{"id":3800,"date":"1969-01-01T01:00:00","date_gmt":"1969-01-01T01:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/about-us\/history\/letter\/january-1969-vol-50-no-1-the-golden-age-of-child-health\/"},"modified":"2022-11-28T01:03:28","modified_gmt":"2022-11-28T01:03:28","slug":"january-1969-vol-50-no-1-the-golden-age-of-child-health","status":"publish","type":"rbc_letter","link":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/about-us\/history\/letter\/january-1969-vol-50-no-1-the-golden-age-of-child-health\/","title":{"rendered":"January 1969 &#8211; VOL. 50, No. 1 &#8211; The Golden Age of Child Health"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"layout-column-main\">\n<p class=\"boldtext\">The remarkable gain achieved in controlling                     death and disease among young people constitutes one of the                     brightest chapters in the history of medicine.<\/p>\n<p> Children born around the beginning of this century had prospect                     of an average length of life of less than fifty years; male                     babies born in 1969 may look for an average of 68 years and                     female babies 74 years.<\/p>\n<p>Diseases which were untouchable ten or twenty years ago                     yield to enlightened chemical or surgical or other treatment.                     Today&#8217;s parents expect their children to grow into adults:                     only a century and a half ago Napoleon wrote that every family                     should have six children, &#8220;seeing that, on the average, three                     are sure to die.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Life has become safer for children, but it is hardly correct                     to refer to the death rate in this or that disease as having                     &#8220;dropped&#8221; or &#8220;declined&#8221;. It has been pressed down under the                     feet of advancing science, the outstanding services of medical                     men and women, and the enlightened good sense and co-operation                     of parents.<\/p>\n<p>Miss Mabel Ferris, Assistant Director of the Health League                     of Canada, writes: &#8220;The children of today have a &#8216;golden&#8217;                     outlook on health. The communicable diseases have, by and                     large, been mastered; dental care through fluoridation of                     communal water supplies will mean better dental health throughout                     life for the generation now being born; good nutrition, of                     which mothers are increasingly aware, the early diagnosis                     of congenital heart defects, and the early detection of flaws                     in hearing and sight: all these add up to something really                     wonderful in the health of children.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>However, the number of lives lost among children is still                     large, and a considerable part of it results from causes that                     can be controlled. In 1965, the latest year for which figures                     are available, nearly 14,000 young people under 15 died in                     Canada, of these 9,862 were under one year of age.<\/p>\n<h3>Complete health care<\/h3>\n<p>Protection of children&#8217;s health and the prevention of untimely                     death start before birth. These involve prenatal care of the                     mother, quick detection of birth defects, proper nutrition                     from the earliest days, defence against communicable and infectious                     diseases, care of the teeth and other organs, prevention of                     accidents, and education in health habits from the time the                     child becomes able to understand.<\/p>\n<p>The best sort of children cannot be raised by guess and                     by hearsay. Good will and good intentions cannot be substituted                     for expert skill and knowledge. Fine words do not take the                     pollution out of the water we drink, or the deadly bacilli                     out of infected milk.<\/p>\n<p>The practical work of providing a healthful environment                     and adequate education demands informed activity by parents,                     teachers and those who are elected to serve communities, provinces                     and the country.<\/p>\n<p>The penalty for neglect of health in childhood is very heavy.                     Horace Mann, the educator, said something for everyone to                     ponder: &#8220;All through the life of a feeble-bodied man, his                     path is lined with memory&#8217;s gravestones which mark the spots                     where noble enterprises perished for lack of physical vigour                     to embody them in deeds.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>What, then, is the target? It was stated in this way by                     the World Health Organization of the United Nations: &#8220;Health                     is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being                     and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Judged by one criterion alone &#8211; preservation of life                     &#8211; Canada, one of the most affluent nations on earth,                     is still far down on the list of achievement. It is true that                     in 1965 the infant mortality rate was only 23.6 per 1,000                     live births compared with nearly 70 thirty years ago, but                     other countries have rates as low as 13 and 14. Twelve countries                     have lower infant death rates than has Canada.<\/p>\n<p>It is satisfying to say: &#8220;For every child who dies under                     today&#8217;s conditions four would have died if the conditions                     at the beginning of the century had continued to prevail&#8221;                     but that is small consolation to the mothers of the 14,000                     young people who die in a year.<\/p>\n<h3>Immunization<\/h3>\n<p>Unless they are controlled, children&#8217;s diseases can be dangerous.                     Modern techniques are a bit more complicated than those of                     old, when a flannel band and goose grease played principal                     parts in child care. In those old days fewer than 800 out                     of 1,000 new-born babies lived to reach their twentieth birthday.                     The score today is about 950, attained by prevention of the                     diseases before they happen.<\/p>\n<p>Immunity is nearly always an acquired state in which the                     body becomes resistant to disease. The likelihood of catching                     the infection against which one has been immunized is usually                     reduced to practically nothing, but in one disease, whooping                     cough, the protection is only partial in some children.<\/p>\n<p>In Canada and other countries with high standards of medical                     and public health service, control of many diseases through                     immunization has become widespread, safe and effective.<\/p>\n<p>Today immunization is routine in Canada against five diseases:                     smallpox, diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus and poliomyelitis.<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps the campaign against diphtheria best illustrates                     what can be accomplished by organized effort in behalf of                     child health. In 1924 there were 9,507 cases and 1,281 deaths                     in Canada. By 1930 the efficacy of diphtheria immunization                     had been conclusively proved, but large numbers of children                     remained unprotected.<\/p>\n<p>The Health League of Canada threw itself into an intensive                     educational campaign, and many physicians and public health                     workers added their weight. Here is the dramatic record of                     their success.<\/p>\n<table width=\"415\" border=\"1\" cellpadding=\"2\" cellspacing=\"0\" class=\"smltabletxt\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\">&nbsp;<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"center\"><em>cases of diphtheria<\/em><\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"center\"><em>deaths<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\">1943<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"right\">2,804<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"right\">287<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\">1947<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"right\">1,550<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"right\">139<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\">1951<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"right\">253<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"right\">37<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\">1955<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"right\">139<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"right\">15<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\">1959<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"right\">38<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"right\">none<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\">1963<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"right\">76<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"right\">7<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\">1966<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"right\">37<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"right\">none<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>Because diphtheria has become so rare is not a good reason                     for neglecting immunization. Deaths from this disease are                     doubly tragic today when there is a safe, effective, readily-available                     measure to prevent them.<\/p>\n<p>But this tragedy is likely to happen. A newspaper report                     in July 1968 told how an emergency inoculation service was                     given in London, Ontario, to more than a thousand children                     who may have been exposed to a patient with diphtheria in                     association at a local swimming pool.<\/p>\n<h3>A continuing programme<\/h3>\n<p>Complacency must be guarded against. It is not good enough                     to know that the safeguard is there should an outbreak occur.                     It takes several weeks, for example, for diphtheria immunity                     to develop after the inoculation, but only five to seven days                     elapse between exposure and the onset of infection. Effective                     protection of children means planned inoculation before an                     emergency or exposure occurs.<\/p>\n<p>Children should have periodic checks by the family doctor                     or pediatrician so that they may be kept up to date with immunization                     shots. Good practice for all parents would be: ask your physician                     what immunizing procedures are available and when they should                     be administered to each of your children; have this immunization                     done at the right time; keep a complete record of all immunizations                     and dates; have a diary in which you note these things and                     also the dates when booster shots should be given.<\/p>\n<p>Attacking disease in all its aspects, and suggesting means                     to improve health through action by authorities in community,                     school and legislature, the Health League of Canada has been                     operating since 1921. In these 48 years it has registered                     many triumphs as a result of its advocacy of immunization,                     pasteurization, fluoridation, and a dozen other preventive                     health measures.<\/p>\n<p>As Dr. Gordon Bates, its Vice-President and General Director,                     said in December: &#8220;We are not out to give medical advice,                     but we do urge people to consult their medical people in time                     to avoid serious disease. We are out to prevent people from                     suffering from disease unnecessarily. We believe that an ounce                     of preventive medicine is worth more than a pound of curative                     medicine. We believe that in this age of revolutionary change                     in our environment, from the rise of an urban society with                     its attendant pollution problem to the use of nuclear energy                     for peaceful and war-like purposes, we face profound biological                     problems hitherto unknown. Our League urges every citizen                     to seize upon every possible precautionary measure for himself                     and his children.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Cystic fibrosis, which was not recognized as a disease until                     about thirty years ago, is reported to cause one in every                     fifty deaths in childhood. One booklet reports that it strikes                     one in every one thousand babies born in Canada. The Canadian                     Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, with 23 chapters, is engaged in                     promoting research designed to discover the cause of the disease,                     to find a means of controlling it, and to give information                     to parents.<\/p>\n<h3>Nutrition and exercise<\/h3>\n<p>Malnutrition may be prevalent in the homes of the wealthy                     as well as among the poor. The truth is that even when a family                     has advanced to the point where it can afford a wide choice                     of foods there is nothing to prevent its members from eating                     the wrong kind of food.<\/p>\n<p>Children are taller and heavier than those of two generations                     ago. Full adult height is approached at a somewhat earlier                     age than in the past, and the ultimate adult height has increased                     gradually. These facts, which have significance in considering                     nutrition, are attested by studies in the United States, Great                     Britain and Commonwealth countries.<\/p>\n<p>Good nutrition does not consist in adding more calories                     or doubling the dose of vitamins. Attractive and adequate                     and regular meals in pleasant surroundings are needed. The                     mother who, pressed by the need to make ends meet, refuses                     her active boy or girl a second sandwich at lunch time is                     menacing the child&#8217;s health. Savings should be made elsewhere                     than at the expense of children&#8217;s food.<\/p>\n<p>During adolescence boys and girls go through a period of                     rapid growth, which means that they need extra quantities                     of the foods that provide generous amounts of excellent proteins,                     calcium, iron and vitamins. Parents should guard against being                     coaxed or coerced by their children&#8217;s tastes into providing                     meals largely composed of carbohydrates and fats.<\/p>\n<p>Along with good food, everyone needs exercise. One purpose                     of physical training and 5BX Plans is to promote a strong                     body in which the muscles, because in daily use, perform their                     functions properly, giving support to the vital organs.<\/p>\n<p>No one wishes to return to the austerity of the last century,                     when children started work at the age of nine and it was considered                     a great advance in England when the Factory Act of 1819 limited                     the work of children of that age to 12 hours a day. But in                     the interest of their health children should have adequate                     exercise to offset the physical enervation of this push-button                     age.<\/p>\n<p>Repose of body and mind is also an important part of being                     well. We are inclined to be feverishly energetic, perhaps                     merely as an escape from being quiet. Our ears are assaulted                     by juke boxes and radio and television blaring the same handful                     of tunes over and over. Adults need to provide an example                     to children that tranquillity and silence are not bad things,                     but on the contrary contribute to physical health and mental                     peace.<\/p>\n<h3>Mind and body<\/h3>\n<p>The 17th century philosopher, John Locke, opened his treatise                     on education in this way: &#8220;A sound mind in a sound body is                     a short but full description of a happy state in this world.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The idea of purely mental and purely physical disease is                     a myth. There is no such thing as a disease of the body which                     does not affect the mind, and many an uncomfortable state                     of affairs physically has its origin in our thoughts.<\/p>\n<p>This topic was discussed in detail in a <em>Monthly Letter                     <\/em>called &#8220;Mental Health&#8217;s New Look&#8221; in August 1964, but                     it is worth reminding ourselves that the most radical condemnation                     of our society and culture is that one out often babies will                     enter a mental hospital or come under other mental care at                     some time in his or her life.<\/p>\n<p>Here again, as in the ease of physical health, it is not                     necessary to wait for a breakdown before calling on help.                     Children who are disturbed are entitled to professional service.                     The psychiatrist will try to ventilate the child&#8217;s mind by                     giving him a chance to air out all his feelings in the presence                     of someone he can trust. Then he tries to get the patient                     to learn to move out of himself emotionally and look at the                     facts. After that he helps the patient to build up emotional                     strength to face threatening situations that have always been                     repressed and in the last step he gives the patient insight.                     When the patient has that he can free his mind from its load                     of emotional disturbance.<\/p>\n<p>Health of the mind and spirit must not be neglected. We                     recall in sorrow the generation of young people brought up                     on the Nazi doctrine &#8220;Health, Strength, Joy&#8221; &#8211; it was                     the &#8220;health&#8221; slogan of a doomed youth.<\/p>\n<h3>The crisis of the teens<\/h3>\n<p>The early teens are crisis years. Life is an emerging phenomenon.                     We have grown from a wholly protected position before birth                     through twelve years of whole or partial protection. Now,                     suddenly, we face the world with all its perplexities and                     dangers which are doubly frightening because they are mostly                     unknown.<\/p>\n<p>Those who come to this significant period prepared by family                     life and school education are not affrighted. They know how                     to handle their desire for independence, achievement, emotional                     security, social approval and self-esteem. Their parents have                     seen to it that they have grown up accepting as normal the                     need to select ways of living which contribute to their needs                     as developing persons. The children have been accustomed to                     recognition as individuals and they behave with self-respect                     and personal dignity.<\/p>\n<p>What has this to do with health? Dr. Griffith Binning, Medical                     Director of Schools, Saskatoon, gave the answer in an article                     called &#8220;Peace be on Thy House&#8221; which he wrote twenty years                     ago: &#8220;If emotional maturity consists in the ability of the                     individual to meet the storms of life alone efficiently, then                     the attainment of emotional maturity would result in cutting                     the doctor&#8217;s work to one third of its present level.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Very well, then: let&#8217;s give the children ideals and show                     them by personal example how the ideals work out. The burden                     of developing his values falls on the child, but parents and                     teachers create the atmosphere and set up the situations in                     which the children can discover for themselves the values                     that nurture human happiness.<\/p>\n<h3>Looking ahead<\/h3>\n<p>It is notoriously difficult to persuade people to plan,                     to look ahead, but surely the well-being of their children                     should be sufficient incentive to persuade them that, even                     if they neglect their own health, they have the duty and the                     responsibility to prepare their children today to live well                     tomorrow.<\/p>\n<p>The aim of parents should be a high level of wellness and                     not merely the prevention and treatment of disease and physical                     defects. They will be alert to note significant symptoms or                     changes in behaviour or appearance.<\/p>\n<p>Maimonides, the Jewish philosopher, said that symptoms are                     beneficient messengers which warn of approaching danger and                     urge us to avert it. Illness usually begins as a slight deviation                     from normal functions, and the earlier we detect this divergence                     the greater chance we have to avert dangerous development.<\/p>\n<p>Children are maturing at earlier ages, and parents must                     step up the speed of their own maturation so that they understand                     their children&#8217;s needs. Whatever a child learns of health                     elsewhere, he can practise at home only what the home will                     allow or the family accept.<\/p>\n<p>There can be no gainsaying the fact that the example of                     adults in hygiene and safety can be the deciding factor between                     life and death of their teen-age children.<\/p>\n<h3>The office of Medicine<\/h3>\n<p>The medical profession realizes the new challenge. In earlier                     years the problems were more obvious, more on the surface                     and clear-cut. Science has now reduced the toll of disease                     in all but the most difficult areas. The remaining problems                     in health are complex and far-reaching.<\/p>\n<p>Beginning with Hippocrates, the &#8220;Father of Medicine&#8221;, the                     Greeks initiated the progress of civilization toward a broad                     humanitarianism. We are still trying to expand and make this                     more useful, and when some day history is written with a clearer                     perspective than we now seem to possess the physician will                     be seen to have improved the world rather than the politicians                     or the soldiers whose statues adorn the pedestals in our public                     places.<\/p>\n<p>Medical research and medical science have become major factors                     in unprecedented declines in death rates and in associated                     increases in life expectancy, and they continue to press forward.                     In its brief to the Royal Commission on Health Services in                     1962 the Canadian Medical Association included this paragraph:                     &#8220;improvements in therapeutic medicine have been so spectacular                     in the past quarter-century that more emphasis should now                     be given by the medical profession to preventive medicine.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Medicine is the art of understanding diseases and preventing                     them or curing them or relieving them when possible. Its practice                     involves not only acquired knowledge, association with the                     developing environment, and accommodation to change, but,                     most of all, a certain close relationship with patients. Its                     inner personal satisfactions arise from services given to                     human beings.<\/p>\n<p>On the other hand, the people served by the physician have                     duties toward him&#8221; to consult him in time, so as to give him                     a chance to do his best; to trust him, telling him truthfully                     about their symptoms; to do what he says they should do in                     their own interests.<\/p>\n<p>In a physician&#8217;s prayer ascribed to Maimonides there occurs                     this petition: &#8220;Grant that my patients have confidence in                     me and my art and follow my directions and my counsel. Remove                     from their midst all charlatans and the whole host of officious                     relatives and know-all nurses.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h3>The community<\/h3>\n<p>Every community, whether it be a cross-roads village or                     a metropolis, has an unescapable duty to provide certain things                     necessary to the healthful living of its people.<\/p>\n<p>Public health is the science and the art of preventing disease,                     prolonging life, and promoting physical and mental health                     and efficiency through organized community efforts. That is                     a high ideal that is often not within the sight of local and                     provincial boards of health, and even the minimum responsibility                     to provide immunization and efficient sanitation, eliminate                     poisonous pollution, safeguard water and milk &#8211; even                     these are not thoroughly attended to in every community.<\/p>\n<p>Children are entitled, in our well-to-do society, to the                     full benefits of existing knowledge and all the facilities                     of public health, and nothing less will do.<\/p>\n<h3>Let us advance<\/h3>\n<p>Now that we have all but eliminated the diseases which formerly                     carried off children in great numbers, we must turn to protective                     and educational measures which will save the children from                     diseases and practices that are likely to prove injurious                     in their later years, and we must condition them to face the                     world in such a way that their prolonged lives will be happy.<\/p>\n<p>Disease is not caused exclusively by gremlins, germs and                     viruses. Some of it can be averted if we give over our neglectful                     carelessness and take positive actions. The only limitations                     are the bounds set by the growth of scientific knowledge,                     the willingness of those in authority to introduce advanced                     ideas, and the readiness of the people to play their part                     intelligently.<\/p>\n<p>We had an International Geophysical Year in 1957, joined                     in by 66 nations, seeking the answers to questions connected                     with a dozen earth sciences. We are now part way through an                     International Hydrologic Decade, with nearly 60 nations participating                     in the search for solutions to problems of preserving water,                     the most essential natural resource. We had, in 1968, an International                     Year for Human Rights, promoting individual freedom and communal                     care.<\/p>\n<p>Why not have a year or a decade in which all nations would                     co-operate energetically to plan a society in which it would                     be worthwhile for our children to live long?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":79,"featured_media":0,"template":"","categories":[1],"rbc_letter_theme":[],"rbc_letter_year":[49],"class_list":["post-3800","rbc_letter","type-rbc_letter","status-publish","hentry","category-uncategorized","rbc_letter_year-49"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.7 (Yoast SEO v26.8) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>January 1969 - VOL. 50, No. 1 - The Golden Age of Child Health - RBC<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/about-us\/history\/letter\/january-1969-vol-50-no-1-the-golden-age-of-child-health\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"January 1969 - VOL. 50, No. 1 - The Golden Age of Child Health - RBC\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The remarkable gain achieved in controlling death and disease among young people constitutes one of the brightest chapters in the history of medicine. Children born around the beginning of this century had prospect of an average length of life of less than fifty years; male babies born in 1969 may look for an average of [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/about-us\/history\/letter\/january-1969-vol-50-no-1-the-golden-age-of-child-health\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"RBC\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-11-28T01:03:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"15 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/about-us\/history\/letter\/january-1969-vol-50-no-1-the-golden-age-of-child-health\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/about-us\/history\/letter\/january-1969-vol-50-no-1-the-golden-age-of-child-health\/\",\"name\":\"January 1969 - VOL. 50, No. 1 - The Golden Age of Child Health - RBC\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"1969-01-01T01:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-11-28T01:03:28+00:00\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/about-us\/history\/letter\/january-1969-vol-50-no-1-the-golden-age-of-child-health\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/\",\"name\":\"RBC\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"January 1969 - VOL. 50, No. 1 - The Golden Age of Child Health - RBC","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/about-us\/history\/letter\/january-1969-vol-50-no-1-the-golden-age-of-child-health\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"January 1969 - VOL. 50, No. 1 - The Golden Age of Child Health - RBC","og_description":"The remarkable gain achieved in controlling death and disease among young people constitutes one of the brightest chapters in the history of medicine. 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