The Evening Star SATURDAY, APRIL 10, 1937. MATERNAL MORTALITY.

Evening Star, Issue 22619, 10 April 1937, Page 16

The Evening Star SATURDAY, APRIL 10, 1937. MATERNAL MORTALITY.

In August of last year the Government set up a committee to inquire into and report on the incidence of septic abortion in New Zealand l . The conclusions of this body have been issued, and there can be no doubt that a very grave position is revealed. It is alarming, and must give the greatest concern tot everyone who is interested in the welfare of the Dominion. The estimate of the committee that the abortions in New Zealand every year amount to 6,000, and that the number criminally induced is 4,000, is staggering. If matters go on at this rate it may well be asked what is to become of the country. There are many serious aspects of the question, as may be seen from the committee’s explanation of the main causes of the resort to abortion, which, in its opinion, are economic and domestic hardship, changes in social and moral outlook, pregnancy among the unmarried, and in a small proportion of cases fears of childbirth. The first of these issues implies a weakening in the spirit of independence and courage among the people. Material conditions, medical practice, and nursing facilities have all greatly advanced from the days of the pioneers, yet modern families are pitifully small when compared with those of half a century ago. This restriction of natural functions bodes ill for a country which would be a rich prize to a nation the fertility of whose people continues to be so great that its rulers are anxiously searching for outlets for its bursting population. Another of the causes in the opinion of the committee for the present position is the revolutionary change in the moral and social outlook of the people. There is no doubt that to-day pleasure is at the prow, that love of home life has greatly lessened, that in a restless age the ties of family are regarded as a handicap rather than as a privilege to be greatly prized. Having regard to this aspect of the matter, the committee believes that the most important cause of the present conditions is a change in the outlook of women which expresses itself in a demand of the “ right to limit, or avoid, the family, coupled with a widespread half-know-ledge and use of birth-control methods, often ineffective. These failing, the temptation to resort to abortion follows.”

Among the unfavourable influences mentioned by the committee is the scarcity of domestic help. This applies especially to country life, where the whole of a woman’s physical energy in many cases is taken up by attention to household matters and often also to farm work, to the detriment of family life. Another hindrance is the cost of confinements to those who live in the rural districts, for it often happens that a woman who is beyond the reach of prompt medical attendance has to travel a considerable distance to hospital. In addition to even moderate hospital andl medical fees, there is the problem of providing extra help in the home or on the farm during the absence of the wife. The committee has given a most comprehensive view of the whole position. Many factors have been considered that cannot here be referred to in detail—the matter of housing in crowded areas is one of them—but when all is said the inescapable conclusion remains that amongst a considerable section of the community the demand for the limitation of families has passed beyond higher motives into the regions of thoughtlessness and selfishness. Touching on the fear of pregnancy, the aommittee stresses the fact that New Zealand now has a very low death rate in actual childbirth, that relief in labour is largely used, and that further developments in this direction are being continually investigated. The committee has gone into the habit of the nse of contraceptives and their availability, along with certain drugs and appliances, a matter which no doubt will be considered by the Government in due course. In its unenviable task the committee has been able to do little more than collect information and statistics and to lay bare a position that,' if maintained, is bound in the long run to have disastrous effects on the individual, the family, and the State. In the end the position can only be remedied by an awakening of the conscience of the people themselves and a realisation of the great dangers involved in the present developments.