FAMILY PLANNING ASSOCIATION

Press, Volume XC, Issue 27368, 5 June 1954, Page 2

FAMILY PLANNING ASSOCIATION

URGENT NEED SEEN FOR CLINIC

Lack of a clinic seriously handicapped the work of the Christchurch Family Planning Association, said the president (Mrs B. Zeff) in a talk to the Canterbury Council of Social Service.

The association now had 156 clinics in Britain and about 62,000 new cases were handled last year, Mrs Zeff said. The aims of the association were to assist people to plan their families by giving advice on spacing, limiting families, where necessary, and on sterility.

The well-being and happiness of the whole community rested on the contentment of individual families, she saia. Contentment could only be attained when parents were living happy, natural lives, and the atmosphere of the home was reflected in the children. In homes where there was anxiety and friction there were liable to be delinquent children. Family planning was valuable in preventing the spread of diseases: it assisted in dispelling the fear of childbirth and was a powerful weapon against abortion, for which New Zealand had one of the highest death-rates in the world, Mrs Zeff said.

It was estimated that one pregnancy in every five ended in abortion and that there were about 6000 abortions in I’ew Zealand every year, said Mrs Zeff. Of these, about 4000 were criminally induced and nearly half of these cases were mothers with more than four children. Only about 12 per cent, were single girls. If family planning clinics could be established in New Zealand hospitals, abortion could be overcome to a great degree. In Britain there was excellent co-operation between the local health authorities, regional hospital boards, the Marriage Guidance Council, and the association, she said. Cases were frequently referred by hospitals and psychiatrists. All cases were screened by a trained social worker and advice was not given if not merited, Mrs Zeff said.