Show american ameri carp mothers I 1 rl x R g V M aa I 1 A ana ag 4 1 v S X lett left photograph of mrs J ernest schiller of philadelphia which won the international grand prize for th the loveliest mother in the united states and canada in a contest conducted by the photographers association of america photograph courtesy of the photographers association of america center alie the spirit of motherhood this composite madonna results from the features of paintings painting which range in date from 1293 to 1823 it was made by joseph gray Kl after 31 years of study right photograph of mrs blanche rusby rugby of detroit which won the international grand prize in th the contest mentioned above photograph courtesy of the photographers association of america by ELMO SCOTT WATSON AY 10 Is thedac the day this year air when america honors its ha mothers in accordance with a resolution passed by congress in 1014 besl designating the second sunday in may alay as mothers day and asking the president it to issue a proclamation colling calling upon government officials to display the flag upon public buildings president woodrow wilson issued such a proclamation asking his fellow citizens similarly to display flags at their homes as a public expression of our love and reverence for the mothers ot of our country since that time the day has been generally observed throughout the united states and there has grown up the custom ot of sending to our mothers letters telegrams flowers candy and other gifts on that day as well as honoring them by wearing a white carnation it if ones mother Is dead and a colored carnation it if she Is still living al all I 1 of which expresses a pretty sentiment m ent and the origin and regular observance er of lV mothers others day in the united states are facts in which americans take considerable pride dutto but to offset this pride in the pretty sentiment Is an ugly fact of 0 which many americans are not aware and that fact Is that the mortality rate from maternity causes in the united states Is the highest in the civilized world and that ot of merican american A mothers who die each year causes need not die if they are given adequate maternity care carel I 1 do you doubt that statement about the mortality rate among american mothers it if so look at these off iclal figures compiled by the childrens bureau of the united states department of labor for 1827 1927 the latest year for which figures for most of these countries were available in regard to the maternity death rates per 1000 live babies tor for the following countries Uru gully 22 italy 28 26 japan jalan 23 28 the netherlands 29 finland 30 hungary 30 denmark i 31 czechoslovakia 80 30 switzerland 37 39 englan d and wales 41 E st lionia 41 irish free state 45 northern ireland 48 new zealand 40 lithuania 00 50 canada 00 50 chile 58 australia 59 salvador 03 33 3 3 scotland 04 64 united states slates 05 65 in the light of these statistics anil and the custom of v wearing paring white curna carnations in honor of mothers rao theis who have died some one has asked tills this very appropriate prop question does it not seem that white carnations one tor for each mother who needlessly died in tile the last year as a result of motherhood represent too great a toll tol I 1 in pain and sorrow to be paid for by sentiment alone however an answer to that question nay may he be found in a movement which Is already under way kay for this yearn year the observance of mothers day marks the beginning of a nationwide nation wide educational campaign to reduce the mortality rate among american mothers so that shall riot not die in vain each year this campaign has been started by mrs john sloane president of 0 the maternity center association tn in new york city and it has the ind endorsement indorsement Indor 0 of high government officials at a recent white house conference president hoover said when mothers understand the standards of care they will demand protection sur geon gendral cimeral 11 II S dimming cumming of the united states public health service in In dorsing the campaign as a new form of mothers others ll day observance has declared the high maternal death rate Is a disgrace to our profession and I 1 am convinced that efforts such as these will go far toward lin improving provIng conditions similarly grace abbott thief chief of the childrens bureau stated there are no more tragic deaths than of mothers in childbirth and I 1 feel sure that if it were understood by the people of the united states that to a very large extent these deaths are preventable they would be prevented typhoid fever smallpox and diphtheria have yielded to scientific control in the last quarter century and tuberculosis has been reduced to halt its toll as almost everyone knows but the death aate rate from causes connected with maternity has not been lowered at all during the period for which records are available italy denmark and five other nations have maternal death rates less than halt half that of the united states which as has been seen Is twenty sec ond on the roster of the nations of the world in many of these countries country Ps the results have been commonly achieved by legislation requiring obedience but in the united states improvement pro cannot be expected by such drastic action unless there la Is popular opinion back of it we have refused to address ourselves effectively to this problem for at least twenty five years says sas dr ralph W lobenstine a noted obstetrician of new york city it if we are to improve conditions we must face them not raLlon rationalize alize the humiliating hu conclusion Is that this national disgrace can be removed when as a people we set out to remove it the idea of going to a physician at once states dr F rank frank W lynch a leading obstetrician of san francisco may seem ridiculous to the ordinary woman she would not think so if she realized the value of taking things in time in nearly every hospital in the land it will be found that most tragedies occur in women who were not under medical supervision during the period of the childs development perhaps the root of the difficulty states carolyn conant van blarcom in her book obstetrical nursing lies iles in the tact fact that childbirth as well as the attendant suffering and death are ara so familiar that they are regarded as ad being normal incidents in the ordinary course of affairs one of oc the most dramatic of all human events the birth of a new being Is accepted casually almost without col concern because it Is so frequent so commonplace moreover we are all accustomed to hearing stressed sties sod the fact that childbearing Is not a disease but Is a normal physiological function not so 0 0 0 OUR MOTHERS 0 0 1 with little cheeks against the pane pan 0 0 you watched the abet heets of s ummer amer ruen ram 0 0 0 1 and ad will ill it ever r top you said aid 0 aishe f sir strolled trolled troll kedl ed your yo frightened baby head 0 the th tan how many anllo ile away Y 0 1 do even children die some ome day t 0 0 it Is heaven far above the blue 0 0 aishe I 1 sh antlered avery ry on or you 0 and ahn you left the fi ids light f to go away up to bed at night where shado a lurked along alone the wall 0 0 ano those we were war her footstep tooti foot tep 1 in the hall 0 0 0 i 0 yu you saw the il fl low 0 ion on fields ol of dying thing below 0 0 but far ar away somewhere ome where you I 1 knew f A alien prayer went up for or you ym I 1 the rh year beare 11 live a as a moment nt toy 0 f tomorrows tint lint your yesterday yeter day das 0 th may wind id toll talla wh where lilac his a are 1 0 0 A tinkle to a star tar 0 t now N we are Y young g our r voices voice call 0 now faded portrait oil an the wall IL 0 aman more sweet thee hours hour with hey her will grow 0 0 As A they pass par to the long ago 0 and sheild you peak some day to men 0 had I 1 tny my ute life to live again 0 may you live now that you can say ay 0 1 I 1 would w ld not change bana a single dy day 1 I 0 0 thoma thom H honsby by F derrll 11 generally however do we hear empe asla asis put upon the equally important fact that there Is extreme danger of infection while these physiological functions are in progress and that they must subject the entire organism to such a strain that there results a dangerously narrow margin between health and disease here is the evidence that adequate maternity care saves mothers lives louis L I 1 dublin ph D statistician of the metropolitan life insurance company and an expert internationally known examined the records of mothers cared for by the maternity ity center association over a period of six years in a certain section of new york city ue ile compared the results with what happened to mothers in the same section of the city not receiving such care this showed that those in the first group have about three times as good a chance to survive as the others the result says his report Is indicative dica tive of the saving of lives that might be accomplished were every mother to receive the benefit of adequate maternity care As more than women in the united states every year die from causes related to maternity this means that more than deaths are preventable in addition of the babies who now die in the first month of life would be saved infants as well us mothers are protected by adequate maternity care there to Is nothing peculiar to the tha civilization of the united states to account for the fact that our maternal death rate Is more than twice that of such countries coun tilea as denmark and the netherlands where records are kept es as carefully as they are here this count rys low position on the roster 0 of nations of the world Is because there la Is a striking absence ali sence here of trained rained care for the great mass of women in moderate circumstances who have children we have allowed things to go on with indifference to the waste of lives ot of mothers and babies assuming that all was well when decidedly it was not the situation cries to high beaven tor for a remedy adequate Adeau ate maternity care Is the observation care and instruction by doe tors and nurse mothers from the time the woman thinks she may be pregnant until she Is able to resume her regular activities and to care for her new baby according to iia acl cot coi bin general director of the maternity center association commenting on the work done by this organization which reduced tho the death rate among mothers to 22 per thousand live births as against 05 tu in the country as a whole miss corbin adds nurses urge each mother to register as early as possible with the private doctor or hospital physician who will deliver hor her so he may direct dalri ct her care during pregnancy and know till all about her when it comes time tor for the delivery and c care of tile the baby each mother Is lie helped ped to select from the facilities available what Is best bulted to her condition the nurses working with the doctors and reporting to them each time tim they see the mothers visit each mother at regular intervals during pregnancy 1 they help the doctor or midwife during delivery and make regular visits afterward and give or teach some responsible person to give the necessary care to mother and baby as well its as see that the household Is running smoothly so the mother can rest as long as necessary and gradually as the doctor advises resume her usual activities aud arid increased responsibilities bili blItt ties les the aim of maternity cure Is to secure acure tor for every mother the minimum of mental and physical discomfort during pregnancy the maximum of mental and physical fitness when the baby comes the reward of a well baby and the knowledge to care tor for herself ard and baby A 1111 1931 western union |