PUBLIC HEALTH, NURSING AND MEDICAL SOCIAL WORK

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1950 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 166-168
Author(s):  
MYRON E. WEGMAN

THE five White House Conferences represent in no small degree the stages in the development of pediatrics in the United States. The first Conference was called by President Roosevelt in 1909 to meet the needs of the orphaned, abandoned, and neglected children. It was the year in which the American Association for the Study and Prevention of Infant Mortality was organized. It was at a time when there was not a single fully developed pediatric clinic in the U.S.A. As a result of this Conference the Children's Bureau was established in 1912, and it has continued to give at the Federal level leadership in the prevention of disease, improvement in the care of children and standardization of child labor practices. The American Association for the Study and Prevention of Infant Mortality was organized to solve a problem by what today is called the multidisciplinary approach. It focused the attention of the pediatrician, the public health nurse, social worker, statistician, public health officer, and interested lay groups on the problem of high infant mortality, with a resulting remarkable success. A reduction of the infant mortality rate from 150 to 40 has been accomplished in the last 40 years. We must not forget that in 1909 we did not know how many babies were born in the United States. Complete birth registration was not accomplished until 1933.

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1949 ◽  
Vol 3 (5) ◽  
pp. 722-728

THE infant mortality rate in 1947 was the lowest on record, according to figures released by the National Office of Vital Statistics of the Public Health Service, Federal Security Agency. The number of deaths under one year recorded in the United States during 1947 was 119,173, or 8,110 more than the number (111,063) reported in 1946. However, this increase reflects the tremendous increase in the number of births during 1947 and not a rise in infant mortality. The relative frequency of infant deaths as [SEE TABLE 1,2 and 3 IN SOURCE PDF] measured by the infant mortality rate decreased from 33.8 per 1,000 live births in 1946 to 32.2 in 1947. Provisional figures indicate a further decline in 1948 to an estimated rate of 31.8. The five leading causes of infant deaths in 1947 and the infant mortality rates for each are: premature birth, 11.1 ; congenital malformations, 4.6; pneumonia and influenza, 3.6; injury at birth, 3,5; and asphyxia and atelectasis, 1.6. These leading causes accounted for 75.7% of all the infant deaths in 1947. This was the first year that asphyxia and atelectasis ranked among the five leading causes of infant deaths and that diarrhea, enteritis and ulceration of the intestines has not been in this group. The number of deaths [See Table 4 in source pdf] under one you and infant mortality rates for selected causes in the United States during 1946 and 1947 are presented in Table 2. The relative frequency of deaths under one year is greatest for the under one day age group and decreases steadily with age. Mortality is higher among nonwhite than white infants deaths and among male than female infants. The number of infants deaths and infant mortality rates in the United States for 1947 by subdivisions of the first year of life, race, and sex, are shown in Table 1.


PEDIATRICS ◽  
1952 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 515-516

ON THE basis of provisional data it appears that infant mortality in the United States has continued to improve in 1951, despite the fact that the birth rate has gone up again. The National Office of Vital Statistics, Public Health Service, has published in the Monthly Vital Statistics Bulletin for February 1952 an analysis of the telegraphic reports received from the various states for the year 1951. While the data are subject to correction [See Figure 1. in Source PDF.] and final figures will almost surely result in slight revisions, previous experience indicates that the general trend is quite accurate. Figure 1 presents the month by month comparison, throughout the year, for birth rate, death rate, and infant mortality rate. Marriage license rate is shown through November 1951. It will be noted that in every month of the year the birth rate was higher than in the corresponding month of 1950. The annual rate was 24.5 per 1000 population, 4.3% higher than in 1950 but 5% lower than the peak birth rate reached in 1947. Taking into account an estimate for births which were not reported it is thought that 3,833,000 births took place in 1951. This is the greatest number of births in one year in the history of our country.


2013 ◽  
Vol 7 (6) ◽  
pp. 523-526 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marie Guadagno ◽  
Michael Mackert ◽  
Aaron Rochlen

The U.S. infant mortality rate is among the highest in the developed world, with recent vital statistics reports estimating 6.14 infant deaths per 1,000 live births. Traditional health education and promotion to improve maternal, infant, and child health in the United States has focused only on women, leaving men out of important health messages that may affect pregnancy outcomes as well as family well-being. Recently, public health scholars have suggested that men be included in prenatal health education in an effort to improve birth outcomes and reduce infant mortality. Incorporating men in prenatal health promotion and education has been found to improve overall birth preparedness, reduce the risk of maternal–infant HIV transmission, and reduce perinatal mortality in less-developed nations. Although these results are positive, research on paternal impact in pregnancy outcomes in the United States to date is lacking. This article proposes a U.S.-specific research agenda to understand the current role of men in pregnancy health, as well as actual involvement, barriers, and the influence men can have in prenatal health. A discussion of culture, individual motivations, health care providers, and social marketing is also considered.


Author(s):  
MacKenzie Lee ◽  
Eric S. Hall ◽  
Meredith Taylor ◽  
Emily A. DeFranco

Objective Lack of standardization of infant mortality rate (IMR) calculation between regions in the United States makes comparisons potentially biased. This study aimed to quantify differences in the contribution of early previable live births (<20 weeks) to U.S. regional IMR. Study Design Population-based cohort study of all U.S. live births and infant deaths recorded between 2007 and 2014 using Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC's) WONDER database linked birth/infant death records (births from 17–47 weeks). Proportion of infant deaths attributable to births <20 vs. 20 to 47 weeks, and difference (ΔIMR) between reported and modified (births ≥20 weeks) IMRs were compared across four U.S. census regions (North, South, Midwest, and West). Results Percentages of infant deaths attributable to birth <20 weeks were 6.3, 6.3, 5.3, and 4.1% of total deaths for Northeast, Midwest, South, and West, respectively, p < 0.001. Contribution of < 20-week deaths to each region's IMR was 0.34, 0.42, 0.37, and 0.2 per 1,000 live births. Modified IMR yielded less regional variation with IMRs of 5.1, 6.2, 6.6, and 4.9 per 1,000 live births. Conclusion Live births at <20 weeks contribute significantly to IMR as all result in infant death. Standardization of gestational age cut-off results in more consistent IMRs among U.S. regions and would result in U.S. IMR rates exceeding the healthy people 2020 goal of 6.0 per 1,000 live births.


PEDIATRICS ◽  
1959 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 689-690

The second annual meeting of The American Association of Poison Control Centers will be held on October 6, 1959 at The Palmer House, Chicago, Illinois. An all-day meeting is scheduled: The morning session will be devoted to business activities; during the afternoon, papers on research, clinical and public health aspects of poisoning will be presented and discussed. The Association was organized in October 1958 to promote the exchange of information among its members on various aspects of acute accidental poisoning. It also expects (1) to promote amid encourage investigation into methods for treating such cases of poisoning and (2) to develop educational programs for their prevention. Its members are, for the most part, connected is some capacity with poison control and information centers in the United States and Canada.


PEDIATRICS ◽  
1960 ◽  
Vol 26 (6) ◽  
pp. 1018-1021
Author(s):  
Myron E. Wegman

For the first time in 3 years it is gratifying to note that the infant mortality in the United States has not increased. The estimated rate for 1959, 26.4, was about 2% lower than the 1958 rate of 26.9 and is at the same level as the 1957 rate. Low point thus far for the United States was in 1956, when the rate was 26.0. There was relatively little change in the other important rates—births, deaths and marriages. The natural increase in the population, that is births (including an estimate for those unregistered) minus deaths, was 2,632,000, giving a rate of increase of 14.9 per 1,000 population, essentially the same as the 1958 rate of 15.0.


PEDIATRICS ◽  
1966 ◽  
Vol 38 (5) ◽  
pp. 800-800
Author(s):  
T. E. C.

The infant mortality rate for a single New England town for the years 1782 and 1783 cannot be used as a true index of this statistic for the 13 states which made up the United States during the 1780's. As we lack data concerning infant mortality for the country as a whole during this period, information about the mortality of infants in the town of Salem, Massachusetts, where all births were recorded, should be of interest to pediatricians. Doctor Edward A. Holyoke of Salem in a letter to Mr. Caleb Garnett, the Recording Secretary of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, gave these figures for the town of Salem: In 1782 there were 311 live-born infants and of these 36 died before they reached their first birthday, for an infant mortality rate of 115. In 1783 of 374 live-born infants, 38 died during their first year of life, for an infant mortality of 102. When one recalls that the rate for 1915 in the United States was 100, the infants, at least in Salem, did not fare too badly.


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