WHY THERE IS A MILK PROBLEM 21 



Large groups of deaths are caused by congenital dis- 

 eases and diseases of early infancy, which are respon- 

 sible for 35 per cent of the deaths under one year of 

 age, and by respiratory diseases such as acute bron- 

 chitis, pneumonia, and broncho-pneumonia (15 per 

 cent), as compared with diarrhea and enteritis (26 per 

 cent), the group affected directly by milk supply. And 

 in respect to all these groups the care given the infant 

 in regard to methods of feeding, clothing, ventilation, 

 avoidance of infection, etc., as well as the prenatal care 

 of the mother and the quality of medical and midwife 

 attention, are the preponderant factors. In the most 

 general terms, the fundamental causes of infant mor- 

 tality are recognized to be ignorance and poverty. In 

 the infant welfare movement the general lines of attack 

 are, therefore: first and chiefly, education of the mother, 

 and, secondly, elimination of evils associated with 

 poverty. Those who advocate milk control under the 

 impression that it is the chief means of attacking infant 

 mortality would do well to correct their judgment by 

 considering also the other factors involved. 7 Improve- 

 ment of milk supplies does, however, take its place as 

 an essential part of the general program, with the ob- 

 ject of ensuring safe, wholesome milk for infant-feeding 

 at a price within reach of the poor. 



MILK AS A VEHICLE OF DISEASE 



The readiness with which milk may become infected 

 and transmit disease has already been mentioned. The 

 following section, therefore, will be devoted to the 

 briefest possible summary of the charges which epi- 

 demiology makes against raw milk. 



