ABSTRACT
The 1950s should have been a high point in pediatric history. The difficult battles for recognition had been fought and won. The specialty had established and consolidated itself organizationally. The potential crisis created by the disappearance of baby-feeding as a problem and the improved health of children had been averted with the move into prevention. Moreover, birth rates had jumped dramatically in the postWorld War II period, creating a huge demand for pediatric services. Between 1946 and 1956, the birth rate climbed almost 20% from 20.4 to 24.1 per 1000 population. It rose another 10% to 26.6 per 1000 in 1957 and continued to hover around 25 until the end of the decade (Table 3.1). Primary care pediatricians had so successfully built a reputation as child health experts that most of this demand was directed their way rather than toward general practitioners. In fact, there were predictions that pediatricians would one day monopolize child health care entirely: general practice would eventually disappear and primary care pediatricians would, in effect, become general practitioners among the young.
