PLUNKET WORK

Hokitika Guardian, 7 October 1929, Page 2

PLUNKET WORK

THE ANNUAL REPORT

FALL IN DEATH RATE.

WELLINGTON, Oct. 3. The statistics within the Dominion, as given in the report of the Pin ixec Society, show a further fall in the infantile death rate in 1928. This rat/ was 36.2 per 1000 living as against 38.7 for the previous year. This represents a saving of no fewer than 96 babies in the course of the ye.rcompared with the previous one, a very striking reduction, as 1927 had a particularly low rate. But the present improvement of all in 1928 was the .[■’ll in the death rate of babies of from one month to 12 months of age, to only just over one per cent., compared w.th five per cent, when the Society,began its mission. This really means that New Zealand mothers have "become so competent that they lose only one baby out of 100 in rearing them, within ihe time, whereas formerly they lost from four to five. There is thus a clear saving of 1000 babies each year. As compared with former times, it was reported that there had been a great reduction id tlm loss by in fa ltile diarrhoea, and that there Was a further reduction in the damage rate in connection with this illness. It was stated that for every 1000 babies Vhn suffered unnecessarily and unjustifiably from infantile diarrhoea, at least 500 I were more or less handicapped for life Formerly this country lost 500 or more . babies from this cause, whereas t w only 50 are lost. i , IR was reported that the average maI ternal mortality rate for the Dominion I for the year 1928, was 4.93 per 10'/0 births—practically the same as that, of I the previous year. , The Motliercrsut Homes were situated at Dunedin : . Christchurch, Wanganui, Auckland, Wellington, and Invercargill. There had been fruitful and steady work in all 311686, which showecT a steady m |c } \nse. The institutions served a vthreefold., for doh ca fe bahv •», |for tHhqndmissiptri Vp mothers■ ■ needing inin S ; .. of nurs ' ? es or'' of - mitSitl& students. Ktf of the |PI unkht’’; B'ocie'f y .tb-d'ay; ■■Dr I -T 4 Dori r i c k, Medical' Direator, :referred to the work aipofig' ’the, older children, stating •' that the Society i; -have some .hffi..c.ulties’to' fac'4{n 'tMs, respect, But this particular "' , campaign '( of educat’on should "tip -caH'jed pit until the childien of schopl " age ; were Class , Al,. instead of C 3, i to' usei i\ wad,time expiussion. Tlie : wohit, of: thie Society should not finish • when the child was 15- or 13 months old; ' He would mention’also, the need for an increase in the Society’s staff’ which financially, mifrht prove a difficult problem. But he believed that, the pub ic would give the necessary support. Regarding the decrease in the number of visits'paid to the home of the rnothe. a by the. nurses, he would like to sound, a note of warning. Without in any way criticising the figures, he wished to point out that the work of the nurses was an educational work, and they coilld. not adequately educate the mothers unless 'they visited the home 3 .qnd saw there for themselves the ion ditions. As.far as he personally was concerned, said Dr Derrick, he had come into the work;just after, the Annual Conference, and as he worked to gain a bird ? eye view of the movement he felt he ■niust travel through' both islands and meet the,'various committees. This hie had been doing • before he left for Australia.'He hnd'-felt 'too, that, per hap tihei’e was a certain gap to -he bridged between the niedical profession and the Society and so lie had called in the -ioo- , tors individually as far as possible, a.nd talked to them in almost every instance. The doctors had received him kindly, and among the several hundred c'f conversations lie had .held, he had to some extent been able to modify, their views, explaining for instance, that the clincs were there to assist the, doctors, and nab to interfere in any way. Dr. Derrick stated that he hoped shortly to have a circular dealing with the pre-school child sent to all branches. He also referred to the refresher course for midwives .which was to be heid in Dunedin in ten days’ time. This course was free, and lasted one month A, very -extensive programme had . been planned, , and it'was.-hoped (to produce very solid results, and- to so grouhd the midwives in the fundamentals - ui the care of the baby and the mother, that they would greatly help to reduce the maternal mortality and near-natal mortality rates. At present, the nearnatal mortality rate, or death in the first month of life, was 25 per 1000 or half of the near-natal mortality rate of Amsterdam.