Originating in Chicago in 1914, the movement known as “Baby Week” sought to raise awareness of the high infant mortality rate in the U.S. and to educate young mothers and girls about early childcare. Researchers from the Children’s Bureau estimated the infant mortality rate in the U.S. at nearly one in ten in the 1910s. National attention fastened on the issue, and Baby Week was born.
The movement proved quite popular among young women, especially first-time mothers. But despite the large amount of press it received, infant mortality and ignorance about early childcare remained major problems. So, the movement continued, and Baby Week became an annual celebration across the country. In 1916, Baby Week reached North Dakota. At that time, the Sioux County Pioneer estimated the number of preventable infant deaths to be as high as 150,000.
On this date in 1917, North Dakota kicked off its second major celebration of the baby. Different locations put their own twist on the event, with slogans like “Grand Babies for Grand Forks,” “Bismarck’s Better Babies,” and “Baby Week on the Reservation” at Fort Yates. The tide of sympathy for the baby was on full display, in public lectures, charitable donations, and volunteer efforts.
Lectures covered topics such as disease and early childcare, with special attention to malnutrition and infection, then considered the leading causes of infant mortality. Many businesses hosted large Baby Week sales, advertising everything from bassinets to bottles, from chairs to clothing. And adding a patriotic touch, the Boy Scouts in some cities distributed flags to families with a child under one year old.
Though many of the dangers of early childcare have receded in the modern age, some still participate in Baby Week celebrations, now focused more on celebrating the lives of babies and mothers than on instruction. The baby craze has not disappeared, and thanks to advances in modern medicine, the once-high infant mortality rate has largely become a thing of the past.
But no matter the era, we can still take to heart the words of a poem from the Children’s Bureau: “I am Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow. I am your hope—I am the baby.”
Dakota Datebook by Leonidas Miller
Sources:
- The Bismarck tribune, Apr. 30, 1917, page 5 - business advertisements for Baby Week
- May 2, 1917, page 5 - Bismarck’s Better Babies
- The Bottineau courant, Mar. 23, 1916, page 3 - “His royal highness the American baby”
- The Fargo forum and daily republican, Mar. 24, 1917, page 4 - one in ten infant mortalities
- Grand Forks daily herald, Mar. 23, 1916, page 10 - Young Ladies’ Day
- The Hope pioneer, May 3, 1917, page 3 - I Am the Baby poem
- Sioux County pioneer, Apr. 26, 1917, page 1 - Baby Week Is Urged On the Reservation
- Sarah M. Walker, Head of Reference Services, North Dakota State Archives
