THE EDUCATION OF THE FATHER, AN IMPORTANT 



FACTOR IN THE PREVENTION OF INFANT 



MORTALITY 



WILLIAM PALMER LUCAS, M. D., Boston 



"Me don't know me ask my man." How many times the 

 man in the clinic receives this answer to some urgent question 

 pertaining to change of food or living arrangements for the 

 sick baby under treatment. Or again how often good results 

 are made impossible by the same attitude. The tired mother 

 struggling to carry out what she is usually most eager to learn 

 how to keep her baby well against the stolid indifference, 

 the good natured sneers, or perhaps actual opposition of "her 

 man." The crowded clinics in our cities cannot give time to the 

 instruction of the fathers, but is there not some way in which 

 the sick baby can be a means of educating the father as well 

 as the mother? 



In our great foreign population especially, the traditional 

 authority of the father of the family has a far deeper hold upon 

 the life of the family than is perhaps thoroughly appreciated. 

 Many social workers, however, are constantly testifying to this 

 fact, and it would seem a fatal mistake not to lay hold upon it 

 and use it to the best advantage. 



The emphasis which I wish to lay upon this subject is en- 

 tirely, of course, from the standpoint of the clinic. To get the 

 best results in our out-patient departments, the need of the 

 co-operation of the fathers is felt. Take, for instance, as a 

 simple illustration the question of the milk supply. The mother 

 is urged to buy only bottled milk. The corner grocery supplies 

 only dip-tank milk. The ignorant mother follows the line of 

 least resistance because she does not know how to bring any 

 effective pressure to bear upon the situation. 



At a father's meeting held under the auspices of the Milk 

 and Baby Hygiene Association last winter this very question 

 was discussed with a group of fathers who showed the most 

 eager interest to bring their concerted action to bear upon this 

 question in their ward. 



The question of the care of the milk is another point where 

 the mother needs the intelligent help of the father. We have 



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