SAVE THE MOTHERS.

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 190, 13 August 1928, Page 5

SAVE THE MOTHERS.

DEATHS FROM SEPTICAEMIA.

ALARMING INCREASE,

ANTE-NATAL CLINICS SUGGESTED.

Important details concerning maternal mortality are contained in the annual reports of officers of the Health Department and important suggestions are made on the methods to be adopted in the future to deal with this vital problem. Attention is drawn to the sudden increaso in maternal mortality in the Dominion during the year 1927. The rate rose from 4.25 per 1000 births in 1926 to 4.91 last year, puerperal sepsis being wholly responsible for the increase. The Director-General refers to what he terms "the distinct liee" in deaths from septicaemia in the Auckland district, stating that this is being made the subject of a special investigation.

The Director of the Public Hygiene Division presents comparative statistics for the last five years, the number of deaths and the rates per 1000 births being given as follow:—

The mortality from septicaemia last year was the highest since ISSS, when it was 3 per 1000. In 1920 there were 26 deaths from septicaemia in seven of the 28 hospital districts in the North in 16 districts. There were 2o deaths as against 13 in 1926 in the Auckland district.

The Director of Public Hygiene states that in comparison with other countries New Zealand occupics median position as regards maternal death rate from all causes. He states: '"The fact that, while showing the lowest general death rate in the world, she occupies a less favourable position in respect of maternal mortality is shown by the quintennial averages presented year after year to be due more to deaths from other puerperal causes than to deaths from puerperal septicaemia. These other puerperal causes are less fatal to women residing in the 14 principal urban areas than to women in the rest of the Dominion. For the last two years there has been a reduction in the Dominion death rate from these other puerperal causes. This may be due to better midwifery service and increased ante-natal supervision, more particularly in the rural areas. . . Every few years there is a marked and, as yet, unexplained increase in the death rate from puerperal septicaemia, which disease usually is responsible for approximately one-third of the maternal deaths. This increase recurred last year."

Dr. T. L. Paget, Inspector of Hospitals, in referring to puerperal sepsis, states that there appears to be a greater risk of sepsis in private houses. He submitted that if the same standard of asepsis were maintained in private practice as under the regulations in hospitals, puerperal sepsis rates for the Dominion would diminish greatly. He also referred to the general education of the expectant mother and the public. This could best be promoted through the formation of ante-natal clinics. He was in hopes that the Plunket Society would become as active in its effort to save the mother from illness and death as it had been to save the baby.

Septicaemia. Other Causes. Totals. Deaths. Rate. Deaths. Rate. Deaths. Rate 1023 52 1.80 01 3.25 143 5.11 1024 52 1.80 S8 3.14 140 5.00 1025 42 1.40 80 3.16 ' 131 4.Co 1026 30 1.37 81 2.88 120 4.25 1027 70 2.51 07 2.40 137 4.01