, we 3 per cent.
e a contrast in morbidity between chil- Comparing the different races, we find
1 suckled and those fed upon artificial the following table:
fl. Among the former, the ratio of deaths „k..th-rate under one year per one
ains comparatively constant until we
:h July and August when it rises to a
thousand living.
siderable, hut not startling, degree, fallshortly
afterwards and remaining as at
^
Kuglaud
1876-1880
145
1893-1902
152
untU the close of the year. With arti- I'rance 16.3 158
il-fed infants, however, it is always sub- r'russia 205 199
to leaps and bounds. When July is Italy 249 173
:hed, the leap is frightful, reaching 255 Switzerland 189 145
100(1 born. United States 166 165.4
reat credit is due Xathan Straus who A glance at this table shows that the
inteeii years ago began his campaign linglish-speaking races have made scant
inst impure milk. Splendid results have progress with infants under one year.
1 acliieved, and milk reform is gradu- I wish particularly to emphasize overspreading
over the entire country. Pure crowding as one of the causes of high in-
: is only one factor. .More important fant mortality. The following table shows
. to supply a substitute for breast-milk, the density of population in England and
encourage breast-feeding and render it Wales during 1851 to 1866, both for all
ible; to remove the conditions of under ages and for children five years of age: