news "& views.. Obituary D 7? HELEN FIELD

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32360, 28 July 1970, Page 3

news "& views.. Obituary D 7? HELEN FIELD

Dr Helen Turner Field, who died in Christchurch recently, gave a lifetime of service to the health and welfare of children and mothers in New Zealand, Britain and the United States.

Dr Field was a school medical officer in the Health Department in Christchurch from 1940 until her retirement in 1966, and was one of the founders of the Canterbury Play Centre Association.

At the time of her death she was a vice-president of the Christchurch branch of the Family Planning Association. She also had a sympathetic interest in the work of the Christchurch Parents' Centre.

Born Helen Campbell in Argyllshire, Scotland, she attended the primary school at Dalmally and St George’s School for Girls in Edinburgh and graduated M. 8., Ch.B from the University of Edinburgh. After graduation she did further work in obstetrics, gynaecology and the diseases of children.

In 1925 she took a one-year appointment as instructor in obstetrics at the Women’s Medical College of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, and later worked for the State Health Department of Kentucky. She was based at Louisville, and her main work was holding child health clinics in various rural centres in the State. Her next appointment was medical-officer-in-charge at a maternity hospital and training centre for midwives at Grayhawk in the mountains of Kentucky. After a refresher course at Columbia University, New York, mainly in the field of child health, she took charge of a pediatric practice at Bronxville in Westchester County. By this time she had developed a considerable interest in psychiatry and worked for 12 months, mainly in the admission unit, at the Hudson Biver State Hospital, Poughkeepsie, New York. Marriage In 1933 Dr Campbell returned to the United Kingdom to marry Mr H. E. Field,

J who was completing a Ph.D (before taking up a post at | the University of London Institute of Education. For three years Dr Helen Field was a clinical assistant at Maudslby Hospital, London, mainly in the children’s department Because of her wide-ranging experience in relevant fields, she was invited to contribute a section on the psychology of the expectant mother for “Mothercraft" a book published in 1934 by the Association of Maternity and Child Welfare Centres in Britain. During her last six months in England she took some training in psychotherapy under the supervision of Dr Jane Suttie at the Institute of Medical Psychology, now the Tavistock Clinic. Dr Field came to New Zealand in 1937 when her husband was appointed to the chair of education at Canterbury University College. In 1940 she took a half-time appointment as a school medical officer in the Health Department at Christchurch, a post she held and greatly enjoyed until her retirement four years ago. For a time, Dr Field was a member of a small medical group which provided a health counselling service for students at Canterbury University College. As a student at the Univer-

sity of Edinburgh she had taken an active part in Red Cross V.A.D. work. In 1939 she was appointed Commandant and Medical Officer of the No. 4 Detachment (V.A.D.) of the North Canterbury centre of the Red Cross Society. She retired from this office in 194 S but continued her interest in Red Cross work, taking classes and giving occasional lectures. Dr Field believed it Important that pre-school children should be given opportunities for learning in group situations and also that mothers should be helped to acquire a better understanding of the needs of children by taking some part in these situations. She was one of the founders of the Canterbury Play Centres Association, the establishment of which followed the initiation of this movement in Wellington. She served as president of the Canterbury association for a time and was later national president of the organisation. Family Planning

From the early days of the Family Planning Association in Christchurch, Dr Field was one of its active and strong supporters and was a vicepresident of the local branch at the time of her death. She was convinced that it was essential for a working married woman to maintain a sensible balance between family and professional responsibilities. Her own very extensive programme of professional and public activities in the 1940 s and 1950 s was made possible by the help of the late Miss Grace Woolway, who joined the family as a children’s nurse and remained for 20 years.

Dr Field was an associate member of the Canterbury faculty of the Royal College of General Practitioners and a member of the Pediatric Society of New Zealand. She is survived by her husband, Professor H. E. Field, a son, Mr Duncan Field (Christchurch), and a daughter, Anne (Mrs J. A. Humphries of Southland), and four grandchildren.