Work Of Canadian Mothercraft Society

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29133, 19 February 1960, Page 2

Work Of Canadian Mothercraft Society

Increasing awareness of mothercraft work in Canada had probably contributed to Canada’s remarkable decrease in infant and maternal mortality since 1926, said Mrs E. H. A. Engelbrecht, in an interview in Christchurch.

Until she left Toronto for this visit, one of many she has made to New Zealand, Mrs Engelbrecht was chairman of the board of the Canadian Mothercraft Society in Toronto, and she added: “We like to think we had something to do with Ontario’s drop.”

Canada’s mortality rate for mothers had been reduced over nine times between 1926 and 1957, she said. Over the same period infant mortality dropped from 94 deaths per 1000 births to 31 per 1000 births in 1957. New Zealand’s rate in the latter year was 23 and Mrs Englebrecht commented: “New Zealand certainly led the world.”

The Canadian Mothercraft Society’s work, on the lines of that pioneered in New Zealand by Sir Truby King was started in Toronto by Mrs Irving Robertson, wife of the owner of one of Toronto's daily newspapers. Mrs Robertson, who died last year, was a New Zealand nurse who had training in public health work, and in his mothercraft methods by Truby King himself

The Robertsons started and largely financed the Mothercraft centre in Toronto. “She ran into all kinds of opposition but she carried on in spite of it,” said Mrs Englebrecht. At the time of her death, Mrs Robertson was president and nurse-director of the society. As the Canadian wife of a New Zealander—her husband comes from Waimate—Mrs Englebrecht met Mrs Robertson at the New Zealand Club in Toronto and became interested in mothercraft work. The society is now about 26 years old and Mrs Englebrecht has been associated with it for the last 22 years, since before her son, now a medical student, was born. For the last four years she has been chairman of the board. The society began in a small way buying an old home in Toronto. Then the work grew and eventually it was made possible for the society to buy a big old estate at a price it could afford. ‘"lt is still our hospital and centre.” said Mrs Engelbrecht.

Similar to Plunket Work Mrs Engelbrecht described the work done by the society as very similar to that done by the Plunket Society and Karitane Hospitals in New Zealand. In the Toronto hospital there would be between 45 and 50 babies at a time and a number of mothers which varied between 25 and 35. The mothers normally stayed from one to three weeks and the babies could be there up to sir months and some hack stayeira\7«ar.'The bebies are usually-«pr emature' or have diet problems or nervous - disorders. “Some children come from the Children’s Aid to have something corrected before they are adopted,” said Mrs Englebrecht. The hospital is also a training hospital for mothercraft nurses. They train for a year, then go on probation nursing in the The society had difficulty getting enough students and it could not fill the need for them once they graduated, said Mrs Engelbrecht. . -"' •

Quite often nurses from New Zealand came to them to spend a year in, Canada for experience and travel. “We welcome them,” said Mrs Engelbrecht. “We don’t have midwifery training in Canada and for that reason we

like to have nurses with that training from here. “We have beeh trying to give the training in our own hospital but so far we have not been able to get permission from the Canadian Medical Association.” Two society’s clinics in Toronto and Ottawa are staffed by registered nurses with post-graduate mothercraft training, and at the moment Ottawa and Toronto are the only Canadian cities in which the society is working “although we would like to cover the whole of Canada,” said Mrs Engelbrecht. z

Until now the society has drawn about a third of its income from patients’ fees, about a third from Provincial Government grant and about a third by percentage allocation from the United Appeal, a combined charity appeal.

“But the government grant might be withdraw because of a new hospital service scheme," said Mrs Engelbrecht. “At the moment we are on a year’s trial. “We are a private hospital but the government may expect some representation, probably through the C.M.A- ori our board If we are to qualify for the government grant after the end of this trial period." Under the sponsorship of the society Dr. Grantly Dick Read had made two visits to Canada just before he died and met an enormous response, she said, although the C.MA was “lukewarm.”

"His theories are accepted much more widely in the United States than they are in Canada,” said Mrs Engelbrecht. "In fact the Maternity Centre in New York has patterned the whole of its training on his methods and follows his teaching to the letter.”