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Presents arguments with regard to the regionalization of perinatal care. Concerns regarding problems presented by the regionalization of perinatal care on obstetrical care; Question regarding efficacy of the proposed perinatal centers in lowering perinatal mortality rates; Criticisms concerning costs of intensive care.

The concept of central place theory is examined and a method is described for determining the optimal locations for Maternal and Infant Care Projects so that health services are accessible to and utilized by the greatest number of eligible persons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A life table analysis of premature and mature births demonstrates that differences in the initiation of prenatal care can be ascribed, for the most part, to the shortened gestation period of premature births. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the used of the population simulation procedure, a one-race, two-sex model that runs on the IBM 360/75, developed by the University of North Carolina and the Research Triangle Institute, to determine the effects of a postpartum recruitment program on unwanted fertility. A family planning module has been added to the model to stimulate a postpartum family planning situation. Under this module, each woman giving birth in the interval of interest is invited to take part in the program. The program effect is gradual and continues to reduce unwanted births for 9 or 10 years and it is more dramatic on blacks compared to whites.

The article examines maternity homes, their services, their facilities, and their future role in obstetrical and gynecological services in the U.S. In the late eighteen-hundreds and early and middle nineteen-hundreds, maternity homes played an important role in providing shelter and care for unmarried pregnant girls and women in this country. Since the nineteen-sixties, with the change in sexual mores and the increase in out-of-wedlock pregnancy, alternate services have been developed in large, local communities to begin to meet the needs of girls and women pregnant out-of-wedlock.

This paper discusses the training and performance of paramedical personnel in family planning services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A study was made to obtain information on the amount and kind of family planning care obtained by patients whose babies were born at the only hospital in San Antonio providing obstetrical services for indigent women. The data were to be a basis for programs to deal with an extremely high perinatal morbidity and mortality in this group. The findings are reported and discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author explores the social construction of maternity and the promotion and prevention of childbirth in obstetrics and gynaecology. Emphasis is given to topics such as interpersonal relations between physician and patient, discussing the topics of sterilization and contraception with pregnant women, and the role of nurses in medical interactions related to pregnancy.

The article cites a study that represents an attempt to attack the problem globally by investigating Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory items which might differentiate between two heterogeneous groups, one composed of subjects displaying a wide range of pseudo-neurologic symptomatology suggestive of CNS dysfunction and the other made up of subjects with symptoms unequivocally referrable to organic brain damage. Examination of the case histories of the 50 patients with psychiatric diagnoses revealed that 18 had anamnestic information suggestive of possible perinatal difficulty, congenital abnormality, or closed head injury with unknown or uncertain sequelae which made it impossible to rule out chronic-static encephalopathy in spite of their primary psychiatric diagnoses.

Inadequate maternity care among migrant farm workers has been attributed largely to difficulties associated with their mobility. A study of maternity care behavior of 172 migrants and 145 non-migrants of the same racial and socio-economic group who delivered in Belle Glade (Florida) during a period of one year raises serious questions regarding the validity of this assumption. Comparisons of the migrant and non-migrant groups revealed no significant differences with regard to social characteristics, maternal histories, trimester during which prenatal care was sought, number of patient visits for maternity care, postpartum examinations or outcome of pregnancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies have indicated a need to recruit and train young physicians with specialty board training for positions in the field of maternal and child health. To meet this need, a program has been established at the University of California School of Public Health at Berkeley in conjunction with the departments of pediatrics of three schools of medicine. The program consists of 2 years of pediatric clinical training and 1 year of public health training with a major in maternal and child health, and it is designed to encourage young physicians to complete specialty training in pediatrics while obtaining the degree of master of public health. Evaluation after 4 years of operation indicates that the program is meeting its objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on a study which examined certain characteristics of women with prolonged pregnancies. Comparison on the perinatal experience of post-term and term infants; Maternal factors in prolonged pregnancy; Criterion of pregnancy losses.

This article focuses on the family life education in Norway. Traditionally, social interactions relating to family formation and functions have been patterned by folkways, governed by local mores and reinforced or modified by the moral code enjoined by the established church and its theologians. The national Housemothers' League, the Department of Agriculture, provinces and municipalities operate domestic science training schools. Some localities also provide home counselors. Pamphlets called "Guidance in Children's Regimen" are published by the national Health Directorate and distributed through municipalities. Clinics, mental and physical, do much general family life education along with case therapy. Maternal health centers instruct mothers about prenatal, post-natal physical hygiene and care of infants. There is an extensive program of lectures and literature on child hygiene and nutrition. Contraceptive advice is not illegal nor are the Maternal Health Centers forbidden to give it. Contraceptive information is apparently accessible through family physicians. The official program of sex instruction for grammar schools is part of the subject matter of biology in natural science.

One hundred pregnant teenagers were studied in the University of Pennsylvania Hospital, fifty from the prenatal clinic, and fifty from the teenage obstetrical clinic. Findings for the two groups are reported, but few differences were found. Suggestions for further action are being followed up. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the development of health care services for mothers and children in the U.S. In 19th century, social action for the welfare of children has led to the concept of maternal and child health services. Several organizations were formed to improve the condition of abused children. Due to the desire to improve children welfare, advances in medicine especially in pediatrics and obstetrics and in medical education were developed. Then, the state established several health departments that provide governmental framework for maternal and child health programs.

A report is presented of the experience in New York City under the law passed by the State Legislature April 10, 1970. The data cover the first years during which the law was effective (July 1, 1970-June 30-1971). Declines were noted in births, especially out-of-wedlock, in neonatal mortality, and in deaths associated with pregnancy, particularly those linked with abortions. The authors conclude the law had a favorable effect on maternal and child health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A major objective of this study was to determine and describe services (health, social, educational, vocational, etc.) for pregnant teenage girls, for the fathers of the babies, and for their families in large American cities. Another objective was to determine unmet needs. Findings are presented and discussed, as are various factors involved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A study of premarital pregnancy in all women under 30 living in a single county who first married in 1968 is reported. The proportion of brides pregnant at marriage declined with higher age at marriage and with increased education. During the year of study the out-of-wedlock births were only about one-third of the total premarital pregnancies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The source of prenatal care of a large group of Maryland women who had live births in 1968 were analyzed. On the basis of the findings the conclusion was reached that differences in the selection of care facilities are largely a function of socioeconomic status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article concerns the adequacy of available marriage and family consultation services in the U.S. and makes certain proposals for their extension and improvement. Available services, in this regard, are still inadequate. A study of various agencies which handle some phase of family experience gives testimony to the fact that a more specific and broader educational counseling program is desirable. As for existing agencies, they can be classified under birth control and maternal health centers, social hygiene centers, church centers, social work centers, educational service and research centers and private consultation centers. The aims of all these centers are similar in that they attempt to disseminate information designed to further adjustments in marriage and other family relationships. Some confine their efforts to a specific field, such as contraceptive advice, while others, especially the educational or private marriage consultation centers, undertake to handle a wide range of problems.

The article presents the analysis of data relating to maternal and child health services, post-natal care and use of nurseries. Although the importance of post-natal care has been emphasized from the earliest days of the maternity and child welfare movement, the development of post-natal clinics has not kept pace with the expansion of the rest of the services. The problem of maternal ill health has never had the same urgent appeal as the related problems of infant and maternal mortality. One probable reason for this is the lack of morbidity statistics. There are no such incentives to attack the problem of maternal ill health and for these reasons the post-natal services have been relatively neglected, and attention concentrated on care during pregnancy and confinement. The present inquiry gives some indication of the extent of this problem, though, by excluding the late complications of childbearing, it underestimates its gravity. So long as there are no statistics of maternal ill health it will be difficult to plan adequate post-natal services. While the present survey has given some indication the extent and nature of maternal morbidity, it is clear that further information needed both to provide a basis for the initial planning of the services and, later, to give an objective measure of their success.

The study of mortality in previous centuries and of the trends in recent decades helps to elucidate some present-day medical problems and to contribute to their solution. The author considers, from a historical and socio-economic point of view, the factors which, during the last zoo years, have influenced the trends of mortality. This analysis indicates the lines along which present research, aimed at reducing mortality and extending expectation of life, should be directed. Infancy (0-1 year): In backward countries, the whole of infancy is a period of high mortality. In progressive countries, on the other hand, the main reproductive wastage is in the 'perinatal' period, that is to say, covering stillbirths and deaths during the first week of life. For example, even in New Zealand, the death risk per day is more than eighty times as high during the first week of life than in the following 358 days. Historical studies and social class comparisons suggest that further reduction of perinatal mortality is likely to depend on socio-economic, housing and cultural factors rather than on improvements in obstetric skill. Evidence cited by the author indicates that a crucial factor may be to provide expectant mothers with adequate rest during the weeks immediately prior to delivery. In general, research into mortality in infancy is too much bounded by a purely medical point of view whereas a socio-medical approach is needed. Childhood (1-14 years): There has been an immense reduction in childhood mortality during the last zoo years. Less than zoo years ago the mortality among children aged 1-4 and 5-9 years was thirty-three times, and among those aged to 10-14 years twelve times, that of the present day. Future reduction of mortality among children will be primarily a function of social factors and trends. Adolescence and maturity (15-49 years): One of the outstanding trends of the last zoo years has been a relative increase in tuberculosis mortality among those aged 15-49 years, whereas among children tuberculosis has become relatively less important as a cause of death. Recently, however, there has been a decline in the relative importance of tuberculosis as a cause of death among the adolescent and mature and, among New York males, it now takes second place to the cardiovascular diseases. The total mortality of people in this age group has fallen, since the sixteenth century, by 77 % for men and 81 % for women. No spectacular discoveries are needed to reduce the mortality of this group by a further third; in doing this, control of environment will be the important factor. Later maturity and old age (50 years and over): In the four centuries since the Renaissance the mortality of people over 50 years of age has been reduced by half. Among the factors contributing to this reduction is a fall in mortality due to tuberculosis. But even cancer, which is popularly supposed to have increased, used to be more common in the eighteenth century than it is now and to appear at an earlier age. Moreover, there has been a change in the organs most commonly affected. The distribution of the greater proportion of cancer in a given population is a function of living conditions in the broadest sense of the term. Studies of groups exposed to carcinorelevant factors suggest that a high incidence of cancer in one organ is associated with a low incidence in other organs. But on many other causes of death at the older ages far more research is required, especially on the cardio-vascular-renal complex, and on the degenerative joint and bone diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents some guides to articles published in previous issues of periodicals referencing various social topics. The article states that a recently formed Committee on Maternal Health in New York has begun a scientific study of birth control from a medical point of view, aiming to examine a large number of case records and determine effective methods of procedure. Gertrude Minturn Pinchot describes the work of the committee to date, and some of the conditions it has brought to light, in the "Survey" for March 15, 1925. In the same issue, Gordon Hamilton attacks the problem of "The Private Agency and the Feeble- Minded." Defective mentality must be made more than an individual diagnosis. It is almost invariably found associated with a large variety of social ills that should themselves be adjusted along with it. "Social treatment" is at present an obscure field. The practice in any given case depends largely upon the intuition and resourcefulness of the social worker in charge.

A wide range of governmental health programs have impact on the American family. Some of these, like mass preventive services or professional licensure, affect all families directly or indirectly. Other programs assist specific families, like the welfare medical services, maternal and child health work, or the care of military dependents. Still other programs assist families struck with certain diseases, like tuberculosis, mental disorder, or crippling of children or adults. New 1965 health legislation greatly expands medical services for the aged and the poor. In general, government has facilitated the financial support and improved the technical organization of health services for the family. Much remains to be done, however, to assure adequate services to families of all socioeconomic levels and to apply scientific measures in the most economical and effective manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the present research was exploratory in nature, the results suggest that long-range prediction of ability performance using information from prenatal, perinatal, and postnatal developmental periods was feasible. Additionally, it was found that the use of sequential prediction stages, not only allowed for more accurate classification of Ss as normal or abnormal, but also indicated some optimal interval of time beyond which increments in predictive accuracy were negligible. While the predictor variables were listed for inspection, no attempt was made to interpret which variables were good or poor predictors. Discernment of the adequacy of the predictor variables will be the major focus of a future, more elaborate study involving a much larger number of CCDP Ss. This study will require a refinement of the developmental outcome criterion to include performance on both psychological and neurological tests and a more comprehensive coverage of the wide range of available predictor variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper was to describe a method of measuring maternal care in terms of the actual operations a mother performs in caring for an infant. The method employed the technique of time-sampling, with both the items of behavior to be recorded and the time schedule of observations specified in advance. The method was illustrated by comparing care given three-month-old infants in their own homes with care given in an institution. On a checklist containing 30 items of mothering activities and 12 items of infant behavior, the observer recorded what both mother (or caretaker) and infant were doing on any second of observation. Observations were made every 15th second for the first 10 minutes of every consecutive quarter hour for a period of eight hours. A record for an infant therefore consisted of 1280 observations systematically distributed over eight hours. The results showed that the home infants received care 4.5 times as often as infants in an institution; the differences in some specific caretaking operations were even greater. The differences, however, tended to be differences in amounts of caretaking and not in kinds (as defined here). Measures of infant activities, on the other hand, yielded only small and, in general, not reliable differences. The results demonstrate that a set of maternal care variables can be defined and measured. As a consequence, it may now be possible to formulate and test quantitative statements about the relationships between maternal care and infant behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thirty-seven measures of behavior were obtained from film records made approximately 96 hours following delivery for each of 32 male infants selected as showing no evidence of perinatal complications. Anthropometric indices were added to these measures; intercorrelations were computed and subjected to a factor analysis. Five orthogonal factors which emerged were identified as Arousal, Depth of Sleep. Tactile Sensitivity-Strength, Oral Integration, and Fetal Position. Twenty-two measures of manifestly quite different behavior manifestations could be located in a quadrant between the two axes represented by Arousal and Depth of Sleep. It was suggested that many behaviors of the infant at this age are merely manifestations of level of arousal. The latter is assumed to be a joint function of temporary states of disturbance in the infant and more stable processes involving depth of sleep. Activity while asleep and awake appeared to represent two different processes rather than a single unitary process. Differences between infants on the Tactile-Strength factor may be of importance for later development because there is evidence that underlying components are sufficiently matured to show some continuity over time. Evidence for a possible sex linkage in this factor is summarized. Factorial structure was not consistent with the concept of a single sensory barrier or with the notion that all oral processes in the infant represent some single unitary entity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents information regarding the social conditions of West German mothers in 1963 and 1964. A description is given of resolutions made to improve services offered to recovering mothers, as discussed during a 1963 West German social care conference. Questions about mothers' medical, financial, and pregnancy-related needs are addressed, along with the social complexities to be found in the lives of homemakers and working women.

Presents views on helping mothers breast feed. Importance of training physicians, nurses and midwives on the advantages of breastfeeding; Emphasis on promoting the association of breastfeeding with lower incidence of allergic and respiratory problems, digestive disorders and infectious diseases; Contribution of the practice with more rapid return of the uterus to its original size and reduction of the risk of breast cancer; Use of unsupplemented breastfeeding as a deterrent to ovulation.

The article explores some of the major parameters of social attachments in infancy. Identical data collection procedures were applied at regular intervals to each infant. The subjects were 60 normal infants. Contact with the families was obtained with the help of the Maternity and Child Welfare Department of the Corporation of Glasgow. The score obtained by an infant depended on the step at which he first showed fear. This procedure assumes that the interviewer remained a stranger to the infant even after repeated visits.

Chapter 9 of the book "Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development" is presented. It offers information regarding the normal pregnancy series in the Center for child development. The group considered in their study all women from the prenatal clinics of the Boston Lying-in Hospital. The objective of the study is to obtain a more accurate information on the occurrences during pregnancy and to control other prenatal factors.

This paper presents results from an exploratory study of the utilization behavior of lower working-class families in Aberdeen, Scotland. It is shown that, after controlling for such factors as social class, educational level, geographical proximity to, and knowledge of available services, the underutilizers exhibit a different social profile from the utilizers with respect to a number of variables, postulated as being possibly related to utilization behavior. The underutilizers appear to sustain a crisis existence, experiencing lack of permanent accommodation, over-crowding, marital instability, financial difficulties, and frequent sickness in the family. Utilizers appear to avoid most of these problems and to plan for their future lives. The circumstances surrounding the first conception (whether or not it was post-nuptial, on the one hand, or pre-nuptial or illegitimate, on the other), appear to be a main distinguishing variable between the two study groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explores the need to stop the unparalleled growth of population, and stresses the problems that may occur when the unparalleled growth continues. The author said that the U.S. and other developed countries must take the leadership in setting up world-wide institutions in which maternal and child health care is intimately coupled with family planning and population control advice. He suggested that the 2% unparalleled rate of population must be reversed to prevent insurmountable problems. He also recommended leadership-related ways that would help and prevent nations from having an overpopulation.

The article presents a summary of the provisions of the proposed Maternal and Child Welfare Act of 1945 in the U.S. The issues involved in the legislation include maternity care, preventive maternal and child health work, school health services, diagnostic services and care of sick children, dental care of children and demonstration projects related to maternal and child health services.

Discusses factors to be considered when integrating maternal health services with child health services in the United States. Medical and administrative reasons for integrating the services; Patterns of separate services;Training of personnel to provide both maternal and child health services.

The article presents information on the failure of ambulation in Down's Syndrome. Although bedridden individuals with Down's syndrome (mongolism) are relatively uncommon, some do not walk because of severe mental retardation or as a secondary complication of an infection or other postnatal insult. There are reports of a symptomatic dislocation at the atlas and axis joints and evidence of occasional cord compression at this level. Additional reasons for failure of ambulation were discovered in a survey of institutionalized retarded patients. Patients with a chromosomal and clinical diagnosis of Down's syndrome in two institutions for the mentally retarded were surveyed. It is not surprising that cord compression may suddenly occur at any of several levels, with a particular predisposition in the high cervical region. Incomplete fusion of the arches of the vertebral canal, reported to be common in Down's syndrome, may also be a factor. There is also a possibility of neurosurgical disease in the cervical region.

Presents first aid therapy for burns. Use of ice packs or ice cold water; Contribution of inhibiting capillary permeability in the suppression or prevention of edema, blister formation and tissue destruction; Determination of the knowledge of mothers regarding the use of cold water for burns; Emphasis on the promotion of educational materials regarding burns in urban and suburban areas.

Describes the maternal and child care services in Soviet Union. Observation that services for mothers and children are directed by the deputy chief of the Department of Specialized Medical Care in the Ministry of Health; Role of the different ministries of health's sub-department in the maintenance and supervision of women's and children's consultation centers and of health services in crèches, kindergartens, schools and other institutions for children.

Foi analisada uma área do município de Osasco no Estado de São Paulo, com 40.134. habitantes para verificar o grau de atendimento em saúde materna, recebido pelas gestantes dessa área, que não contava com recursos oficiais de pré-natal. Foi construído um formulário aplicado a uma amostra de 1.036 residências. Os resultados evidenciaram um número elevado de partos hospitalares, alta concentração de consultas de pré-natal por gestantes (6,27), e que estas eram atendidas por sociedades de medicina de grupo. Concluiu-se que ao se programar serviços de saúde materna para uma área é imperativo um diagnóstico prévio das necessidades e recomenda-se que os órgãos oficiais de Saúde Pública considerem todos os recursos de saúde da área e os assessore quando existentes.It was analysed an area in Osasco, São Paulo, with 40,134 inhabitants in order to know how the pregnant women from the area were assisted in this area. This area does not have pre-natal care to assist these pregnant women. A formulary was constructed and applied to a samples of 1,036 families. The results showed a high number of hospital deliveries, analysed a high conantration of prenatal consults (each pregnant woman went to the doctor's 6,27 times) and also showed that the pregnants were assisted by societies of groupal medicine. It was concluded that to program Maternal Health Services it is necessary first of all to know the necessity of that service in that area. They recommended that the oficial department of Public Health take in consideration every disposable resource in Maternal Health and give them technical support.