SAVING INFANTS

Evening Post, Volume CVIII, Issue 82, 3 October 1929, Page 10

SAVING INFANTS

1000 BABIES A YEAR

INFANTILE DEATH RATE

The statistics within tho Dominion as given in the report of the Plunkct Society, show a further fall in the infantile death rate. In 192S this rate was 36.2 per 1000 living births, as against 38.7 for the previous year. This represents a saving of no less than 96 babies in the course of tho year, compared with the previous one, a very striking reduction, as 1927 had a particularly low rate. But the best improvement of all in 1928 was the fall in the death rate of babies of from 1 month to 12 months of age to only just over 1 per cent., compared with 5 per cent, when the society began its mission. This really means that New Zealand mothers have become so competent that they lose only one baby out of 100 in rearing them within that time, whereas formerly they lost from 4to 5. Thero is thus a clear saving of 1000 babies each year, as compared with former times. It was reported that there had been a great reduction in the loss by infantile diarrhoea, and there was a further reduction in the "damage rate" in connection with this illness.. It was stated that for every 100 babies who suffered unnecessarily and unjustifiably from infantile diarrhoea, at least 500 were more or less handicapped for life. Formerly this country lost SQO or more babiea from this cause, whereas now only 50 are lost. MATERNAL MORTALITY. It was reported that the average maternal mortality rate for the Dominion for the year 1928 was 4.93 per 1000 births-r-practically the same as that of the previous year. Tho Mothercraft Homes were situated at Dunedin, Christchurch, Wanganui, Auckland, Wellington, and Invercargill. There had been fruitful and steady work in all these, which showed a steady increase. .The institutions served a threefold purpose —for delicate babies, for the admission of mothers needing attention, and for the training of nurses^' or of outside .stoctalts, ■