Grace Meigs Crowder

Grace Lynde Meigs Crowder (August 30, 1881 – January 20, 1925) was an American physician who studied infant mortality and maternal mortality. She did early comparisons with the data from other countries, and she discovered that childbirth was the second most common cause of death in younger American women.

Early life and education Meigs was born in Rock Island, Illinois, on August 30, 1881. and his wife Grace Lynde.

Meigs was educated at Keokuk High School, before attending Bryn Mawr College, Pennsylvania, where she participated in collegiate athletics. During her final two years at Rush, she spent considerable time at the Presbyterian Hospital. Her grade average was 87.91, ahead of the second placed student who had an average grade of 81.77. and, after Anna Blount, was the second woman to attain top marks. After two years of study abroad, Meigs became attending physician at the Cook County Hospital.

In 1915, Meigs was recruited by Julia Lathrop, chief of the Children's Bureau of the U.S. Department of Labor, to become the first director of the Child Hygiene Division. There Meigs oversaw research on infant and maternal mortality. Her research found that women's deaths from pregnancy and childbirth-related issues had not decreased in the years between 1890 and 1913, a finding counter to the prevailing opinion of physicians at the time. The study found that, after tuberculosis, childbirth was the second-most common cause of death of women aged 15 to 45 years. Meigs was a proponent of mothers remaining at home with their children; she wrote:

During her career, Meigs served on the Commission on Infant Welfare, and was a member of the General Medical Board and the Council of National Defense.

Meigs continued as Director of the Division of Hygiene until July 15, 1918, in Keokuk, Iowa. She was his second wife; they had three children, Alice Meigs, Juliet Reid and Thomas Reid Jr.

Meigs died on January 20, 1925, in Chicago.