HEALTH NOTES

Evening Post, Volume CX, Issue 147, 19 December 1930, Page 18

HEALTH NOTES

SOUKCE OF LIFE PROTECTION OF MOTHERHOOD

(Contributed by the Department of Health.) Motherhood, (ho souris» oi' human life, must be guarded, for it is one of tho corner-stones of the foundation upon which a nation is built. When a couple wed and a home is established there is no more lofty aspiration than to quicken and enrich the homo life through children, for when a babo comes there is something tangible, something real, something to live for. It follows, therefore, when so much is at stake, that the condition of the health of tho expectant mother is of supremo importance. In this connection tho first tiling a pregnant woman should realise is that while her condition is a normal and safe one she should keep it so and not allow abnormalities of life which, prior to pregnancy, she might have allowed with impunity. .This is tho keynote leading to normal pregnancy. Diet, occupation, hygiene, surroundings are al] very important; and under this heading much excellent advice will be found in the Department's booklet, entitled "Suggestions to Expectant Mothers," distributed free of cost from the ante-natal clinics established at St. Helens Hospitals, Plunket clinics, and elsewhere throughout tho Dominion. The encouragement of a confident and cheerful mental oufflook is of more importance than is perhaps generally realised. Under usual conditions the ordinary human system is capable of ac■commodating itself to the demands oE civilisation and still preserve its balance. "When, however, pregnancy comes, balance becomes more precarious, and the scales may come down on the wrong side. It is this which makes attention to the ordinary details of life of such importance to the pregnant woman, and makes it so necessary that she should receive early anto-natal advice. ANTE-NATAL CAKE. Although there is no ground for worry or anxiety as to childbirth, antenatal care is necessary for preventing complications' before or after such condition. It has proved its value. The structure of safe maternity is built upon e.Ypert early ante-natal care, which it has beeu stated has the four following objects before it. Tho first is to keep the healthy woman healthy. The second is to recognise tho causes of ill-health if it is present, and so far as possible to remove them. Third is to recognise the existence of any conditions that may subsequently prevent the woman' from having a normal labour, and to remove them. The fourth is to instruct her in tho preparation of her labour. Ante-natal care, therefore, given by a specially-trained, competent person, represents a very essential service rendered on behalf of expeetaut mothers. In tho words of the report of the committee appointed by the Mm ister of Health, Great Britain, "the importance attached by tho committee to systematic and skilled ante-natal care as a means towards tho reduction of maternal mortality can hardly be overestimated, and their opinion is supported by evidence given by witnesses of wide obstetric experience representing the great medical bodies who have appeared before them." , A MOTHER'S ADVICE. The woman's point, of view is well expressed in the following extract from :i letter of a mother, who ;ref ers to her sixth and seventh confinements as follows: "Right from the start I attended Uic. clinic attached to St. Heleiis Hospital, and the benefit gained by so doing was wonderful, and therein lies the secret. If our mothers would only care for themselves before baby comes > —I mean normal care of tho body—they will not be so nerve-racked during confinement. The advice at tho clinic is for rich and poor alike, and is free for the: asking. Tho staff will tell the mother anything she is in doubt about." Mention migkt.be made here for the need of prospective mothers who intend to be confined under the, care of tit. Helens Hospitals either as in-patients or out-patients, to begin attending the ante-natal clinic as early as possible in pregnancy, and to attend regularly. .This is neeossary.not only as a safeguard to their health and as far as 'possible to ensure the best attendance during labour, but to ensure their being subsequently booked as patients of the institution. The ante-natal clinics at these hospitals are available to any expectant mother whether she intends to beconfined-in these hospitals or elsewhere.