OUR BABIES

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 74, Issue 228, 26 September 1931, Page 14 (Supplement)

OUR BABIES

BROADCAST TALKS—V. MOTHERCRAFT There is no strange doctrine, no mys tery, and nothing involved in the teach mg of the Plunket Society. Simplicity is the keynote; the basic idea is that of obedience to the universal laws governing nutrition and growth. The idea is not new, of course. Very great minds all through the ages have preached th<> same essential doctrine. As Oliver Wendell Holmes said whet addressing' a medical meeting in I 860: “In this Nature-trusting heresy’ of mine J am pleased to find myself in accord and association with Hippocrates, the father nf the healing art, and Florence Nightingale, its latest great exponent.” The poet Milton wrote:

Accuse not Mature. Who hath done her part; Do thou but thine. The effrontery with which man has set aside natural laws, evolved through countless centuries, is simply colossal. But we pay the price. The hope of the future lies in the present awakening to the necessity of following Nature’s lead, working in harmony, instead of discord, with natural forces. Sun and air, natural food, exercise and rest — these are the fundamental essentials for all. living things; and if we are to have happy homes in the present and good health and efficiency in the future parents must know these things. This is the guiding principle of the work of the Plunket Society—in two words, education in “mothercraft.” Mothercraft is a word to conjure with. If it is not allowed to become vague and shadowy it serves a very useful purpose in Teminding us that “mothering” must be learnt, like any other “craft.” What an extraordinary thing it is that girls are still trained for almost every

pioression and occupation under the sun except the most important of all! No profession, public or private, can match it. Motherhood may not bring women before the public gaze as other outlets for their energies ma? do, but, as Sir Truby King constantly stresses, the mother is (or should be) the competent executive officer in the rearing and nurture of her children, and every mother who fulfils these duties well has played her part in the public health service of the country. Tn the words of Dr. 0. E. Saleeby, a

great idealist and worker in the cause of mother and child: “Because the hu- ' man mother is human her forte is not instinct, but intelligence. Instinct in the animals, though perfect within limits, is sharply limited, finite, and ' cannot learn. Intelligence is unlimited, infinite and can learn to weigh invisible stars and write ‘Hamlet’ and an overture to ‘The Master Singers.’ ” The human infant remains helpless • for a longer period than any other liv- j ing creature. How stupid and how cruel it is that we should allow the helpless baby to be the subject of experiment—make it the material on • which the mother learns the job she i should have learnt before, with the risk of “spoiling” it, or worse, in the pro- ; cess. The time will surely come when ; we shall look with amazement on a school curriculum for girls so crowded that no time could be spared for teaching on the rudiments of child care. : The term “mothcrcraft” implies the I simple science of the art of good ' mothering—the essentials in regard to feeding and environment for the child —the hygiene of body and mind. We still shy at the word “science,” but ; science really means simplification—is ■ just crystallised common sense. New Zealand mothers are indeed the best informed in the world in regard to care of babies—as well they should, seeing that for many years they have had unique facilities at their disposal m the form of uniform authoritative teaching available to all. That they have availed themselves of it is well shown .in the comparative infantile mortality statistics of our own and other countries. To-day New Zealand mothers loso nnlv I’ncf r..r«..

mothers lose only just over one baby in .100 between the ages of one and 12 months—less than a-quartcr the number lost in the last generation of mothers; whilst English mothers lost nearly five times as many and our Australian sisters about twice as many. One specially mentions the period from one to 12 months because this is the period during which the mother really has charge of her baby herself, and it is in this period that the systematic “mothercraft” campaign carried on in New Zealand has so triumphantly been justified by results. But far more will be achieved when it is generally realised that after the birth of the baby is really too late to start, though, of course, it is never too late to learn. At the ante-natal clinics conducted by the Plunket Society as well as by other organisations and from any Plunket nurses and many others the prospective mother may learn the beginning of this most fascinating study. One would urge every mother to prepare herself beforehand, not only for the birth of the baby, but in the matter of “mothercraft” generally. Knowledge applied in time would prevent the great majority of early weanings and many tragedies. A great French doctor has pointed out that premature separation of mother and child by early weaning or by premature birth is the greatest cause of infant death. But the ideal scheme of mothercraft commences earlier even than this—with the girls in their toons, the potential mothers of the next generation—thus providing education and supervision over the whole cycle from the expectant mother to the infant and the preschool child, and thus to the schoolgirl ami so to the mother again. Perhaps our listeners may he interceded to hear a little of the mothcrcraft work carried out at the mothers’ cottages run in connection with the six Karitanc Hospitals. The work is designed to demonstrate and teach the art of correct mothering to young and inexperienced mothers, and also to serve the needs of mothers with ailing breast fed babies, who for one reason or another are not doing well. The mother whose milk supply has failed or is failing may come in for treatment, which in the groat majority of cases re•iilts in complete or partial restoration of the supply in a short time. In many cases natural feeding is re-established after days or even weeks of complete weaning. Mothers and babies can also be admitted for 24 hours’ observation and test weighing in order to ascertain hist how much milk the baby i s getting from the breast, with a view to accurate adjustment and correct advice. The nurses in charge of the Mothor--1 Taft Homes have hail wide experience bi the management of difficulties eon ■ nee tod with natural feeding, and are flrilful and understanding. ]t is their •lirn to make the mother “feel at 1 home”—that she and her baby are being considered as individuals with individual problems for solution, not “eases” in for treatment. All the homes are very simply equipped, hut

are comfortable and restful, beautifully situated, with sunny verandas, gardens and having in some cases wonderful views.

The second fortnight or so of a baby’s life is apt to be a little critical, especially in the case of a first baby. The mother, perhaps young and inexperienced, is apt to find herself unexpectedly weak, nervous and easily upset when she returns from the nursing home or is left by her nurse. Unskilled in the management of the baby, possibly harassed by conflicting advice from her well-meaning friends and relations, and worried by the baby crying, she may lose her milk or overfeed under the impression that the baby is hungry. In a very short time this sort of thing can cause the radiant young mother to become anxious, nervy, and exhausted, and transform the beautiful healthy, breast fed baby into an ailing bottle-fed.

This, no doubt, is citing an extreme case, but in some form or degree the story is all too common and all too true. The mistakes are not due to carelessness, but to lack of knowledge. Only knowledge, promptly applied, can correct the results and prevent recurrences. The Plunket nurse can do much to help, but the mother may be badly handicapped by her home circumstances, and here a short stay in a mothercraft homo may be of the very greatest service. The mother may dread leaving home, but once she has taken the plunge, what a tremendous relief it is to liquid over the responsibility of the baby to skilled, experienced people—how restful it is to know that there will be no crying baby to disturb the night’s sleep. A few days or a week or so of this lightening of mental and physical burdens works wonders, as many, many parents would testify.

Better still is a short stay at a mothercraft horn-' directly after leaving the maternit -pitai, so that the mother may learn ,j manage her new baby, gain confidence in her power to feed him fully, and know that he is gaining weight is he should and sleeping all night before she returns to take up the full routine of home and baby. The lessons learnt in this way are of incalculable benefit to both parents and baby, and the saving in worry, nerve strain, and possible unhappiness can scarcely bo estimated. The care of premature babies is another important part of the work of the mothercraft homes. These tiny mites can be admitted within a few hours or days of birth, the mother coming in later in order that natural feeding may be established. •

We hope that everyone who listens to this little talk will remember the mothercraft homes and their purpose in case of her own or another’s need. The Plunket nurses will gladly give any further information. Suffice it to say here that no mother and baby in need is refused admission on account of inability to pay full fees.