MOTHER AND CHILD

Dominion, Volume 18, Issue 194, 12 May 1924, Page 3

MOTHER AND CHILD

HOW THE PLUNKET NURSE CAN HELP THEM ADDRESS BY DR. TRUBY KING Dr. Truby King, when opening a sale of work in aid of the Plunket Society at Eastbourne on Saturday, spoke as follows:— “In the first place I should like to congratulate your branch of the Plunket Society on the very large gathering of people you have brought together this afternoon. I know that the Wellington centre very highly appreciates the splendid support they are' receiving from the various suburbs. Nothing could be more, encouraging than the evidence which this function gives of your appreciation, here in Eastbourne, of the services rendered by the Plunket. nurse who regularly visits your district. “I do not need to remind you of another great service which the society is able to render through the generous support of the public of Wellington—namely the provision of a Karitane Hospital, which serves not merely the city, but also the suburbs, and indeed the whole province.

The Heart and Soul of the City. “In New Zealand, as elsewhere throughout the modern, world, the heart and soul of the city—the home and the domestic side of life-lies outside the city itself and are to be found in the suburbs. The great advance made in the work of the Wellington branch of the Plunket Society during tho last two years has been mainly due to the suburbs taking an intense and devoted interest in the movement. This manifests itself in the excellent provision they have made of providing local quarters, the stimulation of local interest, and the contribution of substantial funds for the furtherence of the whole work. “Last, but not least of the benefits conferred by the suburbs on the central organisation, has been the appointment by each suburban branch of a local representative to strengthen the Central Committee. This bringing in of new blood will increase more and more as tiui 5 goes on tho vitality and usefulness of the society, and has already brought about a far more effective service for mothers remote from the parent centre than was possible only a few years ago. “Of course, as time goes on, ana suburbs such as Eastbourne grow, as they must, in population and importance, they naturally tend, sooner or later, to hive off and establish a resident Plunket Nurso; but in any case there is everything to gain from branches within the province doing all thev can to encourage and support the main centre in the city, especially in the matter of helping to run the Karitaue Hospital and Mothercraft Training Centre, established for the equal service of all alike. Pre-Natal Work. “We wish that the whole community could be brought to realise more fully the duty which every woman owes to herself and owes to her child in the nine eventful months of life preceding child-birth. The society always offers the best advice and service its nurses can give in this connection, hut very few women realise the benefits which tho Plunket nurses are qualified and anxious to confer, if only their counsel and aid were more often sought during pregnancy. In spite of nil our efforts, few women yet understand tho boon and safety conferred on mother and child bv kroner ante-natal care and prenaredness for motherhood. One of the factors of our undulv hi"h maternal mortality is the failure of prospective mothers to establish the simple standard of health and fitness needed for the protection and well-being of themselves and their offspring. Sweets and Pieces Between Meals. “This is another matter in which progress is disappointingly slow. The leading dental and medical authorities all deplore the spoiling of digestion and decay of the teeth brought about by these utterly wrong habits wir’d) do so much to undermine the health and fitness of the rising generation. Further, I am bound to tell you what I noticed this afternoon on my way to your hall, namely, a number of children entering a so-called Picture Palace, in order to worse than waste the sunny hours, when they ought to be playing in the open and truly enjoying themselves, as I saw a number of girls doing when passing through your park, where a game of hockey was in progress. There is amnle space of land and sea-shore here. Why were these other children tempted and allowed to idle away a glorious afternoon, sitting in stuffy, semi-darkness, when thev ought to have been basking in the suinhine, drinking in tho open, air. and acti"ely building bone and muscle?”