For some years now, the whole world has known by reputation of this sublime and mysterious invention, the infant sewers, and despite this awareness, their use is still unfortunately too limited. Human nature demands very meticulous, regular care, especially for our little ones, our very young children, who were too eager to come into the world and claim their share of sunshine.

In France, where love for newborns is at its most extreme, we are inconsolable for the loss of all these little beings who could not overcome their weakness and whom their mothers watched die in their arms, despite all the care their kind hearts made them lavish.

I regret to sadden you, but since misfortune and experience must serve as lessons, I will present you with a truly distressing statistic: 150,000 children are born prematurely by six to nine months, and nearly 50,000 born at term are debilitatingly weak. That makes 200,000 children doomed to death. The Grim Reaper claims more than nine-tenths of them.

The great, and deadly, enemy of our newborns is the cold; that is the true culprit. The irregularity of temperature for these little beings, whose organs are still developing, is the cause of these irreparable losses for families, for France.

Mr. Lion’s work, like most charitable endeavors, had a difficult beginning. The establishment costs were substantial. Its organizer, in the heat of his enthusiasm to do good, did not always wait for sufficient funds before incurring these expenses, and I can confidently say that it would surely have succumbed to the weight of its responsibilities were it not for the ardent charity and unparalleled benevolence of its president, Mrs. E. Aubaret.

The organization is subsidized by the General Council of the Alpes-Maritimes, the Nice City Council, and the Ministry of the Interior (Public Assistance Department).

Its structure has recently been strengthened by the creation of a patronage committee headed by Count de Cessole, alongside some of the most honorable figures in the city of Nice.

I obtained these figures from various press articles, under the signature of Mr. A. Bisseuil, Senator, who raised a patriotic alarm and recommended the maternal work of the infant incubators (Lion Maternity Hospital). Our engraving depicts one side of the infant incubator’s nursery at the Exposition. By a fortunate coincidence, we were able to capture the image at the very moment the inventor came to conduct his inspection.

As you can easily see, our future warriors are in their small glass-enclosed sentry box. They rest and recharge in a cozy, soft cradle, suspended inside like a hamae. The immaculate white swaddling clothes attest to the meticulous care lavished upon these little cherubs (the cutest is six and a half months premature: he weighs 1.15 kg).

A visit to the CHILDREN’S BROODS WITH LIVE BABIES is never forgotten; it is also the biggest draw of the Exposition. The crowds are always huge: they never tire of admiring these radiant, pink babies, like angels. You should hear the cries of admiration from all the mothers, who are ecstatic about this humanitarian invention. To see children, whose faces are no bigger than a little girl’s fist, with tiny warbler eyes, looking at you as if to say they are happy to be safe and warm, tiny hands just a few centimeters long and irresistibly cute fingers, wiggling to show their strength; to see these little bodies so gentle, so full of life, is to see a beautiful dream come true. This delightful living scene softens even the hardest hearts.

But what regrets, what sorrows for the mothers who have lost their newborns. If the losses are irreparable, we must find solace for the future. The maternal work of the infant incubators, Maternité Lion, which has been located in Nice for three years, has returned nearly 300 children to their parents. The ratio is 80%; these figures are rigorously accurate. This is a sweet consolation for families and especially for the inventor, who finally sees the work to which he devoted himself entirely crowned with success.

In this very arduous task, he received the highest praise.

The Lion Maternity Hospital in Nice is thriving. Subsidies from the Minister of the Interior, the General Council of the Alpes-Maritimes, the City of Nice, numerous municipal councils in the South of France, and many private donations contribute to the development of the institution, which provides free care for all children. Care is equal for the rich and the poor. All receive breastfeeding from strong and devoted wet nurses, who do not engage in the sad exploitation of infants.

Currently, there are Lion incubators in the main maternity hospitals of France. Lyon will soon be equipped with them as well. We know that Mr. Lion has donated four incubators to the administration.

Currently, Lion incubators are available in the main maternity hospitals in France. Lyon will soon have them as well. We know that Mr. Lion has donated four incubators to the administration. Separately, he will be creating a maternity hospital in Lyon modeled after the one in Nice.

It will open in the first days of November at 1 rue de la République, where our readers, and especially our female readers, will be able to visit it. We offer our most fervent wishes for its success.

Since exhibitions capture public attention, we strongly encourage Mr. Lion to exhibit as often as possible; one cannot resist such a curious, interesting, and useful demonstration.

Lion incubators are made of galvanized sheet metal and rest on iron supports. Ventilation is regular, as is the temperature, which is very high. This design allows for steam incubation under pressure at 120 degrees and above, and all necessary antiseptic measures; they have no angles or gaps inside; a thermometer is placed opposite the glass, allowing the temperature to be seen at a glance. Heating is external and can be provided by gas, oil, or electricity.

By means of an ingenious system, the temperature is automatically regulated. Too much or too little heat is regulated by the valve.

Mr. H. Monod, the eminent director of public assistance and hygiene in France, had clearly recognized the high value of this innovation. When, in March 1891, during his official visit to the very birthplace of the project, he presented Mr. Lion with a letter informing him that the Minister of the Interior had, at his suggestion, granted him a subsidy of 500 francs.

He concluded: “I am deeply pleased to have been able, by prompting this decision, to support the eminently useful and humanitarian work that you have undertaken.”
Signed: H. Lion,
Director of Public Assistance and Hygiene.

This was indeed, for the founder, the most precious encouragement, and it is surely from this powerful support that he must have drawn all the strength he needed to accomplish the task he had set for himself.

Dr. Ciaudo of Nice, in a report to the General Council of the Alpes-Maritimes, stated: “In my capacity as a physician, and more specifically as the medical inspector for the protection of young children in the city of Nice, having followed, so to speak, step by step, for several months, the progress made by the children entrusted to the Lion Maternity Hospital, I am pleased to affirm here that the results obtained are quite remarkable and well-suited to attract the benevolent attention of the public authorities.”

Dr. J. Roux, Head of the Obstetrics Clinic at the Marseille School of Medicine,
Mr. Th. Féraudi, Departmental Inspector for Children in Care in the Alpes-Maritimes,
Dr. Mazade, Departmental Inspector for Children in Care in the Bouches-du-Rhône,
Professors Chapplan, Magall, Sirus, Pironde, and Millou, of Marseille,
Dr. Guillabert of Nice,
Dr. Baumel, Associate Professor of the faculty of The medical faculty of Montpellier were among the first to praise these incubators.

Furthermore, an eminent professor of obstetrics at the Paris Faculty of Medicine, following decisive experiments conducted in his clinic, presented the Lion Incubator to the Academy of Medicine, and this report is indeed the highest endorsement of the scientific value of this device. (Meeting of November 21, 1893.)

Mr. Lion, who is presenting his system for the first time, has just been awarded a silver medal at the Universal Exposition.

Let us congratulate and encourage this young and modest inventor for his tenacious work and his devotion to humanity.

Many mothers will owe him the joy of their lives, and these frail and adorable little creatures, who will be made strong and vigorous for their families, will become, it is our wish and our hope, valiant wives and good defenders of the Fatherland.

Louis Daniel.