Proceedings of the International Conference of Women Physicians (Volume 3-4)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1920. Excerpt: ... CHILD HEALTH Frederick Peterson, M. D. Madam Chairman and Members of the Conference: What I am going to say to you will be nothing especially new, but perhaps looked at from a slightly different angle, and with a slightly different perspective. This ferment of the world which has been going on has been chiefly concerned and is now chiefly concerned with social regeneration, with human welfare. All the points which I am going to bring out now, may, on that account, on account of this social ferment, be more closely considered than these facts have previously been. Now I have been a physician practicing medicine along with a great many other neurologists, and for a long period of time--over forty years--and as practicing physicians we concern ourselves with relief and repairs and sympathy and consolation; and we have all contributed our part, in a very moderate way, to prevention. We have written papers on alcoholism and venereal diseases and contagion and infection and tuberculosis and so on. We have written in a way on prevention, but what have we accomplished? We have accomplished extremely little. In thinking over my own particular work in connection with preventive medicine, and with the regeneration of the race, I have found that I have been spending thirty or forty years of my time, in connection with prevention, with one-.twentieth of one per cent. of the population of the country; that is, the insane constitute one-twentieth of one per cent. of our population. Now, I was instrumental in establishing the Craig Colony for epileptics, and I have taken great interest in epileptics for many years, and they also number one-twentieth of one per cent. of the population. There is a great deal of work going on now with regard, as you know, to mental hygiene, ..