The early efforts of the U.S.

Childrens Bureau
Linda MacDonald
History 153
October 4, 2015

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Linda MacDonald
Dr. Kimberly Lark
History 153
4 October 2015
The early efforts of the U.S. Childrens Bureau
The children of our country are precious and valuable. In the early 20th century children
were in danger of living in a safe and comfortable manner. With the Progressive movement came
numerous changes for the adult population. However, the lack of protections in place for the
infants and children were few. Changes needed to be made to protect their welfare. In 1912 the
Childrens Bureau was established by the federal government. The early efforts of this agency
advancing the health and welfare of infants and children were tremendous.
The Childrens Bureau came to be after several years of work by the National Child Labor
Committee (NCLC) in the early 1900s. The country was at a turning point. Safeguards needed
to be established to protect the children. It was recognized by the Bureau that many issues were
affecting the infants and children through the work of the NCLC. The federal government
intended to act upon their recommendations and make significant changes to give them a
healthier outlook in life.
The Childrens Bureau was the first U.S. agency headed by a woman, this woman, Julia
Lathrop was given the director position in 1912. According to Paul Theerman, Lathrop
promoted the use of metrics, notably compilations of birth and death data; she mounted a
coordinated program of producing authoritative brochures on infant care advertised them through

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Baby Weeks; she emphasized social justice, and she maintained strong connections with
women of the country, recruiting volunteers from womens clubs to help her underfunded agency
(1589). One of Lathrops greatest achievement was the Sheppard Towner Act. This act was
passed in 1921 which gave the states funding to help reduce infant and maternal mortality
(Theerman 1589).
One of the first studies undertaken by the Bureau was infant mortality rates. In 1912, the
infant mortality rate was more than 100 per 1000 live births (Brosco and Golden 993). With
this statistic, research into the causes of the mortality needed to be investigated and compiled.
Several issues were identified which included respiratory illnesses, poor nutrition of mother and
baby, poverty, and contaminated food sources. Some of these could easily be fixed, but others
would be inevitable with diseases which had no cure currently available.
Infant births needed to be documented appropriately to gather the data required by the
Bureau. Birth registration of each newborn began. By 1915, ten states and the District of
Columbia had initiated the registration process. This data then allowed the government to
adequately and appropriately evaluate the areas of mortality that would require changes and
implement plans to try and correct another unwarranted death.
The infants early main source of nutrition is milk. Breast milk would be the logical choice for
most infants. Statistics prove that one breast-fed infant dies to every ten artificially fed
(Newmayer 292). However, some mothers may not be able to nurse due to sickness, lack of
milk production, poor nutrition, or the inability of the baby to breast feed. Pure, clean and fresh
milk is an absolute necessity to conserve the health of infants (Newmayer 294). Milk can be
contaminated at the source of collection, during transport, or inadequate processing procedures.

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Therefore, teaching the parents how to store milk properly and new pasteurizations processes
were explored and implemented.
Personal hygiene of both the parents and infant were a factor in mortality. In 1906the
Association for Improving the Condition of the Poorthat educating mothers about household
hygiene more broadly was the most promising approach for improving infant and child survival
(Miller 4). A clean household would eliminate some of the bacteria that may be involved in their
mortality. A clean body could prevent the spread of sickness or disease. Social workers and
nurses were given the task of teaching personal hygiene to the mother and how to care for the
infant.
The bureau addressed other social living situations affecting women and children. The
main issues the bureau also focused on included juvenile delinquency, foster care, illegitimate
children, and labor laws. Many of these are continuously being addressed due to changes in
society today. According to Thomas, the Childrens Bureau had approved plans for 42 states.
Each state had some form of training or education for child welfare workers (360). Eventually
the Childrens Bureau encouraged states to employ staff who had two years of professional
education or permit educational leave so that the child welfare staff could receive such education
(Thomas 360).
The Childrens Bureau contribution to mankind has definitely given the infants and children
of the United States a chance for a safe and healthy life. Without the advancements made from its
early inception, the world would definitely be a different place. The Progressive Era has lived up
to its expectations.

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Notes

See United States Department of Health and Human Services, The Childrens Bureau
Legacy, Chapter 1, no page specified for further commentary on the milk problem.
On other leaders of the Childrens Bureau see Parker 552-556
In a 1912 conference she reiterated this point: The Childrens Bureau is an expression the
nations sense of justice, and the justice of today is born of yesterdays pity. (Theerman 1589).
For more information on the Sheppard-Towner Act see Brosco and Golden 993-995.

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Works Cited
Brosco, Jeffrey P and Golden, Janet. The United States Childrens Bureau and Pediatric
Medicine: A Retrospective Analysis. Pediatrics Perspective 130.6 (2012). Web. 4 Oct. 2015.
Miller, Grant. Womens Suffrage, Political Responsiveness, and Child Survival in American
History. Stanford Medical School and National Bureau of Economic Research (2008). Web.
4 Oct. 2015.
Newmayer, S.W. The Warfare Against Infant Mortality. The Annals of the American Academy
of Political and Social Science 37.2 (1911): 288-98. JSTOR. Web. 4 Oct. 2015.
Theerman, Paul. Julia Lathrop and the Childrens Bureau. American Journal of Public Health
100.9 (2010): 1589-90. Web. 4 Oct. 2015.
Thomas, Miranda Lynch. One Hundred Years of Childrens Bureau Support to the Child
Welfare Workforce. Journal of Public Child Welfare 6 (2012): 357-371. Web. 4 Oct. 2015.