J. H. MASON KNOX, JR., M. D. 31 



ahead of us in this regard. The children of the immigrants 

 coming to our shores from Europe can furnish much more satis- 

 factory evidence for the date of their birth when applying for 

 school privileges, or the right to labor, than can our own children. 

 It has often been said that we have better records in this country 

 of our blooded cattle and horses, than of our infant population. 

 We hope that all those who attend this conference will see to it 

 that the births occurring in their families are duly registered at 

 the Health Department, and that they will remind the busy and 

 sometimes neglectful physician of this important duty. The noti- 

 fication of the fact of birth within a few hours, which is to be dis- 

 tinguished from the fuller registration of the child's name with 

 that of it parents, etc., is absolutely essential in many instances 

 to secure the visit of nurse or social worker and physician in 

 time to avert illness or blindness or to save life. 



Emphasis will also be laid during the conference upon the 

 importance of maternal nursing. This natural sustenance is the 

 inalienable right of every infant, and should not be withheld save 

 in very exceptional circumstances. One has only to visit in the 

 homes of the working classes to realize that the mother who is 

 forced to raise her child on the bottle embarks on a most uncer- 

 tain sea of troubles, and the death rate among such artificially fed 

 children is notoriously high. The truth is that the feeding of a 

 young baby on anything but its mother's milk requires an unusual 

 degree of skill, intelligence and attention extremely difficult for 

 the overworked mother to provide, and when to this is added the 

 uncertainty of the purity of the cow's milk and the inadequate 

 nourishment of condensed milk and proprietary foods the baby's 

 troubles are greatly increased. It is a well-known fact that wean- 

 ing is resorted to in this country far more frequently than is 

 necessary; that in many cases a little skill and perseverance on 

 the part of the physician will secure to the baby its proper nour- 

 ishment for many months. Certainly, if breast nursing could be 

 provided during the first six months of every baby's life, our 

 infant mortality statistics would be greatly reduced. It is hoped 

 that you will carry away with you also as a result of the con- 

 ference knowledge of the large glace that education plays in the 

 problem of saving babies. Instruction is sorely needed imme- 

 diately and at first hand in the homes. It is here that it seems 

 to me the well equipped and devoted trained nurse has a large 

 sphere of opportunity. She enters the home as a tactful and 

 womanly friend, and generally finds a hearty response and a warm 

 welcome from the mother. 



But the educational feature should have a still larger outlook, 

 and instruction on many of the questions we are now discussing 

 should be a part of the curriculum of our normal schools and 



