Arvo Henrik Ylppö (27 October 1887 – 28 January 1992) was a

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

physician and professor of pediatrics who significantly decreased Finnish infant mortality during the 20th century. He is credited as the father of Finland's public maternity and

child health Pediatric nursing is part of the nursing profession, specifically revolving around the care of neonates and children up to adolescence. The word, ''pediatrics'', comes from the Greek words 'paedia' (child) and 'iatrike' (physician). 'Paediatrics' i ...

clinic system established in 1922 ( fi, neuvola), which focuses on monitoring the health and development of newborn and pre-school children and their families, providing parents with childcare guidance and supporting child-parent interaction. For forty years, Ylppö held the title of

archiater An archiater ( grc, ἀρχίατρος) was a chief physician of a monarch, who typically retained several. At the Roman imperial court, their chief held the high rank and specific title of '' Comes archiatrorum''. The term has also been used of c ...

(''arkkiatri''), the highest honorary title awarded to a physician. Internationally, he was known for his research on premature infants. Ylppö was born in 1887 in Akaa,

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

into a farming family. He was apparently born

premature Premature may refer to: * ''Premature'' (2014 film), an American comedy film * ''Premature'' (2019 film), an American romantic drama film * '' PREMature'', a 2015 British television drama miniseries See also * Premature aging, of an organism * ...

and remained small in stature through his life. He entered the

University of Helsinki The University of Helsinki ( fi, Helsingin yliopisto, sv, Helsingfors universitet, abbreviated UH) is a public research university located in Helsinki, Finland since 1829, but founded in the city of Turku (in Swedish ''Åbo'') in 1640 as the ...

in 1906 and decided to specialize in

pediatric Pediatrics ( also spelled ''paediatrics'' or ''pædiatrics'') is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, paediatrics covers many of their youth until the ...

medicine. In 1912, he moved to the Imperial Children's Hospital in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

, Germany, where he wrote his thesis about infants' bilirubin metabolism in 1913. It was printed in Germany. He graduated as a medical doctor in March 1914 in

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the capital, primate, and most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of Uusimaa in southern Finland, and has a population of . The city ...

. While in Germany, Ylppö concentrated on research about children's pathological anatomy and attracted international recognition. In his research, he observed that deaths of prematurely born infants are usually due to treatable conditions rather than simple underdevelopment, which motivated advancement of treatment of and science related to prematurely born infants. After returning to Finland in 1920, he became a teacher at Helsinki University Hospital. In 1922, he established an advice centre for the care of young children in the Children's Castle (''Lastenlinna'') hospital, which is considered to be the beginning of child health clinics in Finland. In 1925, he became professor of pediatrics. Ylppö continued his research, wrote extensively to medical journals about child care. He supported efforts to expand Finnish nurse training, Finnish pharmacy industry, and public awareness about medical matters. He retired as a professor in 1957 but still sponsored many childcare initiatives. From 1920 to 1963, he was chief physician at the Children's Castle hospital. He also had a private practice in Helsinki. Arvo Ylppö died in January 1992 at the age of 104. He is buried in the Hietaniemi Cemetery in Helsinki.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ylppo, Arvo 1887 births 1992 deaths People from Akaa Finnish scientists Finnish centenarians Finnish pediatricians Burials at Hietaniemi Cemetery Men centenarians