SAFE MATERNITY

Evening Post, Volume CIX, Issue 36, 12 February 1930, Page 12

SAFE MATERNITY

BETTER TRAINING STUDENTS AND MIDWIVES CHAIR OF OBSTETRICS As a. subject of instruction, midwifery should rank equally with medicine and surgery, and tho student should, be led to regard it as equally important.—Dr. A. W. Bpuriie, senior obstetric surgeon, ' Queen Charlotto Hospital, 'London. For several years past Dr. Doris Gordon (of Stratford), secretary of the New Zealand Obstetrical Society, a branch of the British Medical Association, has devoted much time, thought, and work to the campaign for the protection and well-being of motherhood, by advocating the establishment of an •obstetrical hospital in connection with the Otago Medical School. The Government proposed last session a vote of £50,000 for this purpose, and the vote was passed by the House. There were, however, no funds to endow a Chair of Obstetrics for tho better teaching of students in midwifery and the better training of nurses. With admirable courage and enthusiasm Dr. Doris Gordon has launched an appeal to the women of the Dominion to provido £2a,----000.to endow a Chair of Obstetrics, and, judging from the encouraging results already obtained by a system of Do-minion-wide establishment of women's committees, the appeal seems assured of success. A meeting of ladies in support of the campaign was held in the Council Chamber, Town Hall, last evening. Lady Buckleton presided, and introduced Dr. Gordon,'who delivered an interesting address. , Dr. Doris Gordon said the object o± tho forthcoming obstetrical endowment appeal was to provide the necessary financial assistance for the midwifery department of the New Zealand Medical School. During the past ■ twenty years adequate provision had been made in the Medical School for tho teaching of medicine, surgery, anatomy, pftysiology, etc., but for some strange reason while private bequests had been made for other departments no one had been moved to make monetary gifts to the midwifery department,' and in consequence at tho present-time this most important section was not adequately provided-for. That oversight was all the more remarkable in view of the anxiety that had beeu expressed in recent years because our maternal mortality rate was-not as creditable as our general death rate and our singularly low infantile death rate. CARE OP THE MOTHER. Thanks to ideal conditions of life in this country and an efficient public health service, we had one of the lowest death rates in the world. The people of New Zealand had, to date, ■ given over.half a million pounds to the welfare of infants, and. tho Government had subsidised it to the extent of a quarter of a million; and that expenditure had brought its. reward. On tho other hand, however, we had spent practically nothing on the department whose work it was to disseminate tho knowledge of the scientific care of the mother and child during pregnancy and the time of labour, yet many people wondered why our maternal mortality rate was not as satisfactory as our infantile and general death rates. STARVED MIDWIFERY. ■ "I have come before you to-day," said' Dr. Gordon, "as the representative of tho New Zealand Obstetrical Society, which is a subdivision of the British Medical Society, and it has for its objective the improvement of everything that pertains to' midwifery work." The financial deficiency of the Midwifery Department of the Medical School had, said Dr. Gordon, been recognised by the beads of the school for over five years, and for tho last three years the Obstetrical Society' had been in co-operation with them trying to help bring about the much-needed improvements. Two .things were re- . quired to make the Midwifery Department up to date, namely: (1) A new, capacious modernly-equipped maternity hospital attached to tho Medical School; (2) an endowment fund to provide for tho salaries of a full-time professor and junior assistant. HIGH-CLASS TEACHING. ; Although, funds had been provided by the Government for a hospital, no provision had been made for a highclass teaching staff. The present teacher of midwifery was shortly retiring, and a new professor would have to be appointed. The speaker pointed out that the available funds did not allow;of a salary of £600 or £700 being.paid to tho. incoming professor. The. average salary paid to midwifery professors in Canada and in Australia was £2000 per annum. It was essen- j tialthatan adequate- salary should be offered in order to induce the right person to accept the position. Although the present procedure was not the usual method ■of making such provision as was now desired, yet it was felt that the urgency of the case demanded immediate action. Recognition was given by Dr. Gordon of the fact that Sir Louis Barnett had endowed tlj^ Chair of Surgery and Mrs. Glendrning thop Chair of Medicine. It was hoped, at first, that somo generous citizen would endow the Chair,of Midwifery, but after much thought it was decided to make the present appeal thoroughly democratic and form women's committees throughout the Dominion, and in addition to larger grants which would no doubt be made,, supplement. theße sums by the raising ,of smaller subscriptions. It was deeiued fair to assess the amounts to b& raised in the several districts according to population, namely, Auckland, £7500; Wellington, £7500; Canterbury, £5000; Otago, £5000. Dr. Gordon said the result of tho appeal so fai" had been most encouraging, and mentioned several considerable amounts which had been given or promised.

. Dr. Gordon concluded by making a strong appeal to the women of; the Dominion, to/support the campaign, urging, that while much had been done for the well-being of infants much could be done for the protection of motherhood.

Short addresses in support of the campaign were made by Dr. T. P. Cbrkill, Lady Buckleton, and Mrs. G. A. Troup. Preliminary arrangements were.then made for the raising of funds in the Wellington' district, and a committee was appointed to carry out the work. ....•■■