OUR BABIES

King Country Chronicle, Volume XXVI, Issue 3450, 26 November 1932, Page 6

OUR BABIES

MOTHERCRAFT. (By Hygeia.) Published under the auspices of the Royal New Zealand Society for the Health of Women and Children (Plunket Society). It is now 27 years since Dr. (now Sir) Truby King entered upon the educative health mission, the success of which has exceeded not only the expectation of the founder, but of his most optimistic followers. About this time (1905) Dr. King's attention became focussed on the harm being done by the almost universal practice of artificial feeding of infants, and the ignorance and carelessness of parents in regard to this matter, leading to a very high death rate among artificially fed babies and the appalling and preventable wastage of human life, directly traceable to faulty nutrition in infancy." For two years, with the help of his devoted co-worker, the late Lady King, and an assistant whom he had specially trained, Dr. King worked unceasingly in the interest of mother and child, and by this work laid the foundation upon which the Plunket Society was later to be built. Quietly and unobtrusively, this nurse gave kindly and practical instruction in mothercraft to mothers in their own homes. Then, as now, the main object of the work was "to inculcate a lofty view of the responsibilities of maternity and the duty of every mother to fit herself for the perfect fulfilment of the natural calls of motherhood, both before and after childbirth, and especially to advocate and promote the breast feeding of infants." Sir Truby King was rightly convinced that, in the majority of cases, her own home was the most suitable place for the practical instruction of the mother.

It took years of hard work and tactful handling to persuade the mothers of those days that tuition was necessary, and it was often considered a reflection on the mother's ability to manage that she should require advice in mothercraft. Indeed, any expressed desire for help and enlightenment frequently met with the following inquiry from her husband: "How is it that you cannot manage? Mother got on quite well without any help?" And mothers-in-law also had unfavourable comments to make. How different it is to-day. Most of the mothers eagerly seek advice, both before and after baby comes, and mothers and mothers-in-lay encourage the quest for knowledge. Mothercraft does not come by instinct;- it must be learned. Neither love nor care can fill the place of knowledge and experience. Where knowledge is combined with devotion, "education begins at the cradle." There is every facility for the mother of to-day to acquire this knowledge. She may receive it in her own home from the Plunket

nurse or at any of the Plunket baby 1 centres. In addition to mothercraft being taught in the home, it was the earnest desire of the founder and his co-workers that every girl in the upper standard of the primary schools should receive elementary instruction in this subject. Repeated efforts were made in this direction without success, the answer being given by those in authority that, while it was very desirable that the girls should have knowledge in this subject, it was impossible to find a place for it in the already overcrowded syllabus. However, during the past few years the principal of one of the local technical schools wrote to the executive of the Plunket Society asking if instruction might be given to the girls from the upper standards of the primary schools attending the school. This opening for mothercraft in schools was eagerly seized and the practical instruction given. In making this request the teacher stated: "In years previous to 1929 my class baby-care lessons have been of necessity mainly theoretical, but children learn much better by the seeing and the touching that the Plunket nurse's practical demonstration made possible. Not only do they learn actual facts, but the classes establish a contact and interest in Plunket work. . . . We follow up the work of preparing dishes and meals for the older baby and child, and finally the adult in health and sickness." Two years later a course in mothercraft was arranged for at one of our private schools for girls. It was found that the subject proved both interesting and popular with the girls, as shown by the answers given in the examination paper set on this subject. There is a consensus of opinion that a short course in mothercraft should be included in the education of every girl. The work of many women and young girls (such as the school and kindergarten teacher) has entirely to do with the care of little children, and for this important subject no provision is made in the upper standards of our primary schools. We are glad to say, however, that in three of our secondary • private schools time has been set apart during one term of the year for lessons, in mothercraft.