ST. HELENS MATERNITY HOME

Otago Witness, Issue 2690, 4 October 1905, Page 36

ST. HELENS MATERNITY HOME

OPENED BY THE PREMIER.

DR SEDDON AND THE STUDENTS.

- On Saturday afternoon the Premier (the Eight Hon. R. J. Seddon) formally qpened St. Helens Maternity Home, an institution established in furtherance of the Premier's scheme to provide (at a reasonable tariff) maternity homes. No charge was made for admission, and there was a largo attendance, among whom women of mature age predominated. Many prominent citizens were present, a.nd the clergy and the medical faculty were passably well represented. The weather, despite some threatening^, kept good. Just before 3 o'clock (the hour appointed for the opening) the outlook was dullish, and the ladies, not knowing to what extent the Premier's caprice of the day would prompt him, betrayed some anxiety about their hats and gear. But the rain did not come, the Premier was not especially late, and the whole function went off, as the undertakers say, without hitch or accident. The Premier took his stand on top of the steps at the main entrance. He had ladies in front of him and at the back, to the right and to the left—ladies in ail directions, scanding- on one another's toes and skirts, packed 20 deep ; hero and there a man, apparently not having a particularly good time, but determined not to mention it— mere men half-smothered amid those massed chiffons, poor unnotieeable oases. The Premier said they had met that afternoon to perform an interesting ceremony, of -which- he hoped the result would be to the advantage of Dunedin and the surrounding districts. He had at the outset to mention tllit he had apologies for tho absence of Drs Hock-en. Ohurch, Milieu Coughtroy, and Ogston, and from the Rev. Ourzon-Siggets. He was also notified by the matron that there was a most interesting communication, were he not to give which to them the consequences to himself would be very serious indeed : " Regret being "unable to be present this_ afternoon. Express pleasure at the establishment of such a home, and my best wishes are with you for its success. — Janie Seddon." — (Applause.) The object of Parliament was to ' establish f-uch maternity homes for special reasons. The passing of the Midwives Act j carried with it the necessity for the proper training- of midwives. The infantile mortality of the country was such as demanded that something must be done to improve upon existing conditions. He asserted, without -fear of criticism or contradiction, that as the midwives were so would the country be. Healthy mothers — and he used that term in its broadest sense : healthy morally, intellectually, and physically — would breed good healthy youngsters, the pride of the country, a credit to the race from which we sprung. — (Applause.) At that gathering the ladies were in the majority; hut he noticed that theire was a very good sprinkling of the lords of creation. — (Laughter.) He did not hesitate to say that too much attention was paid to the lords of creation. — („ Oh, oh," and laughter.) It was about time that someIhing was done for the gentler, th° suffering sex.— (Renewed laughter.) In this country we wanted at least 500 gentle, trained nurses. He noticed a look of astonishment on the countenances of some as they heard his words; but he was talking facts, nevertheless. He did not hesitate to say that there was great suffering among women ; there was great loss of ljtVj. That suffering could bo avoided, and that loss of life could be lessened, if there were more nurses in the country- Trained aiurses were beyond tho reach of many under existing conditions, and the nursing power of this country was not what it ought to be. The number of nurses had not increased relatively to the increase of population. It v^as impossible that the number

could increase under existing conditions. He cast no reflection on the authorities administering the public and private hospitals when he said that they only provided sufficient nurses for the requirements of their own institutions. — (A voice : " Well, give the students a chance. 1 ' — Applause.) — Every credit was due to the managers" of those institutions. 'They had no facilities for training more nurses. Their nursing accommodation was limited. They could not provide more nurses than their own institutions needed. How was increased nursing power to be obtained under these conditions? So fa" as these institutions were concerned, tho State could provide more nurses by increasing the accommodation ancl facilities for their trainng. At these homes mantaincd by State moneys there would be probationers who would become trained nurses, and untrained nurses would be placed at the call and disposal of the sick and afflicted in the '■country. There could be no doubt as to tho need. The problem had to be solved ,and he, for his part, realised the responsibility. He realised that the conditions in thousands of homes throughout the colony were such that trained nurses were out of reach of the means of those that were siok. In the second place, some afHicted women could not leave their homes to go to the hospital, lie would be told that the hospital? were open to them, but when a woman had a number of little children and no one to take her place, she could not bring herself to go to hospital, and -the result in many I cases wos tohst she sacrificed her life- If this State provided -trained nurses to meet such 'cases — skilled and tender' women to go and minister in the very rooms of the people — such sacrifices might be managed, j and the poorer women would be. as to nursing;, on the same footing as the best ' in the land. — (Applause.) — He came now to another phase of the question, the training of midwives and maternity nurses. An act | had been proposed providing .that in future all midwives must be certificated. In consequence of that legislation, tho State must offer opportunity of training to those who desire to obtain, such certificates and qualify themselves for this great and responsible position in life. Such an institution as he was opening would meet the requirements of that case •to some extent. Under existing circumstances maternity nurses got practically no chance at all. In the hospitafc they got very little opportunity of perfecting and qualifying themselves, and it Avas only in homes of this kind that that opportunity could be given. This institution, then, was on the one side for the training of midwives and maternity nurses. Was there any necessity for it otherwise? Did existing conditions ancl existing provisions meet the requirements of the colony in that respect? Were the requirements j of Dunedin and Otago provided for under I present conditions? They could go to any medioal man of standing they cho&e and put to him that question, and his answer would be that there was an opening for an institution of this kind in Dunedin, and^jor many more such institutions throughout the length and breadth of New Zealand. Let them go to the workers' homes and satisfy themselves. Many of them did not provide j necessary accommodation for the time of j sickness. The surroundings in many in- ; stances were not sufficiently cheerful. It I was necessary to mother aud child at such a time that the conditions should embody peace, .contentment, quiet, rest. In the homes of the workers there were often drawbacks that prevented such conditions. In the firafc place, the fees to be paid for medical attendance was a big item in many cased. Unqualified or only partially qualified midwives were often called in. There was a want of cleanliness, & want of skill, a want of comfort, and in the end very often both the mother and the child were sacrificed. The provision of such homes as this would lessen the frequency and largely obviate the necessity of such sacrifices.— (" Hear, hear.") j At present the wives of the workers, in

many ca-es could not pay these fee^ and they could Pol. pay to go to some of the private mate/nily homos. It was beyond their mean-. But there were many people in the colony who could afford to p.iy a rpoe'erate fc>o such as was charged ho -c. Tho workers could afirovd to pay Iho fao chaivj-ed here — some ZOs a wojk.l <<. er everything, and ther© would be saicty arc!) comfort. There were many people in the hack blocks: farmers' wives and the wives of struggling settlers, who would consicie'.' this institution a very great boon indeed.

The institution had been placed in charge of- Miss Holford, and he need only mention, thai name in some parts of the counliy, and! i it would immediately give general confi- ! denoe.— (Applause.) He had to announce that, Miss Trott, who had been uikW piobation, and was in every way qualified for the position, had been appointed assistant matron to t^e institution. Nothing could ibe done in this wo rid but there was a j difference of opinion concerning it, rind! thsv would have noticed in regard to this institution and its future management, -there wore thoEe who would liko to have their way. and would liko to introduce in connection with it that which he, as head! of the Government, did not think advisable, and which he thought, if granted, would! militate agaiust the success of the institution. Dr Batchelor. whom he was delighted to see present, had interviewed him." upon the subject of students haviug the right of admission to the home, but ho (tho Premier) had differed with him, and! had said there were good reasons for objection, or. at anyrate, that the rpplication must in the meantime be held in

abeyance. He die? not see his way to agree to the proposal. — (Applause.) He was not disclosing State secrets when lie stated that the doctor had said, " "Very well, we will fight you." He had noticed before ho arrived in Dunedin that the fiylifc had commenced. However, it; was only in the newspapers, and he did not think anyone would be injured if it was kept upon iine* ho had seen. He had great respect for Dr Batchelor. None had greater respect for him than their humblo servant. — (Applause.) But while, in respect to the students, he conceded the doctor the right to do what he believed to be in their interests, and quite realised the noble work

he had done in the hospital and for sutfer-

ing humanity, and while he hoped the doctor would go on with the good work he had done in the past, he (the Premier) ..aid, "Go on with your, work, but leave Dr Sfddon alone and let him run this institution." — (Laughter and applause.) There was quite scope enough for both. If lie were to concede what had been asked it would seriously militate against the -recess of this instrtaition, and he would aive> them his reasons for not agreeing to the suggestion made. His reason he would shortly put. He claimed that the women, who came io the institution were as n dependent as anyone. They paid the fees fixed, aond were as independent as anyone who went to private maternity homes, or any of those whom Dr Batchelor or any other "medical gentleman attended in their homes. This was not a charitable institution. It was an institution provider! by the State, and, judged by the success that had attended the institution in Wellington, it would be actually self-supporting, and 1 those who went to it were entitled to he considered. If he" was now to concede what was called "for it would make it unpopular, and would make it a failure, and he was not going to have his name connected with an3'thing that was a failure in the colony. — (Applause and laughter.) He was sura the medical gentlemen present would agree with him that peace, quiet, and confidence were wanted in the time of trial of our mothers, and that anything that would 1 destroy that peace, quiet, and confidence should be avoided. He never liked to k-ave a friend with whom he differed without some words of comfort, and his words of comfort were these: He believed! the Charitable Aid Board had under way. or was contemplating converting the old Refuge Home into a Maternity Home. The r inauguration of. this home they were formally opening in no way relieved the Charitable Aid Board of its responsibilities, and he would say: '"Go on, turn that into a maternity hr>:ne, and if you come to me to help you. this colony will help in that direction." There was room enough for both in Dunedin. The position as far as this home was concerned was that it was leased af £3 per week for five years, and they had tho option of purchasing at £3500, and he had to give the people of Dunedin a little more comfort. Considering the way the -value of property was increasing and the bright outlook, they had made .a very good bargain', and he did not think the owner af the property would ever see it back in his hands again. Wtih regard to St. Helens Hospital in Wellington, which had been opened in June, 1905, there had been 22 patients in it, and 11 had been attended outside. Ten were booked to enter, which! made a total of .43. The amount received in fees since the opening had been £122 15s, and the amount expended on the hospital to date was £576 5s 7cl. The number of midwives that had registered to date was 208, and the amount received for the registration of midwives £104. He had mentioned that there had been 11 patienta visited outside the hospital at Wellington, and pointed out in that connection the advantage of having trained nurses. The scheme had been looked at from every point, and everj-thing carefully weighed, and in respect to any difference of opinion that might exist, the fact remained thatf tlie home must be a messenger and a harbinger of peace. He wanted the assistance and co-operation of those who held a different opinion to himself, and would say for tho medical men of the colony thatf they had every reason to be proud of not only thosp who had come here in clays gone by, but of the young men in then* midst. Those who had made the best progress in Edinburgh were those who had: come from New Zealand and had be n n trained in Dunedin. Ho wished it fo be clearly understood that, Parliament having passed the Midwives Act, they must train midwives, and. secondly, they must have trained nurses in homes of this kind. Further, they must have a larger number of trained nurses attached to each hospital mi tho colony, and by these means they would save the" lives of our colonists — both; matured ancl infant lives. Although 15,876? infants under the age of one year had boon lost to the colony by death during the 10-year period 1894-1904, and 15,87ff children" had passed away in the colony in' the period he had alluded to, tlie results! were more satisfactory in this colony than! in New South Wales or Victoria in ther 1 matter of preservation of infant life. IS they could only have saved one ov two oS

these children that had passed away they vrbuld have done something. It was a noble consideration, and they must enter upon it witb. their whole hearts. Dealing with the averages of five years, in New Zealand ' 82 infants under one year were found to have died out of every 1000 born, as against 109 in New South. Wales and 105 In victoria. "European countries showed still higher mortality among infants than the principal AustiMdian States. In lingiand and Wales the; rate was 152 infants under ono year to every 1000 births, m aFrahoe it was 152, in Italy 167, and in Huagary 214. Sweden with" 98 and Norway with 91 were notable exceptions. The death rate was the lowest in the world; but ifcbis infant mortality stood against us, and tie eaid: "Women" and men, let us mentally Tesolve that we will strain every nerve to save these Little ones to their parents and jto the country." As he had said, the death rate' in Sweden and Norway was exceptional, ' and, notwithstanding the loss we Jhad had -in the colony, oura was 82 per 1000,. against 91 for Norway. But he ■wanted to bring that' 82 down to 2 and keep the 80 alive. What were the things that operated to bring about this shocking infant mortality? Want of cleanliness ana ekill.in. ignorant midwives. Want of know- I ledge- of the "proper" means of rearing I infants. \ Injririous .quality of milk. In- J aufficient public - maternity hospital accom-modation-for-women of the pooTer classes. Insufficient .public hospital .accommodation for- sick" infants. - , Maternal indifference, and even social and economio 'disabilities of mothers. The last figures given to him regarding the condition of things as re- j ported by the Birth Rate Commission in Australia were ' startling,; but on making inquiries he found that to a slight extent that reproach touched our own colony. However by what they were assisting in doing that day,-ancl by -what the State hoped to do throughout the colony, they wished to itake the mothers in hand; they wished to remove that reproach. Some people might still think that the State in doing what it was doing had gone too far; but in New Zealand they had not, as they had in the older, countries of the world, wealthy jjeode to establish and- endow such institutions. They' had not great philanthropists who, in passing from the world, left m-o-vision^for the~ erection and maintenance of homes- of this kind. When it was found , that the colony and its population were suffering, and that philanthropic or private j gifts adequate to the need were not offered/ it was not too much for Government to ask that the State should do what was being done in eonheciion with these homes. —("Hear, hear.") He hoped the -«ople >vould applaud "the Government's efforts in that regard,-- and would assist in doing everything that was possible for the comfort .and well-being of those who were to benefit by <• these institutions. He hoped that, it -would. soon go forth- to the world .that the. trained - nurses of /New Zealand conld'.belreliedtupon to bring skill to bear, on. 'the alleviation of sickness .and pain. He' hoped"- that those nurses and the medi-,] cal profession .would work together in the interests of suffering", humanityl and that so a noble^ work would be accomplished. I He" thanked .. those present heartily for j attending. — (Apnlause.) , , I -The Mayor of- Dunedin (Mr <J. - BraitKwaite) said heJiad cordially to congratulate the Premier on the successful institution of this maternity home. Most of what, j the Premier had said he cordially agreed with. He was quite . satisfied that the citizens of Dunedin would give the institution every support and* every countenance. He" noticed on the institution the words "Keep your cradles full." — (Laughter.) Now, it seemed to him that the only way of doing that was to look carefully after the infants, and he took it that this institution the Premier was opening was one ; of the things that would help to accomplish that purpose. If they were to have an increasing" population they must look well after infant life. He congratulated the Premier on the noble work that -was being accomplished. He thoroughly believed that this home would be a great success. He hoped that the Premier's prophecy that the present owner of ' this property • would never regain possession of it would be fulfilled.— (Applause.) The Premier said that everything that ■was taken in, hand by Dunedin was bound I to • succeed. They would master - their j problem of infant mortality and the needed i increase of population. While he was speaking he had looked round on- the many good mothers present and seen determination stamped on their countenances. — (Laughter.) They would see that the necessary steps were carried out in their entirety. — (Renewed laughter.) He noted that some exception -had been taken to his leaving his. 'parliamentary duties to come down to Ounedin and open this maternity home.. He was in muchT better company, tlianvtHe company he ,had left behind him. — (" Oh, -oh," ■ and ■ laughter.) r After - the trumpery .worries • and anxieties of three months in Wellington, when he came here arid viewed/that beautiful landscape, when he „inhaled the bracing- atmosphere, when he had around him these good ladies and gentlemen; he began to feel .something like himself again. He should even come 'down later on to a christening, if he thought fit.— (Laughter.) He was a free man in this country, and recognition of anything that tended to the good of the inhabitants and .the benefit of suffering humanity was a call and a duty in his case.— (Applause.) Dr Emily H. Siedeberg said she had been asked to perform a very pleasant duty, probably the lightest she should ever have to perform in that hospital. Messrs Stewart Dawson and Co. had presented a golden key to Mrs Seddon, to be used for the opening of the hospital. She would ask Mr Seddon to hand it to his wife. They all knew the keen interest Mr Seddon took in anything concerning: the welfare of his people. It would be his 'delin-ht to see this hospital full of eoniented mothers and thriving babies. Messrs Stewart Dawson and Co. also presented a couple of silver spoons, which were to be presented to the first baby boy and and the first baby girl, respectively, born in the institution.— (Applause.) Mr Seddon duly declared the hospital open. There was an immediate rush for the inner rooms, where afternoon tea was provided. The hungry philanthropic horde, truth to tell, seemed much more interested in -the tea than in the hospital— as is not unusual. Still, the hospital, which has been furnished by Messrs Herbert, Haynes, and Co.. was inspected by many, and Generally admired. The Premier stood in the vestibule and shook hands with every woman he could reach. He was most indomitably affable.