LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 14783, 16 March 1910, Page 2

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.

THE GREATER DUNEDIN SCHEME.

Sir,-As a property-holder and one interested in the amalgamation scheme, 1 shou.d like to know- if there is not some undisclosjd reason for the North-East Valley petitioners wishing to join the city? Have they not been uyjed by some person or persons to take action in the matter? And can- the councillors of the city bear any 'mow on their shoulders considering they were unable to arrango an ordinary reception when Lord Kitchener was hero? Even now at the present moment thoy are delaying over a small purchase of a sandhill (Pacific Park) at St.. Clair, which, if left unpurchased much longer, means destruction to the greater part of South Dunlin by the shifting sand or the incoming tide. If the latter, as is quite possible, then a tremendous outlay will be involved upon a new drainage scheme, which would be tlio third and hardest to contend with. NorthEast Valley ratepayers should therefore pause before committing themselves to this amalgamation, as Hie Valley is hardly advanced enough to submit tc new rulings in the form of city am, etc., Inquirer.

North-East Valley,' March 15.

THE INFANT LIFE PROTECTION ACT. Sin,—Tho two doctors' letters attacking the Society for -tiTS Health of Women and Children and its nurses, which appeared in your issue of Monday, call for some comment. First, I will deal with the sarcastic references to humanised milk; and to Plunkct nurses, and the gratuitously assumed narrowness of their training, contained in Dr Riley's letter. After all, humanised milk only means cows' milk intelligently modified so as to adapt it.to /tho various' and varying needs of tho young human beings. Those-who choose to disregard the enormous advances that have been effected in this direction during tho last 20 years by leading thinkers and workers in the medical profession, who have .devoted themselves to (the needs of a child's life, are entitled to remain behind if thoy choose to do so—if they can reconcile themselves to 6ueli a, course—but they need not parade this as a virtue, or sneer ■ at those who prefer not to continue drifting along in back waters. No ono' should loftilv pose as an adverse public critic who doe» not tako tho trouble to inform himself as- to the rudiments of his subject. Dr Riley;-would- not speak of the Karitane Hospital training as he does ii ho knew-anything whatever about the mutter. Fortunately, I'lunket nurses are ipiitc capable of defending themselves and their alma .mater, so I will leave tho defence in their hands.

Enclosed you will find ■ a 'letter received from Hiss Rowman, better known in Dunedin as Sister Alice of the Central Mission —a letter sent to us-from Invereargill last week in response to a request from' the committee- for an. account of her experiences. Miss Bowman writes from .a wide and ripe experience, and I feel that she. can bo relied on to supply Dr Riley with any further details ho may/need' asto the evolution of a Plunket nurse, and the way in which her convictions become established. As a me.ro woman, it. occurs ■to me that Dr Haley's slighting references ■ to an institution which has on its staff many of the leading members of his_ own profession in Dunedin, to say nothing of the professional nurses, is scarcely in good , taste. The rest of tho letters can -well wait for an answer.—l am, etc., Hon.-Sec, Society fob the Health or Women and Childbex. Invercargill„;iMarch 9, 1910. • To tiw Hon. Secrctary.of the: Society for the Health of Women and Children. ' Dear Madam,—Your letter of sth inst.duly lo hand, in which you asked mo to relate my experiences in baby-feeding before and after my work at the Karitanj Babies' Hospital'.'' Before speaking of -experiences, 1 think a few words on the training out-of which those experiences arase and developed would prove of value in'the answering of your question. Although trained in one of the central general hospitals, I received a training in regard to.baby-fec-din", not only inadequate in that 1 gathered no 1 fundamental reasons for the course pursued, but inadequate because of its limitations. My attention was directed mainly'to the feeding (artificial) of the infants, so that when I left .the hospital I had neither comprehension or realisation in regard to the fact that, an cxerciw, manner of feeding; bathing, etc., played their parts in the recovery of infants.- Indeed, I may say that whilst in the hospital the rearing of infants was not the goal; tho point was to got the infants wall, since the iinprcssion gathered was that they wcro ill. They certainly were ill. ' 1 know that --it was obvious,—but I was rtot trained to see that there is a difference between disease (actual and prevcntablo), starvation through wrong feeding, overfeeding,' or ■ • underfeeding; nor did I know that the results of these conditions were augmented through the lack of fresh air, exercise, etc. The uso of fresh air and cxorcise_ was not pointed out or demonstrated obviously to us as a means of securing. successful results not only in immediate recovery, but in lifelong conditions. After leaving hospital I went into district work as a general nurse, and there saw how mothers managed and mismanaged their babies and children. Their methods wore slipshod; consequently occupying overmuch time. Things were done on expensive lines, gladly in many cases, because the'-parents were under the impression that the cost of the food indicated-its nutritive value. They—the mothers—worked along lines even better in many cases, so far as dietary was concerned, than laid down in the pamphlet "Baby's Welfare." If milk were used, it was, if heated at all " scalded," regardless of the fact that "scalding," if adopted, should be used only occasionally, and for special'reasons, and never for a routine practice; and they made practically no other provision to lessen tho risks of diarrhoea. It was quite apparent that teaching, plain and simple, was necessary. However, I sawin district work that what I had once looked upon as a curablo disease in hospital. was really in' tho homes a prevcntablo condition had tho mothers simple elementary needs of hygiene in relation to babyhood, such ascould be carried out in the poorest home. I never could, even in those days, lose sight of tho fact that although we cured what seemed disease we had not erased all results of what were really prevcntablo conditions After a year at the Babies' Hospital, Anderson's Bay, Dunedin, I knew from demonstrated facts that hygiene played a tremendous part in the prevention and cure of these conditions, and that in future I would not only direct my attention to breast feeding or correct medications of cow's milk, but to home hygiene and tho teaching of it. 1 wont again into district work, but as Plunket nurse and as the babies' nurse I saw a repetition of the conditions described in tlio experience of general district nursing. Where babies were fed articially tho methods wcro slipshod, -and did not make for the babies' ultimate good. Alter a year's work as Plunket nurse, in which I devoted much time to inculcating the truth that breast-feeding is best for both parent and 'child; and that fresh air and cleanliness were essential in all cases. I next attended to the slip-shodedly-fed babies. I can only say that there is no doubt left in my mind that: the use of percentage feeding is immeasurably ahead of anything else I have taken part in for the feeding of babies who cannot ba breast-fed or who are to be, or have been, weaned. The method is scientific; therefore infinitely simpler than the slipshod making up of patent foods, condensed milks, milk and water, etc. ■ , 4 Tho impression created in the minds of some mothers—an impression gathered in many instances through a perusal, of the pamphlet-"Baby's Welfare" that the preparation of humanised milk is ? difficult, tedious process—is one readily eradicated .i-licn tho mother has once used the method of percentage feeding. All mothers with whom I have come in contact using the scientific method agree with ma that it is a 6imple, : short", inexpensive way of preparing artificial food for their infants. By. percentage feeding I • mean feeding ivith tho proportion's of sugar, fat, and proteid adjusted -in ordinary so as to bi as near as possible to I hose found in the average human milk, or in special cases where the baby evidently cannot just at that stage digest so. much. say. of fat or protcid, however modified, ' as found in human mil!;.— JI am, eto., • :-. :.; AasjS"M. Bowman, N.-Z.R.N.