240 Missouri Agricultural Report. 



which concern themselves with the welfare of the child. We should have 

 classes for mothers in infant hygiene, periodical consultation under the 

 direction of physicians for weighing and examining the babies, and fol- 

 low-up work in the home by visiting nurses. If infant mortality is to 

 be prevented and not cured, the home must be the crucial place of attack. 

 Before birth the depot nurse should assume the responsibility of pre- 

 paring mothers for successful delivery. After the baby is born she will 

 continue to look after it and place at the mother's disposal every known 

 means of bringing that baby into a strong and healthy childhood. In 

 the last analysis, infant mortality is not to be solved by philanthropy 

 or by institutions, or by medical profession, or by the State, but by in- 

 telligent motherhood. Some day the State or the nation will recognize 

 this great problem of education and conservation, and will take upon 

 itself the burden not carried by philanthropists and will arrange it so 

 that every woman is educated for intelligent motherhood and every baby 

 born may have his rights respected. Shall be given a chance for a clean, 

 strong body, proper food and sanitary surroundings." 



The third step is the help we may give our municipalities in enforc- 

 ing laws for sanitation, segregation in contagious diseases, and in provid- 

 ing pure water. These three points will include all the diseases that are 

 specially fatal to infants, except the gastro intestinal diseases, and that 

 is when the education of mothers is absolutely necessary. A milk depot 

 can supply clean milk but it cannot keep it clean. It cannot keep in- 

 fected flies off the nipple of the bottle as the baby nurses, or away from 

 the baby's mouth as it sleeps. We mothers must do that. There is 

 another long and most interesting story to tell of what we may do for 

 the total elimination of that most active dispenser of disease germs, the 

 house fly, but we cannot hear it now. 



Home Makers' conferences will help much along the line of educating 

 mothers; the papers that follow mine will prove my statement. Women's 

 clubs will help. Extension lectures may be given to us by the university 

 professors and our best physicians, if only we ask it. The United States 

 Government has lantern slides that it will loan for this purpose. The 

 Society for the Study and Prevention of Infant Mortality will supply 

 free, most valuable and interesting literature, and then the last and 

 best of all, why may we not hope for such a set of lectures to married 

 women to help them in their profession of motherhood as is being given 

 to the farmers here this week in their professions? Why not have good 

 short courses given to us on Personal Hygiene, Embryology, Physiology 

 of Infant Nutrition and dressing and care. Chemistry of food. Preven- 

 tion of Disease, Home Sanitation, the study of infant diseases — and so 



