In most states the attending physician or midwife is required by law to report the birth to the proper authority, who will see that the child's name, the date of his birth, and other particulars are made a matter of public record. Birth registration may be of the greatest importance when the child is older, and parents should make sure this duty is not neglected.
A public health official some time ago epitomized some of the uses of birth registration as follows:
There is hardly a relation in life from the cradle to the grave in which such a record may not prove to be of the greatest value. For example, in the matter of descent; in the relations of wards and guardians; in the disabilities of minors; in the administration of estates; the settlement of insurance and pensions; the requirements of foreign countries in matters of residence, marriage, and legacies; in marriage in our own country; in voting and in jury and militia service; in the right to admission and practice in the professions and many public offices; in the enforcement of laws relating to education and to child labor, as well as to various matters in the criminal code; the irresponsibility of children under ten for crime or misdemeanor; the determination of the age of consent, etc., etc.
CHAPTER XIII
THE NURSERY
We wish it were possible for every mother who reads this book to have a special baby's room or nursery. Some of our readers have a separate nursery-room for the little folks, and so we will devote a portion of this chapter to the description of what seems to us a model arrangement for such a room; but, realizing that ninety-five per cent of our readers can only devote a corner of their own bedroom to the oncoming citizen, we have also carefully sought to meet their needs and help them to take what they have and make it just as near like the ideal nursery as possible.
THE SEPARATE NURSERY
The nursery should be a quiet room with a south or southwesterly exposure. The bathroom should adjoin or at least be near. A screened-in porch is very desirable.