MATERNAL MORTALITY

Evening Star, Issue 20274, 7 September 1929, Page 15

MATERNAL MORTALITY

ANTE AND POST-NATAL CARE DISCUSSIOH BY MEDICAL CONGRESS Press As.sociation —By Telegraph—Copyright. SYDNEY, September 6. Dame Janet Campbell, director of the Maternal Infant Welfare in the Ministry of Health, when addressing the obstetrics section of the Medical Congress, appealed to the ‘profession to endeavour to lighten the burden of maternity. She said she envied the records of Scandinavia and Holland in this respect, but she was. unable to obtain comparable records of other countries. Britain was trying to make ante-natal work more general, as on this must depend a reduction of maternal mortality. It was , hoped in England that an insurance scheme would be adopted under which women would obtain proper attention during confinement.

Dr Henry Jellett said there was a tendency in modern times to adopt new methods and to neglect men and women. They were eternally working for new advances that must be built on knowledge, and collecting a foundation on which that knowledge must bo based. They made medical practitioners and midwives, but failed to provide them with sufficient knowledge of midwifery. The present system of caring for prospective mothers was essentially wrong, and by the adoption of a different system the present rate of .maternal mortality could roughly bo halved. Medical men should concern themselves more with ante-natal care, diagnosis, and post-natal care, and leave the other work to midwives. Dr E. S. Morris pointed out that the problem of the untrained nurse did not affect New South Wales. Out of 3,240 midwifery nurses registered only 150 were not hospital trained.