Annual report : 1930 / Society of the Lying-in Hospital of the City of New York.
- Society for the Lying-In Hospital
- Date:
- 1930
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: Annual report : 1930 / Society of the Lying-in Hospital of the City of New York. Source: Wellcome Collection.
71/78 page 65
![Our volunteers not only greatly help us at the Class sessions but also are very kind in aiding the families who are in the greatest need. This is especially true during the Holidays. For some years past a friend has sent us a check at Christmas time and at the beginning of the summer months, stipulating that this shall be used directly for the babies. We have usually bought warm underwear for the babies who would otherwise be scantily clad during the winter months, and in summer we have used this money to send babies on short day trips where they could be refreshed by cool sea breezes for a little while at least. Many of the mothers are so situated that they cannot leave home for a longer stay in the country or at the seashore even if no expense is connected with this vacation. If the baby is breast fed of course it cannot leave the mother, hence the little day outings are all the change of air they have, and are very beneficial. At every Class session inoculations of toxin antitoxin for the prevention of diphtheria have been given to all babies of suitable ages, and 188 babies were protected from smallpox by vaccination. General Alpine Sun Lamp treatments have been given by our volunteer technician, while treatment for special cases requiring closer application of the rays, has been given by one of our staff doctors in charge of this work; 1,400 treatments were given during the seven months when this kind of aid is advisable. In warm weather we discontinue the Sun Lamp work, out of door sun baths being advised then. It is interesting to note that many mothers come to the Hospital for confinement even if they must travel a long distance. Among the follow-up cards sent down from the wards when the babies were discharged from the Hospital, 350 cases lived on Long Island and 425 in Brooklyn. It is not possible for our busy nurses to personally call on these mothers, but some of them return to the Babies’ Class voluntarily. Many of them are very loyal to the Hospital although they cannot return to the Class as fre¬ quently as those living nearby; they often say “My baby was born in the Lying-In Hospital and I want him to be under its care as long as possible.” (signed) Emelyn L. Coolidge, M. D., Pediatrician. [65]](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b31710955_0071.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
