SAYING THE BABIES.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 148, 17 March 1908, Page 3

SAYING THE BABIES.

INFANT LIFE- PROTECTION SOC?ETY MEETING. SPEECH BY LADY PLUXKET Tho public mooting called by Her Excellency Lady"' Plunkot' to consider tho question' of infant'life preservation mot' in fhoConcert Room'of tho' Town Hall yostcVday' afternoon, when there'wm'a fair iatteridan'fcb of 'women.' On : the .'rilatforih' wore Lady ' Plu'nket;•' Lady •wird; Mesdames Aikin-

son,' the Hon.' G. Fowlds, the Hon. Dr. Collins, Rev.' J., Paterson, 'and -Drs.- Pnrdy r Mason, and Young. Apologies for absence were received from Lady Stout, the Hon. Dr. Findlay, Rovs. G. P. Davys and W. A. Evans, Rovs. Father Ainsworth and Lane, and Drs. Elizabeth Gunn and Kemp, each of whom oppressed full sympathy with the objects of the meeting. Mrs. A.' R. Atkinson, who presided, referred'to the previous meeting held'in that hall and addressed by Dr. Truby King, which had decided that tho work of! promoting tho health of women and /children should be undertaken by the Society for the .Protection of Women and Children. Tho annual meeting' of tho society had accepted that trust, and had ever since been trying to carry it into effect. Now it had defcided that .the work should be done under the auspices if*tho same society, but with a separato executive, and tho following had been placed on the'new committee Lady Stout, Rev. Mother Mary Aubert, Dr. Platts-Mills, Mesdames Atkinson, Fell, Chappie, Hogben, Holgato, • M'Vicars,.. T.. C.. Williams, W. Young, Mason, and the matrons of the St. Helens 'tho S.A. Maternity Homes. . ' Her Excellency'La'dy'Plunket said slio had' great pleasure in addressing the. meeting, as its object ivas, very .dear. to. her, and she hadgreat hopes of' ( riot. only helping, to. start the 'society in Welhrigtbri. ; ori a good footing,', but also to enlarge; the gohoral scheme-by placing nurses in alHhe big-centres of' New Zealand, and at least two-roving' nurses, who' would spend their-time 'travelling, to} all the out-of-the-way"; places, ''teaching; and advising ' mothers about their own health and that of their [children. After briefly re«)unting the objects of the society, 'Her Excellency said that the necessity for the existence of the ' society had been questioned, on the ground -'that other.' societies'-did',the iame .sort of-, work, but she showed that this view! was aimistaken one'.' The; district ;nurses mitigated /the sufferings .the sick, : itho!Society. for the Protection ,;.of . Women and Children fought the battle /of . .wrongs , done,-.tho Government inspectors yisited licensed-homes.and 'institutions, but it was not tho business of any of .these societies to educato ■ mothers,. or pro-'spective'mothers-on 1 their own healthj or-.that i 'of. their'-babies..- This, was the special work •' of'- tho. Infants'* -Life. Preservation. .Sooietyl; , .Their nurses were specially trained so thai; •: they might give instruction and domonstr'a- ' ;tioas on " health , and"'the management •-of L babies. They* would be ready, to visit Sany, ; mother who invited them, going only where in'vited arid welcome, not thrusting advice,upoh i !■ ' anyone,iand never visiting whero- a', medical r 'man v.-as iri attendance''unless-.seut : for -with; j. .his permission. She had been-asked .whether the' Society 'cou,ld manage, 'Siiry ' in her. housework, or,jvh.ern .sho was the ' b'rbadwinner, an allowance for period;-: ' .In'; special ca'Ses the soq-icty vroiild hope to do' _ "this, if supported, generously by' the - jjuhlio.' Tho .nurses, would' also' givo instruction in th'e j preparation of humanised milk ';iri/.the. homo' where a public supply could' not be'obtained. . Philanthropic, owners of dairies in D\medin and' Auckland had .arranged for the prepara- •• tirin,' battling, and' siipply;.ofy this milk,' but!, 'this' -was done at a pecuniary loss, and-.tli'o demand was not sufficient to.make tlie manufacture pay. Wellington was working hard to improve ,its milk supply, which :; was'a' mat- • .t'er. of supreme ■ importance -to the' babies of . tho city.' To sjvpport 1 one -nurso in .Wellington would cost' £200'' a yoar/'a cost 'which'it was. hoped" to "meet"'-'thr6ugH : 'subscriptions, donations, and- membership and sh'o , appealed -.to public for., assistance'.. They looked from 'the''municipality and' the''Government.,. There was no reason why 'their niirses ' should jfcl ash '.with} jGoverriirienti > jn'spectors4 fi ; 4s]Siot! '•only for. -tllp poor. Hei "knowledge and'ex,perionce% could be taken advantage.'of- by-'any• .. mothers, whether their incomes were-largo or small. The successful . establishment, 'of the. Society for'tho.' Promotion., of. ..Health ... of' .Women and Children throughout the Dominion, meant;, endless;, anxiety ;and • suffering spared, it mearit/a-'decre'ase iri-th'pj'.appalling infant death- rate, .and more, and .healthier children for v Now'Zealan'd.and;thc Empire.' ,Tho Hon:'-.Dr "> Collins proposed '.'that',. the. nurses working.under the-Infants' Life Pro.Section- SoqiQt'y (( shoidd^bp # .tjie Lady,, ■ Plunket nurses'. ' Everyone''r'ecognisea'th'a't Her, Excellency had-had-this -matter -of -the preservation of infant lifo very much at ;neartj arid 'tha^^.•«^ladvf^EhM^ , its;-.ill-, ,-terests in all -I.ii.Vas' (.only right and proper that "the nurses whom ■she-had practically started should bo called by,..her name.' The work of tho society was. iiirtho interests, of'all classes- of tho community. The Health Department was. preparihg a national standard of health for all ages,,which would be.of great value in estimating the progress of the-race. There was no doubt, that if. the matter of promoting'the | health of women and children were ,t?ken I well-in hand, it would- imprdvo the' race. It practically _ becamo a branch of--, the science of preventive medicine. He quoted, the fig- | ures-for infant mortality given in tho Year I Book, and pointed .was'be-, i-;lpw,-that ot other countrieV^'jt^Ws'vfar'tooLhigli for a country where people lived under the favourable conditions 'Nfew v ■ Zealand. He was sure the. nurses would : be of great service to tho people. In Welling- 1: ton there was no accommodation whatever , for the nursing of side babies, and ho hoped .that when .the hospital was enlarged provision'. would be made for infants. It was of I pressing importance thiit ; a pure: rililk supply should bo obtained for. Wellington. By the establishment of a sewage system, and a . puro; water, supply, tho municipality has. checked the ravages, of.-,typhoid, and; dysentery ;, they might ■go 'further and check \the infant '■ death-rate by taking over the milk supply.

; Dr. Purdy was glad to know that one of .-the ( main objects 'of ihe. Society, .was to. ini:'pro7o ;the health ,; of ; mothers and: instruct ,thom as to the feeding of their'-babies.' Such' instruction was very necessary. Only 5 per .cent, of the mothers of New Zealand were incapable of nursing their infants, but 50 per cent, of them failed,,to do so, and this though. most/bfvtho ; 'deatiis' of'infants':'under 12 montlis .were mainly due to improper feeding...-,;.,H0 approved of a municipal milk supply,' but. thought. the profit should go towards providing those infants who required it with humanised-itiilk. Dr. -Collins -.would., like, to see the children's: .wird' enlarged; he yould: ; likd ( s to see a' ' Children-s ' Hospital - established/ and thought Wellington was large .enough to have a children's hospital of "its own, ' -J ' : - ■' Dr. Mason was glad that part of . the nurses' n-ork was to •'be tho instruction of ■prospective mothers. Care of the' mother ; shortly.' befpre - the. birth, of; the' child; miight ; save ;'many an infant life, and the importance of this-; fact- had'so impressed many of tho authorities of European cpuntries that 'they were ' advocating 1 the establishment pf hemes where these wemon might have some weeks of rest'.' It was mpst important: that tha-milk' supply_ should be-' pure. It was of ■ no , 'use;,. humanising . impure, milk: ' He'-'pro-ppsed'.a. vote of thanks".to' Her. .Excellency for fbreshaddwing this gigantic aiij most portant scheme.. She had undertaken many - important' .works, •but '.'if she succeeded in putting this scheme on a firm footing she 'would do more than anything else'to make her.name remembered,.... . . . ... .

Dr. Young, seconding this , proposal, said ■ that only those who' were in dhiiy. contact with sick _ children - knew: of'. theVeucirmoiis ivasto. pf life duo tp .imprpper .feeding. He was net surprised to hear that the milk supply in . Wellington; was tho worst'in the Dominion. .- •;

• Her Excellency thanked tho meeting for deciding that the nurses should bo called by her name. She would do everything in ■her power to • establish this scheme on a ■ firm footing. ,' ' ' . _ , ■ The Hon. G. Fowlds said lie had no message' to' delivor' that afternoon, Tho Society, in carrying out its work, might rely upon tho cordial, support, of, tho Department dealing' with the Infant Life Protection Act. There was a wide field for the' operations of tho Society < not - touched by tlie Department, which was bound by statute, and could not bo as elastic in its work as the Society. Tho Government had agreed, to give, a subsidy of ;up to' £100 in- each of . tlie centres. , He was pleased to hear Hor Excellency , and Mrs. •Atkinson say that the caro for the health of , the-mothers was one of their chief objects. Tho kiiid of milk, achild was entitled to receivo 'was'human, hot humanised milk, and he. hoped the result of tho'operation's, of tho Society would be to reduce-that 50' per cent, the doctors mentioned. i At tho conclusion of. tho meeting Nurse 'Palmer gavo 'a -of'the method of preparing humanised'milk.