THE RELATION OF INFANT WELFARE WORK TO THE 

 GENERAL SOCIAL MOVEMENT 



By SHERMAN C. KINGSLEY, Superintendent of the United Charities 



Jbf Chicago 



The brief annals of one baby who passed on a year ago sug- 

 gests the substance of my theme. He was born in a three-room 

 flat, on the third floor rear, of a tenement house located on the 

 rear of a lot. Some months before his birth the father had died 

 of tuberculosis, leaving the mother, already harassed and wor- 

 ried to the breaking point, to care as best she could for the four 

 children already in the home. She got such work as offered, 

 and kept at it until the baby in question was born. There was 

 no time nor means to prepare the kind of welcome for this little 

 stranger that it is most appropriate to accord. She hurriedly 

 summoned a midwife as her only aid and counselor other than 

 that of the neighbors of the tenement. The care of the child 

 was in accord with the traditions and superstitions of the mid- 

 wife, plus such care as the mother could give in her limited cir- 

 cumstances, guided only by her instinct and traditions. She got 

 up within a week and, as soon as she could, resumed her work. 

 The baby was not strong and cried a good deal at night, and, 

 due to some infection and lack of proper care, developed sore 

 eyes, which threatened blindness. The mother attempted to 

 nurse the child, and did as long as she could, but when this form 

 of feeding failed she was obliged to put the baby on artificial 

 food. She had no way of keeping the milk and the supply in her 

 neighborhood was poor, it being 24 to 36 hours old when deliv- 

 ered. When the baby cried, he was given more of this milk. 

 The midwife's traditions and superstitions did not embrace the 

 giving of water, and the mother instinct did not lead her to do 

 so. Finally the baby died. A little emblem announcing this fact 

 was placed on the door, a white hearse visited the neighborhood 

 and a funeral was held, which cost a large sum of money, consid- 

 ering the circumstances of the family, and which was partly paid 

 for by contributions from the poor neighbors and partly by a 

 sum raised from a loan agency, where the mother mortgaged 

 what furniture she had. A more detailed narrative of this case 

 would suggest still other points where infant welfare work is 

 related to the general social movement. Let us name them in 

 the order suggested here and discuss them in a little more detail : 



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