OUR BABIES

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 241, 5 July 1919, Page 5

OUR BABIES

18/ HYGKU.I Published under the auepicas of the Koyal New Zealand Society for the Health of Women and Childreif. "It is wiser to pat up a fence at the i top of a precipice than to maintain an i ambulance at the bottom." GOITRE. ■' ' . , DR. DBENXAN'S ADDRESS. (Continued.) | REMEDIAL PROPOSALS. , The motto of this society i.i "To help I the' mothers • and save the babins." But j i more is reQuired. here in New Zea- | land are too prone to take knowledge i second-hand and try to apply it to our conditions _ without first investigating ! these conditions. We have here a virgin ' toil for research in many directions, and if we are to advance wo miist nrobe our i problems first hand, aided certainly by the knowledge gained from other' land*. , This society deals with the mother und ' the babies, but what of the babies till they.become mothers? What of the growing children, the young adults, and even ' the mere men? To restrict the matter to the subject in hsnd. we have here tn excellent opportunity for combined er-'ort. This, society had its birth in this acn- : deraio city of Dunedin. and so also the only Medical School of the Dominion arose, and is growing here. It is popularly regarded as primarily an institution for Instructing students in :he art ' of ouring disease. It ought to. bo the centre of original investigation into tho • partiqular New Zealand nroblMns- )of health and disease. In conjunction with the Health Department, it should strive to show how illness may be prevented, not merely how the damage may - 're patched.' To carry on such inveaiiga. tions as;aro rcauisitc workers, time to work, and huvdi are needed on a,' large foale. That'is v.-hero America scores, flhe recognises the need, and her Government and millionaires supply tho ammunitio;-.; tho gunners, in the form of scientific workors, ore thus enabled to beep on t'.ring till, the enemy is demolished. Wo should, and can. do likewise, if only .we recognise the need for euch expenditure of energy and money. With certain notable exceptions, neither has been much in evidence up till now. but that Is'not altos-ether the fault of either the neople or tho Government. Tho need, until recently, has not been properly recognised or concretely presented by the medical profession to tho neople-I speak hero only of medical problems." HEALTH COMES FIRST! "In the domain of concrete things—agricultural and industrial problems—the , people a.nd the Government are uuick to act.■■ But if some tens of thousands of women are affected with goitre, each an , actual or potential cause of illness, with cor.eeouent ineffloiency and lobb of, energy, all a potential menace to the well- ' being of tho next generation, it doesn't matter! Why waste time or money on such a vague matter I Let us abolish al- : cohol, and all will bo well I And we call this a progressive country—God's own country I believe it is termed! The Lord' : helps those who help themselves! Surely • health comes first, and health means primarily the prevention of illness, and nny society, any work, any investigation that is necessary to safeguard or improve Health ought to come first, and ought to be fully and amply supported. Tho immediate financial return may be a minus quantity, but the future gain to the people will more than repay all that is . spent," (Loud applause.) DANGER NOT OVEH-ESTIMATEM. Dr. Fitehctti in thanking the speaker for his interesting and valuable lecture, said that he did not think Dr. Drcnnan had been over-estimating the prcvaleuce of morbid conditions of tho thyroid in. New Zealand, 1 nor the menace they offered to present and future generations. "In plain language, he would Eay," said Dr. Fitchett, "that many of you here—there are plenty of subjects present-are victims of goitre, and as subjects of goitre you are potential invalids. Tho condition in this Eimple form does not carry with it any arresting syraptoniß. But. probably. a.B subjects of goitre, you are more ur less invalids.now. You are not so robust or so vigorous as if your necks were of nor- ■ mal size. The 'ploasing swellinr' is in reality a disease-a, disease, however, which olFcrs a greater prospect of eradication than many others with which \ic are familiar, if we knew itß cause. Dr.' Dror.nan has »aid that oni> of the Mutes is deficiency of iodine. But we do not knerar whether there In not. enough iodine in the body, or whether there is a deficiency thereof in the food, and it is this we would seek to know. 11. is a matter which nhnuld appeal to the society, hecause there is no question that the disease ifl eiceodingiy prevalent. Its investigation would cost Clone?, but the Bum required would be small compared with tho danger to the State from the prevalence of these morbid conditions. In America, for example, typhoid w:ie fflti. mated to cause a loss to the Slate of millions of dollare a year. Money sipont on eradicating disease was money veil stent. (Loud jipplausc.)