RECENT MEDICAL ADVANCES

Press, Volume LXXXVII, Issue 26514, 31 August 1951, Page 2

RECENT MEDICAL ADVANCES

ADDRESS BY DR. HELEN FIELD Many aspects of modern medical science, as they affect women, were discussed by Dr. Helen Field when she addressed a luncheon meeting of the Canteroury Women’s Club’ yesterday. '

During a recent tour overseas, said Dr. Field, she visited Yale Hospital, where she found in operation the adopted to procure natural childbirth without fear. The system included education for childbirth Lectures were given to expectant mothers to alay fear, and the women took part in exercises which they enjoyed. ' • The expectant mothers were not left alone, and if they wished to have anaesthetics, these were administered, said ' Dr. Field. In this hospital, rooming-in was popular. There, in a small flat, the mother had her baby with her. The father, too, was educated in the care of the baby thus creating a family unit. Flexible feeding of babies on the self-demand system was also ' practised. Dr. Field said. ’ The baby was not fed at set hours, nor was it fed every time it whimpered. The mother soon learned tc know when the baby’s cry was the result of hunger. It had been found in practice that the babv put itself on a regular schedule in three months. Dr. Field said she found that the whole trend of child care was away from rigidity. Dr. Field described a garden party at Buckingham Palace, where she and her husband were among the 6000 guests, all very polite and all enjoying the beauty of the palace grounds. Outlining other features of her tour, Dr. Field said that in Surrey, at the cerebral palsy unit of a hospital, she was delighted by the good music played by a band, of crippled children, lying on their backs under trees; in France, she thought the people looked tired; and in Holland, the people seemed to have reconstructed their lives wonderfully since the Second World War, but the country was greatlv overcrowded. Dr. Field said that, while she and her husband were in America, they had attended a meeting of the United Nations General Assembly and had heard such notable , persons as Mrs Eleanor Roosevelt, Mr Dean Acheson, and Mr Vyshinsky address the gathering. Dr. Field was present at a monster conference held at the White House in Washington, and attended by delegates from every State of the United States. She said the subject of the conference was the development of a healthy personality in children, and the question was tackled from every angle. It was considered that to develon a healthy personality, there must be increased knowledge among persons dealing with children, research must be continued and- increased: and assistance must be made available to parents .to strengthen their confidence in bringing up their children.

Before lunch, a musical programme was provided bv Mrs W. G. Witte (piano solos), Mrs Clarice Shaw and Mrs W. McKay Ross (songs), and Mrs H. L. Wilson* (accompaniments). The president of the club (Mrs G. H. Watts), who presided, thanked the garden circle for arranging the luncheon and Mrs- Manhire and Mrs Turner-Smith for preparing the floral decorations. Votes of thanks to Dr. Field for her address and to the artists were carried amid applause.