Page:A short history of nursing - Lavinia L Dock (1920).djvu/238

222 A Short History of Nursing mortality occurred within the first month of life, and was due to causes existent before birth, came the beginning of pre-natal nursing as part of a programme for adequate maternity protection. Pre-natal nursing is being generally developed throughout the country by certain isolated hos- pitals for their maternity clinic patients ; by Visit- ing Nurse Associations, and by Maternity Centre Associations, formed for the distinct purpose of teaching all the members of the community the value of and need for medical and nursing super- vision for every pregnant mother, and of insuring for the mother the minimum of mental and physi- cal discomfort through pregnancy, and the maxi- mum of physical fitness at its termination, with the reward of a truly well baby. This first consistent effort toward pre-natal prevention was introduced by the New York Association for Improving the Condition of the Poor in 1907 through its group of Visiting Nurses. In 1908 the pediatric de- partment of the New York Outdoor Medical Clinic undertook pre-natal supervision and instruction of women applying at the obstetrical department. In 1909, the Committee on Infant Social Service of the Women's Municipal League of Boston or- ganized an experiment along similar lines. The work was taken up by the New York Milk Com-