A  number  of  medical  men  discussed  this  subject  in  various  journals.  The
majority  of  them  held  that  the  war  had  not  produced  a  special  type,  but  many
admitted  that  the  general  increase  of  excitement  among  mothers  had  led  to
an  increase  in  the  number  of  excitable  infants,  that  a  larger  proportion  were
below  the  normal  weight,  developed  slowly  and  were  reared  with  difficulty.
On  the  other  hand,  some  writers  maintained  that  on  the  whole  the  infants  born
during  1915  and  1916  were  in  better  condition  than  those  born  in  1914.
9
V.— THE   IMPERIAL  MATERNITY  GRANTS.
(18)  Origin  of  the  grants. — The  principal  measure  adopted  in  Germany  to
promote  infant  welfare  during  the  war  has  been  the  distribution  of  the  imperial
maternity  grants.     As  previously  stated,  it  was  generally  believed  that  the
rise  in  the  infant  death-rate  in  the  first  months  of  the  war  was  due  mainly
to  economic  distress.     The  cost  of  food  and  of  the  necessaries  of  life  rose
rapidly  in  Germany  in  the  earliest  days  of  the  war,  and  the  separation  allowances
given  to  the  wives  and  families  of  soldiers  out  of  imperial  funds  were  very  small.
The  imperial  maternity  grants  were  intended  as  a  remedy.
