LOW BIRTH-RATE

Evening Post, Volume CXXVIII, Issue 24, 28 July 1939, Page 6

LOW BIRTH-RATE

AMERICAN DECLINE

THE ECONOMIC ASPECT

(From "The Post's" Representative.) NEW YORK, June, 21.

There were 1,300,000 fewer school! children in the United States last yearj than in 1930. This astonishing fact was revealed before a national convention of 600 physicians by Dr. Helmholz, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, who added that the birth-rate was now at the lowest level in history. He criticised mothers who were inclined to sacrifice the best interests of children for the sake of work, a career, or pleasure. The child of today had become an increasingly smaller part of the population, due to a great change in trends.

Medical progress has reduced the infant death-rate in twenty years from 200 deaths in each 1000 live births to 50 deaths, Dr. Helmholz observed. He adde dthat in 1909 one in every five infants failed to reach its first birthday, but that last year only one infant in twenty failed to live for a:'year.

"It is possible that by more intensive work this mortality rate can be further reduced, but at best this can be only a small fraction of the previous reduction," he continued. "There was a very marked increase in the birthrate immediately after the World War, but this has gradually dropped off. At present it is the lowest in the history, o^ our country. It would seem that' in spite of our best efforts in behalf of infants and children in recent years, we have a great deficit at present,"

In comparing the cost of child-bear-ing here and in Russia, where mothers, he said, received time off from work with pay to have children at the cost of the State 'under the best medical supervision. Dr. Helmholz attributed the falling birth-rate here partly to! the expense of having children. | "I know many young couples who have put off having babies because of the expense of hospital and medical care, and I cannot see that anything has been done in recent years to help remedy this situation," he said. "It is this group that realises its obligations which we must help to have babies and to raise families. I

"The last few years have seen a' great development in a programme of child conservation. Whether this will be increased or decreased will depend on our legislators in Washington. The best interests of the public must be served and there is no fundamental distinction between the best interests of the public and" the medical profession, i