Man achieves immortality largely through his children and his work. As soon as a baby is born, his health and well-being become the first concern of both his father and his mother. This is one of the points of difference between man and most of the lower animals; and as culture and civilization advance, we find humanity trying to provide better and better protection and educational and vocational opportunities for children. Sir Arthur Newsholme, a leading English authority on public health, states: “Infant mortality is the most sensitive index of social welfare and health improvement that we have. If babies were born well and well cared for, their mortality would be negligible.”

In some parts of the world, the chances of a newborn child living to be one year old are no more than one in two, and in some cities of our own country in the present century, about one in three children died during the first year. of life. In the registry area of ​​the United States, 162 infants died during the first year of life for every 1,000 live births, this figure had been reduced to 64.6; the corresponding rates for several other countries were as follows: Chile, 234; India, 178; Ceylon, 175; Italy 125; Japan, 124; Germany, 96.4; France, 96; England, Scotland and Wales, 63; Sweden, 58; Norway, 55; Swiss, 51; and New Zealand, 35.

The leading causes of infant mortality among the white population today are prenatal and natal illnesses and injuries, respiratory illnesses, and gastrointestinal illnesses. Toxemia of pregnancy and syphilis are the leading causes of preterm birth. Adequate care during the pm natal period and modern hospital facilities for the care of premature babies are effective measures to reduce these deaths.

The same can be said for some of the respiratory diseases. Bronchitis, pneumonia and other respiratory infections are serious in babies because they have little resistance against them. Therefore, all infants must be protected from exposure to children and adults who can transmit colds or other infections in every way possible. Malnutrition and deficiency diseases reduce the resistance of the infant and thus contribute to the severity of these respiratory infections.

Diarrheal or intestinal diseases were for a long time the first place among the causes of infant mortality and still do so in certain countries. The marked reduction in deaths from these diseases has been due in large part to sanitation and improved infant feeding methods. Breast milk is the ideal food for a baby. Studies have shown that the mortality rate from intestinal diseases is three to ten times higher among artificially fed infants than among breastfed infants.

Young women today are physically superior to women of previous generations and almost all are able to breastfeed their babies for at least most of the usual nine-month lactation period. Breast milk is desirable not only because it is easily digested and more nutritious for the child, but also because it offers protection against diarrhea and intestinal diseases and increases resistance against measles, scarlet fever and other common childhood infections.

Some years ago it was discovered that a serious and often fatal blood disease of newborns was caused by a certain incompatibility of the parents’ blood. This depends on what is known as the “RH factor”. Tests for this condition may be done. If it exists, the risk to the child can be reduced by careful supervision and medical care during pregnancy.

The most important indirect causes of child death are poverty and ignorance. Many studies have shown a direct correlation between low wage earner income and high infant mortality. One such study reports 168 infant deaths per 1,000 live births among families with an annual income of $500 or less, compared to a rate of 30 per 1,000 among families with incomes of $3,000 or more, and a 20 percent increase in infant mortality. Mortality rate in families in which the wage earner became unemployed during the depression years.

The conditions of poverty are all adverse for the survival of the delicate life of the newborn. On the other hand, poverty, unemployment, and larger families than can possibly be supported are often the result of the same kind of ignorance and irresponsibility that contribute to a high infant mortality rate. It has also been shown that by instructing the mother in the proper care and feeding of children, it is possible to materially improve nutritional status, even if the family income is no more than a relief allowance.

The US Children’s Bureau in Washington and state and local health departments make available information bulletins, advice and, where appropriate, public health nursing services for maternal and child care, so that ignorance is no longer justified and the carelessness that has been responsible for most deaths of mothers and babies in the past.