Sara Josephine Baker facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Sara Josephine Baker
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Baker in 1922
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| Born | November 15, 1873 |
| Died | February 22, 1945 (aged 71) |
| Alma mater | New York Infirmary Medical College |
| Known for | public health, preventive medicine |
| Awards | Assistant Surgeon General, first woman appointed as Professional Representative to the League of Nations |
Sara Josephine Baker (born November 15, 1873 – died February 22, 1945) was an American doctor. She made big changes in public health, especially for families in New York City who had recently moved there. She worked hard to fight against the problems that poverty and lack of knowledge caused for children, especially babies. This is one of her most important achievements. In 1917, she pointed out that more babies in the United States were dying than soldiers in World War I. This helped people pay more attention to her work. She is also known for finding Mary Mallon, also called Typhoid Mary, two times.
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Growing Up and Becoming a Doctor
Baker was born in Poughkeepsie, New York, in 1873. Her family was wealthy and belonged to the Quaker faith. When her father and brother died from typhoid, Baker felt she needed to help her mother and sister financially. So, at 16, she decided to become a doctor.
She studied science at home. Then, she joined the New York Infirmary Medical College. This was a medical school for women, started by doctors Elizabeth Blackwell and Emily Blackwell. Baker found her passion for helping children after failing a class called "The Normal Child." She graduated in 1898 as the second-best student in her class. After that, she spent a year working at the New England Hospital for Women and Children in Boston.
Baker started her own medical practice in New York City. In 1901, she passed an important test to become a medical inspector for the Department of Health. She started working part-time in 1902. People called her "Dr. Joe." She wore suits like men did and joked that her coworkers forgot she was a woman.
Helping Communities Stay Healthy
Baker worked hard in schools. Then, she got a chance to help lower the death rate in Hell's Kitchen. This area was known as the worst slum in New York around 1900. About 4,500 people were dying there every week. Baker decided to focus on the death rate for babies. About 1,500 babies were dying each week. Most infant deaths were from dysentery, but parents not knowing enough and poor cleanliness also caused problems.
Baker and a group of nurses taught mothers how to care for their babies. They showed them how to dress babies so they wouldn't get too hot. They also taught about good food, how to prevent suffocation during sleep, and how to keep babies clean. She also set up a place where clean milk was given out. At that time, store-bought milk was often dirty or mixed with water to make more money. Baker also created a special baby formula. It was made from water, calcium carbonate, lactose, and cow milk. This formula helped mothers go to work and earn money for their families.
Baker also helped stop babies from becoming blind. This problem was caused by bacteria passed during birth. To prevent blindness, babies were given drops of silver nitrate in their eyes. Before Baker, the bottles for the silver nitrate were often dirty. Also, the medicine was sometimes too strong and could hurt the babies. Baker designed small containers made of beeswax. Each container held one dose of silver nitrate. This kept the medicine clean and at the right strength.
Because of Josephine Baker's work, babies were much safer. Blindness in babies dropped from 300 cases a year to just 3 a year. But babies were still in danger during birth. Many babies were delivered by midwives. These midwives did not get the same training as doctors. Baker convinced New York City to give licenses to midwives. This made sure they had some training and skill.
While Baker was working to license midwives, treat blindness, encourage breastfeeding, provide safe milk, and teach mothers, older children were also getting sick. Baker worked to make sure every school had its own doctor and nurse. Children were regularly checked for problems like head lice and the eye infection trachoma. These diseases were very common in schools before, but they almost disappeared because of her system.
Early in her career, Baker helped find Mary Mallon, also known as "Typhoid Mary," two times. Mallon was the first person known to carry typhoid without getting sick herself. She caused several outbreaks of the disease. She infected more than 50 people through her job as a cook. At least three of these people died.
Becoming Well-Known
Josephine Baker became very famous. New York University Medical School asked her to give talks about children's health. This was called "child hygiene" back then. Baker said she would, but only if she could also study at the school. The school first said no. But they couldn't find a male speaker who knew as much as she did. So, they agreed. In 1917, Baker became the first woman to earn a special degree in public health.
When the United States joined World War I, Baker became even more famous. This happened after she spoke to a reporter from The New York Times. She told him it was "six times safer to be a soldier in the trenches of France than to be a baby born in the United States." This comment brought a lot of attention to her work. Because of this, she was able to start a lunch program for school children. She also used the fact that many young men were found unfit for the army due to poor health to get more support for her work.
Baker was offered important jobs in other places. She was asked to be the health director for public schools in London. She was also offered a job in France to help war refugees. In the United States, she was offered a job as Assistant Surgeon General.
Later Life and Retirement
Baker spent much of her later life with her friend, I. A. R. Wylie. Wylie was a writer from Australia. When Baker retired in 1923, she helped manage their home. She also wrote her life story, called Fighting For Life. In 1935, Baker and Wylie moved to Princeton, New Jersey, with their friend Louise Pearce.
In 1923, Baker retired from her main job, but she kept working. She became the first woman to represent the United States on the Health Committee for the League of Nations from 1922 to 1924. She was also active in many groups, including over twenty-five medical societies. She became the president of the American Medical Women's Association. She wrote four books, her autobiography, and 250 articles for both professional and popular magazines.
Sara Josephine Baker died from cancer on February 22, 1945, in New York City.
See Also
In Spanish: Sara Josephine Baker para niños
