THE NATION'S HEALTH

Southland Times, Issue 19100, 19 November 1923, Page 5

THE NATION'S HEALTH

CHILD-BIRTH MORTALITY NEW ZEALAND CONDITIONS UNSATISFACTORY AN INTERESTING SURVEY. Some arresting figures in connection with child-birth mortality were given by Mr F. Bartram, M.P. for Grey Lynn, at his meeting in Victoria Hall last evening, under the auspices of the Labour Party. “Good health is essential to a nation’s happiness,” commenced the speaker. "We stand for the nationalisation of health and we would start by laying the foundation of health where it ought to be laid—before birth. The Labour Party stands for Motherhood Endowment.” ’The speaker continued that Dr. Chas. Porter, Medical Officer of the Metropolitan Borough of St. Marylebone in his book, “The Future Citizen and His Mother,” told them that “in England on an average one woman lays down her life for every 250 children that begin their life.” “The position is worse in New Zealand,” declared Mr Bartram. “Mind, I am not decrying the healthiness of this country. Our health conditions compare more than favourably with other countries, but in this country, God’s Own Country, one woman lays down her life for every 187 children that begin their lives. One hundred and ninety cradles with babies in and then .... a coffin with a mother in, dead at child-birth.”

Mr Bartram quoted the N.Z. Year Book as saying: “Bad pre-natal conditions are responsible for the great majority of deaths during the first month.” *lt was quite certain, added the speaker, that bad prenatal conditions were responsible for all the babies born dead—still births. In 1921 there were 903 still births; 627 of them w’ere born of women in the age of prime motherhood, namely, ages 25 to 40 inclusive. Mr Bartram next said he would give the figures for 1921 relating to mortality, the great bulk of which could be fairly attributed to bad pre-natal conditions. He said 145 mothers died in confinement, 903 babies were born dead, 876 babies died before one month old, 195 babies died between the age of one and three months, 137 between three and six months and 158 between 6 and 12 years, making a total of 2414 deaths for one year. From the same causes the death roll over a period of ten years, 1912 to 1921 inclusive, reached the total of 22,438, an enormous amount of human wastage which proper care and motherhood endowment would very largely reduce, he continued.

When one considered those facts it did not surprise very much that the trouble went on after children had got over the first twelve months of life. The DirectorGeneral of Health for New Zealand, in his report for the year ending March 31, 1923, stated that the medical examination of 34,382 school children of all ages revealed the fact that 88.34 per cent, were suffering from defects. To quote the actual words of the report “the figures relate not to mere physical imperfections, but to defects which actually interfere with health or efficiency, or w’hich are in some way of definite pathological significance.” Leaving out dental defects the per cent, was 60.40. “In order to visualise these figures,” Mr Bartram continued, “just imagine you can see on a children’s gala day ten thousand merry boys and girls between the ages of five and fourteen enjoying themselves as only childhood can, and remember that over six thousand of them at the least are medically unfit. No wonder that over 50 per cent, of our men of military age were found to be unfit. Goodness knows what the average of medically unfit women would have been had they been examined too. It is not surprising that out of the 800 odd people who die on an average in New Zealand every month only between 60 and 70 die of old age. The 1921 figures are total deaths from all causes 10,682, and out of that lot only 791 died of senile decay, that is, old age.”

“The moral of it all is,” said Br Bartram in conclusion, “if we want a healthy nation, start young. Start before birth. Commence laying the foundation of health and happiness by the State Endowment of Motherhood.”