HEALTH OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN.

Press, Volume LXIV, Issue 13230, 25 September 1908, Page 7

HEALTH OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN.

LECTURES BY LADY PLUNKET.

Her Excellency Lady Plunket addressed largo meetings of women yesterday—in the afternoon at the An-. glican Mission Room, Lower Riccarton, and in the evening at St. .Andrew's schoolroom. There wero fully 203 pny sent in the afternoon and at least 350 in the evening. Her Excellency's remarks were listened to with very great interest. .In a few words Lady i'lunket gave the reasons for the existence of tne Society for the Promotion of the Health of Women and Children, founded by Dr. Truby King, and the urgent necessity for its worK being carried out. She urged upon those present that the first duty or the mother was to nurse her child Herself; that this was by no means so impossible as it was often represented m> be, and instanced a case winch had eorno mi/der her own observation, of a woman who was nursing hex seventeenth child, who had a drunken husband aoid (übsoluto poverty to contend with, and who yet allowed nothing to interfere with the nursing of her babies. This, her Excellency considered a great example, ajici one t/iiat might b<> imitated by Jess conscden-tious mothers. Passing on to these cases where artificial food was' absolutely n«:eu!:ary, Lady Phinike* pointed out tho evils arising from tho uso of patent roods, and saict that in theeo cases tho best substitute for the natural food was humanised milk, in wihich tho hard curd of cows' milk, suitable only for a calt, was much reduced ; this, with" the addition of sugar of milk, cream, and liinewater m the night proportion was, roughly speaking, the process through whicn cows milu must, pass to render it a fit food for th« digestion of an infant. Iho speaker then drew attention to the wide-spread use of leather hoods to perambulators, which, she said, was productive of much delicate health, owing to tho baby getting no current of air, amd consequently breathing the same air again and again. Another widespread and harmful custom was tho use of tho perambulator at night, instead of & dot, thus restricting tho infant's movements, which were most r«cossary for its development. These two evils might bow be removed at a very small outlay. She was able to anmounoe that a local firm had undertaken to put on the market in about v week's time a very simple and inoxpensivo folding cot, and an equally simple perambulator shade. Her Excellency hoped that when she next came to Clmistchurch eh© should aiot see so many leather hoods in evidence as there axe, at present. . She also spoke emphatically against the use of dummies, which were altogether insanitary and unnecessary In conclusion, Lady Plunket made a small quantity of humanised milk, to show'the audience how quickly and easily it could be made. She said it was not neoeesary for her to say kny more them, as tho Society's Plunket nurse was always ready to visit anyone wishing to learn the details; Her Exoelfoncy, Lady Plunket will lecture this afternoorn at 2.30 in St.' Mark's Schoolroom, Opawa, and 'in.'the evening at 8 o'clock in the Merivale Schoolroom. The Society hopes that mothers tiheir and attend in as'large numbers as pcasiuble-. The Society's pamphlet era, "The. Proper Care and .'Feeding of the Baby" can be had an each occasion in .the. room,' price 2d. \ x ■'■■■•'■.'■■■'