Editorial

Kai Tiaki : the journal of the nurses of New Zealand, Volume XXII, Issue 4, 1 November 1929, Page 153

Editorial

Partly as an outcome of the formation of the Obstetrical Society, New Zealand Branch 8.M.A., it has been decided that a large and modern Obstetric Hospital should be erected at Dunedin.

This Hospital will take the place of the present small Maternity Hospital, St. Helens and the Batchelor Hospital. It is to be administered by the Otago Hospital Hoard, and to be a part of the Medical School. By this provision it is hoped to give to the medical students and midwives a more complete training and experience m modern obstetrics, and so to reduce the rate of maternal mortality, which m this country, as m most other parts of the world is far too high. Hitherto the training, especially of the medical students, has been more theoretical than practical, and the young doctors have been turned out on the world, often as country practitioners far from aid, with very little experience m the delivery of women m childbirth. Midwives have had a more practical training, being obliged

to personally confine at least 20 women, but as they have to depend m abnormal cases on medical aid, it can be recognised that those doctors they have to call m, need a thorough knowledge and practical experience of difficult cases, especially those needing instrumental interference.

It has been much felt that there have been no residential posts for young obstetric surgeons, and this lack it is hoped to remedy. More and more here as well as m other countries it is being* recogfnised that midwifery is best m the hands of midwives, and that midwives should have the background of general medical and surgical training supplemented by more extensive training m the special branch of obstetrics, so that they will be able to deal with all but really abnormal cases. The training under the Nurses' and Midwives' Board has been lengthened to eight months, which is two months longer than that under the Central Midwives' Board, London, or the

Boards m the other Dominions. In the Scandinavian countries midwifery is greatly m the hands of midwives, and the training has been two, and m some places, three years, but it must be remembered that this is for otherwise untrained women, so that the three and often four or more years previous experience of our general trained midwives seems to

be more than equivalent. In New Zealand nurses are reluctant to take on the great responsibility of maternity work, and yet now that nearly all surgical work is done m private hospitals, those nurses who do like the entire charge of a patient will have better scope m maternity than m general work.