ABSTRACT
T HE EARLY DAYS OF the Ibo child are beset by hazards due to deeply rooted customs, general ignorance of the first principles of Infant Welfare, and gross superstition.
The mortality of children under the age of twelve months is colossal. One competent medical authority, with many years of experience to support his judgement, places the lowest figure as 200 per 1,000. In some parts of Nigeria it was as high as goo per 1,000.1 Yaws (Framboesia), craw-craw (Pustular or Nodular Dermatitis) and other diseases work havoc upon the children, while every one is a victim of intestinal parasites. The risks are so many that it is a matter of surprise that any children survive. What thousands must be born to maintain the population, and in the Ibo country there is a density to the square mile probably in excess of any other part of Africa, save Egypt and the large cities. Nature is prolific in the matter of children, as it is prodigal in other realms, and it needs to be in order that the natives may continue at all. In addition to the dangers to infant life which arise from tropical diseases and conditions, and from ignorance, there are others which are the outcome of deliberate intention to destroy, plOmpted by fear and superstitious beliefs.
