OUR BABIES

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 276, 18 August 1919, Page 5

OUR BABIES

I'B'f IIYOBIA.I Published undor the auepicee of the Eoyal New Zealand Society for the Health of Women and Childron. "It is wiser to put up a. ienco at the top of a precipice than to maintain an ambulance at the bottom." Fifty years , ago, says Br. Truby King, discussing the population question, the average birth-rate of the world was from 35 to 45 per 1000 inhabitants. While tho birth-rate has fallen but elijrhtly among Eastern peoples, it has gone down to a half among -typical Europeans The resulb is that, in spite of high death-rates in infancy and early childhood among Orientals, tho East can count on at least 3000 chjld immigrants a year who will survive for every thousand survivors born of European stock. Further, breast-feed-ing still prevails in the East, and tends to efficiency in the rising generation, whereas tho reverse is the ca6e among Western Europeans and Americans. Dependence on first-borns and secondborns, and on bottle-fed babies, together with general unproparodness for motherhood, largely accounts for our 60 per cent. of "Army rejects," and tho tendency to drift further and further towards a C 3 instead of an Al population.

Where tho East and West Meet, Hawaii, the central focus of tho Pacific, is an extremely important annexe of the United States, and affords a very significant illustration of the population problem. The islands have a total pop.ulatiou of some 230,000 of whom about 85,000 are Japanese—the balance beiuir made up' of all nationalities. The Japanese already provide 53 per cent, of the total birth-rate —all the rest put together contributing only « per cent. This (iiscrepancy will be still greater when all the. J a-panese males have imported wives from Japan./ • In Japan the birth-rate is 54 per 100n-a .rate which has been regarded aa the 'lowest safety-line for aseuring reasonable national progress. Thirty births per-1000 as the safetyHnp" should sumce-Kranted a lower infantile death-rate. , In the seventies and early eighties tho English birth-rate averaged from 32 to 36 per 1000. It was only 25 years ago that it Sell to 30. There was a steady descent to 25 bofore the war, th.en a rapid decline to 18 per 1000 last year. Tho average colonial birth-rate, which formerly stood at about 40 per thousand, lia4 fallen to about 25 before the war.

Inquiry and Enlightenment. There is urgent public need for an ini.mediate competent, authoritative inveetiration and report as to the complex social, economic, and hygienic conditions and iactors militating against • normal homo life, the heaUh of the family, ami willingness to boar and rear .children. No standard ought to be tolerated which fails to regard' mother and child as an indivisible unit throughout early, infancy.. Breaat-leeding is absolutely essential in Jußtice to both mother and child, and for re-establishing the health and' fitness of the Every woman can purse her baby. Speaking broadly, the queEtion is not one ot ability to nurse, but ol willingness, preparedness, and provision for doing so. Tho early giving up of the illegitimate child u> as ruinous to the moral nature of ths girl as to tho health, and strength of her child; failure' to complete the natural cycle of motherhood is only one oe.grea less damaging to the moral of married Tiomcn, and is a leading cause of permanent ill-health, and invalidism. All women ought to' be taught how to observe tho simple laws of life, and be brought to see oleajly the bearing of health on the future happiness and efflcioncy of themselves and their potential Faflilitieß for intimate practical instruction, training, and guidiwce as to the calls of motherhood and mothercraft ought to bo provided as much for one class ao for another-indocd. the results which follow on such help given to women.of the more intelligent, capable, and influential three-fourths of the community are infinitely moro far-reaching and beneficent than what can be dono among the poorer class»s. Oapablo mothers, well-trained, naturally exorcise an enormous influence for good on those with whom they come in contact. Further, they tend to "set the fashion" in the right direotton. Thoso who aro best off ought to take the lead in Euch. matters. There is no higher patriotic duty. Through far tqo frequent feeding, and a multitude of oaaily cleared up mJßtakes, motherhood ha 3 been rendered infinitely moro exacting than it 'should be. It U easier to rear several ohildren woll than ono badly. "'This is-tho key to the abolition of the unduly email family, and along with, breast-feeding would go a long way towards. doing away with feeble jaws, decayed teeth, adenoids, coughs, colds, consumption, and diseases in general, and would tend to the emptying of our hosT)ital6, asylums, eaole, - and elums in the future. ■ ■> ■ ~,"., An ample supply of capable, devoted glines, specially trained for teaching and elping mothers throughout the whole country, ia urgently needed. The training and supply of such nurses is N one of the main works of our society.