OUR BABIES

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2758, 29 April 1916, Page 3

OUR BABIES

I TBY HIOEIA.T Published under the auspices of tho Royal N«w Zealand Health Society for tho Health ,of Wom6n and Children. "It is wiser to put up a> fence at the top of a precipice than to maintain an ambulance at the, bottom." 'MUST WE SLEEP WITH OPEN WINDOWS? Tho above is tho translated title of a French book of over 200 pages, published in Paris by,. Dr. Nicholas Delpierre. Naturally,' the doctor tries to excuse himself, and almost apologises for putting such an obvious hygienic duty in the form of a question; but he very rightly maintains that there is no use pretending that everyone is a "fresh-air" convert" even ,now, ■ and there is no denying that very few people open their windows half wide enough either in Prance or New Zealand. • The truth is that, in spite of the proof afforded by the splendid success of open-air sanatoria for consumption, and for all forms of disease and delicacy, and the benefit of open-air schoolrooms —in spite of these clear and .unmistakable .evidences as to the, invigorating and restorative effects of keeping the air of all living rooms fresh, pure, and cool, most of our homes still justify the lines of Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes: God lent his creatures light and air And waters open to the skies; Man locks him in a stifling lair, And wondors why his brother dies. Dr. Dolpierre aptly quotes the astute saying of Machiavelli: "Prejudices Have Deeper Roots Than Principles." I shall now make a free translation of a few paragraphs in tho hope of helping some mothers to root out their fears and prejudices as to fresh air in their homes, for the health of themselves and their little ones. I have every, confidence in making this appeal, because parents can be trusted to do much for the sake of their children that they would be indifferent to 'as regards themselves. . , THE GREAT REFORM, Translation from Dr. Delpierre:— • "The first object of my inquiry into the open-window question is to ascer-' tain man's present attitude towards fresh air in the course of. his life, especially fresh air throughout the" night. We know that to conserve our health tho first requirement is to give our lungs the quality and quantity of air which is their imperious need. This seems simple enough at first sight, and ive might easily persuade ourselves that wo are all of one mind, and quite in accord with the laws of health. But stop a moment! AVhen we look round and take note of what people arc actually doing as to fresh air in tho home', we see at once that for the most part they arc living in direct defiance of the laws of Nature. Indeed, it would be difficult to find any matter in which man shows himself rq indifferent as ho is towards the quality of the air ho breathes. Ho knows in a way that pure, fresh air is good for him, but he does not deign to give any serious attention to ensuring this boom for himself and his family. Yet tho provision of fresh air is entitled to all our regard and all our solicitude.". Wo shall try our best to make clear the sacrifice of health and vigour which results from the mistakes made every day in relation to air-supply, and we shall spare no pains to point out the remedy.. Wo wish to make everyone share our profound and sincere conviction _ that the question of tho wide-open window at night is ono of capital importance— a question of universal and constant interest.

Of course, we all know how much has already been said on the subject, but Wo know also that to make our work useful and fruitful we are in duty bound to repeat what others have said. In this matter every doctor has a duty to fulfil towards society. Wo know that our task is-nofc an easy one, but wo have the deep conviction that it is necessary to . overcome irrational prejudices against fresli air in the homo, which bar the march of human progress and lower the health and vigour of tho nation. History shows that popular prcjudico has stood in the way of all reforms, and such urcjudices have to *** otrernonv*.