Talk:Sara Josephine Baker

Milk formulae
"Commercial milk at that time was often contaminated, or mixed with water and chalk to maximize profit. Baker also invented an infant formula made out of water, calcium carbonate, lactose, and cow milk." Water + chalk = water + calcium carbonate. I'm really not sure how this is an improvement... Eriathwen (talk) 21:42, 6 July 2009 (UTC)
 * Perhaps it's a bit unclear, it's also uncited, can anyone provide citations on the adulteration practices at the time and her formula ingredients? One improvement would be KNOWN amounts of minerals added, pure minerals, not random adulterants like the melamine scandal in China. I'm dubious that the formula was CaCO3, water, milk and lactose only.Wzrd1 (talk) 21:00, 24 September 2012 (UTC)

General comments
This Wikipedia page seems to me to be very encompassing about the multitalented and intelligent Sara Josephine Baker, however I did have some questions, clarifications, and proposals that would enhance my understanding and may perhaps even enhance the quality of this page. Under “Early life and education” it is stated that Baker studied chemistry and biology at home. It would be interesting to note who supported her or if this was at all discouraged. At this time in American history women working with the sciences were not typically accepted and, more times than not, were frowned upon. Therefore, knowing if her mother or other people of importance in her life supported and encouraged her activities would be helpful information. Under the section “Professional recognition” the clash between New York Medical University and Baker is noted. After not being able to find a male speaker with knowledge comparable to Baker’s concerning children’s health they allowed her to enroll if she would lecture about the topic. A clarification that would be helpful is when NYU medical school allowed Baker to enroll was she the only female allowed in after that or did she immediately set the precedent for other women to enroll right after she did. Once again under the section “professional recognition” it is noted that Baker became the first woman to be a professional representative of the League of Nations. A wonderful addition would be a quote of hers about joining the League of Nations or in some way noting how she felt about being the first woman to be a professional representative on it. Finally, under personal life, speculations were made as to her sexual orientation, however nothing solid was stated. I really like the way that her homosexuality was covered. It stated that she lived with an out homosexual woman and another woman, but stated that she was not overtly identified as a lesbian. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 129.65.206.148 (talk) 21:20, 4 February 2014 (UTC)

course assignment | course = Education Program:California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo/ES 350 (Fall 2014) | term = 2014 Q3
course assignment | course = Education Program:California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo/ES 350 (Fall 2014) | term = 2014 Q3

Upon viewing Sara Josephine Baker’s Wikipedia page, I noticed how minimal it is in both length and content. My first edition is rather simple. I would like to propose the addition of a photograph of her. There are many in existence and I think it is important to develop each page to its fullest potential. Baker made huge contributions in her time. She had great success as a female scientist, but her page lacks many details about her and her work. Secondly, at the introduction paragraph, I would like to propose the edition of, “Dr. Sara Josephine Baker expanded the scope of public health care as the first director of New York’s Bureau of Child Hygiene from 1908 to 1923. In 1917 she became the first woman to earn a doctorate in public health from the New York University and Bellevue Hospital Medical College (later the New York University School of Medicine).” Nowhere in the article are these achievements specifically mentioned. Under “Early life and education” it is stated that Baker studied chemistry and biology at home. It would be interesting to note who supported her or if this was at all discouraged. At this time in American history women working with the sciences were not typically accepted and, more times than not, were frowned upon. Therefore, knowing if her mother or other people of importance in her life supported and encouraged her activities would be helpful information. I learned in my research of Sara Josephine Baker, that when her father died suddenly when she was sixteen, she gave up a Vassar scholarship to go to medical school to train for a secure career as a physician. Despite the opposition of family members who were skeptical of women physicians, Baker persuaded her mother that she was making the right decision. These personal details are what inspired Sara Josephine Baker and would be a great addition to her page. — Preceding unsigned comment added by GBninetythree (talk • contribs) 04:32, 5 November 2014 (UTC)

Sorting out timeline
Baker's history has many organizations that have since changed names, and many of the sources of this article are overviews. So! To help us sort out the timeline, a list with sources. —Verbistheword (talk) 21:36, 3 July 2016 (UTC)


 * 1902: "In need of money, she applied for a job with the Department of Health and was hired in 1902."
 * 1908: "In 1908, she was put in charge of the Health Department’s new Bureau of Child Hygiene, the first of its kind in the country."
 * 1910: "The home-visiting program was soon implemented citywide, and in 1910, a network of “milk stations” staffed by nurses and doctors began offering regular baby examinations and safe formula for older children and the infants of women who couldn’t breast-feed."
 * 1911: "In just three years, the infant death rate in New York City fell by 40 percent, and in December 1911, The New York Times hailed the city as the healthiest in the world."
 * Late 1910s: "In the late 1910s, she and other reformers drafted a bill to create a nationwide network of home-visiting programs and maternal and child health clinics modeled on the programs in New York."
 * 1915: "But in 1915, a foundling hospital opened on Randall’s Island under the direction of Baker’s Bureau of Child Hygiene... She boarded out the sickliest newborns in the hopeless ward to a corps of gushing Italian mothers on the Lower East Side who had been trained in child care by the bureau’s visiting nurses... Once again the results were astonishing: the death rate of these vulnerable babies was cut in half."
 * Early 1930s: "In the early 1930s, Baker toured Soviet Russia... she wrote, 'and, from sickening experience, I know it is no accident that, in 1934, the two groups of Russians that looked really well fed were the soldiers and the children.'"