Editing Arvo Ylppö

{{Short description|Finnish physician, professor and archiater (1887–1992)}}
{{more citations needed|date=May 2008}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2020}}
{{Infobox person
| honorific-prefix   = [[Archiater|Arkkiatri]]
| name               = Arvo Ylppö
| image              = Arvo-Ylppo-1978.jpg
| image_size         = 
| alt                = 
| caption            = Ylppö in 1978
| birth_name         = Arvo Henrik Ylppö
| birth_date         = {{birth date|df=yes|1887|10|27}}
| birth_place        = [[Akaa]], [[Grand Duchy of Finland]]
| death_date         = {{death date and age|df=yes|1992|1|28|1887|10|27}}
| death_place        = [[Helsinki]], Finland
| nationality        = Finnish
| other_names        = 
| known_for          = 
| alma_mater         = [[University of Helsinki]]
| occupation         = [[pediatrician]]
}}
[[File:Ylppö ja Lastenlinna 1945.jpg|thumb|right|Arvo Ylppö in 1945.]]
[[File:Arvo-Ylppö-1987.jpg|thumb|right|Ylppö portrayed on a 100th anniversary postage stamp published in 1987.]]
'''Arvo Henrik Ylppö''' (27 October 1887 &ndash; 28 January 1992)<ref name="hs_muistot">{{cite web|last1=Piirto|first1=Hilkka|title=Arvo Ylppö|url=http://www.hs.fi/muistot/a1364352283583|website=Helsingin Sanomat – Muistot|date=30 January 1992 |publisher=Sanoma Media Finland|access-date=1 October 2015|location=Helsinki|language=fi}}</ref> was a [[Finland|Finnish]] 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]] clinic system established in 1922 ({{langx|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.<ref>{{cite journal |last1= Kutzsche |first1= S |last2= Coombes |first2= AGA |year= 2024 |title=Arvo Ylppö (1887–1992) made a leading contribution to Finland's achievements in child healthcare in the 20th century |journal=[[Acta Paediatrica]] |volume= 114 |issue= 1 |pages= 56–58 |doi= 10.1111/apa.17447 | pmid= 39373175 |s2cid= 273179990}}</ref><ref name="laakarilehti">{{Cite web |date=2022-03-18 |title=Täiden leikkausta ja jaloista roikuttamista – Neuvolan satavuotinen historia kuvina |url=https://www.laakarilehti.fi/terveydenhuolto/taiden-leikkausta-ja-jaloista-roikuttamista-neuvolan-satavuotinen-historia-kuvina/?public=3c3790b5376c991540f0a91f3745acfa |access-date=2022-05-26 |website=Lääkärilehti.fi |language=fi}}</ref> For forty years, Ylppö held the title of [[archiater]] (''arkkiatri''), the highest honorary title awarded to a physician. Internationally, he was known for his research on [[Preterm birth|premature infants]].

Ylppö was born in 1887 in [[Akaa]], [[Finland]] into a farming family. He was apparently born [[premature birth|premature]] and remained small in stature through his life. He entered the [[University of Helsinki]] in 1906 and decided to specialize in [[pediatric]] medicine. In 1912, he moved to the Imperial Children's Hospital in [[Berlin]], 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]].

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 [[HYKS|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.<ref name="laakarilehti" /> 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.<ref>{{cite journal|last = Dunn|first = P M|title = Arvo Ylppö (1887–1992): pioneer of Finnish paediatrics|journal = Archives of Disease in Childhood: Fetal and Neonatal Edition|volume = 92|issue = 3|pages = F230–F232|publisher = BMJ Publishing Group Ltd|location = San Diego|year = 2007|url= http://fn.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/92/3/F230|doi = 10.1136/adc.2005.077552|pmid = 17449859|pmc = 2675334|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080709040411/http://fn.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/92/3/F230|archive-date = 9 July 2008|url-status = dead}}</ref> He is buried in the [[Hietaniemi Cemetery]] in Helsinki.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.helsinginseurakunnat.fi/material/attachments/hautausmaat/hietaniemi/w8GZkM0y7/Hietaniemen_merkittavia_vainajia.pdf|title=Hietaniemen hautausmaa – merkittäviä vainajia|publisher=Helsingin seurakuntayhtymä|access-date=27 August 2016}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Children's Castle]]
* [[Mannerheim League for Child Welfare]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{commons category-inline|Arvo Ylppö}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-hon}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Oswald Renkonen]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Archiater|Arkkiatri]]|years=1952–1992}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Nils Oker-Blom]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ylppo, Arvo}}
[[Category:1887 births]]
[[Category:1992 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Akaa]]
[[Category:Finnish scientists]]
[[Category:Finnish men centenarians]]
[[Category:Finnish pediatricians]]
[[Category:Burials at Hietaniemi Cemetery]]