HEALTH NOTES

Hokitika Guardian, 6 December 1930, Page 6

HEALTH NOTES

SOURCE OF LIFE. PROTECTION OF MOTHERHOOD. ANTE NATAL CARE. (Contributed by the Department of Health). Motherhood the source of human life must be guarded for it is one of the corner stones of the foundation upon which a nation is built. When a couple weds and a home is established there is no more lofty aspiration that to quicken and enrich the home life through children, for when a babe comes there is something tangible, something real, something to live for. It follows, therefore, when so much is at stake that the condition of the health .of the expectant mother is of supreme importance. ADVICE. In this connection the first thing a pregnant woman should realise though while her condition is a normal and safe one she should keep it so and not allow abnormalities of life which prior to' pregnancy she might have allowed with impunity. This is the keynote leading to normal pregnancy. Diet, occupation, hygience, surroundings are all very important; and under this heading much excellent advice \vill be found in the Department’s booklet entitled “Suggestions to Expectant Mothers” distributed free of cost from the ante-natal clinics established at St. Helens Hospital, Plunket Clinics and elsewhere throughout the Dominion. The encouragement of a confident- and cheerful mental outlook is of more importance than is perhaps generally realised. Under usual conditions tbe ordinary human system is capable of accommodating itself to tbe demands of civilisation and still preserve its balance. When, however, pregnancy comes, balance becomes more and the scales may come down on the wrong side. It is this which makes attention to the ordinary details of life of such important to the pregnant woman, and makes it so necessary that she should receive early ante-natal advice.

ANTE-NATAL CARE. Although there is no ground for worry or anxiety as to child birth, ante-natal care is necessary for preventing complications before or after such condition. It has proved its value. The structure of safe maternity is built upon expert early antenatal care, which it has been stated has the four following objects before it. The first is to keep the healthy woman healthy. The second is to recognize the causes of ill health if it is present, and so far as possible to remove them. The fourth is to instruct her in the preparation of her labour. Ante-natal care, therefore, given by a specially trained competent person, represents a very essential s«fvice rendered on behalf of expectant mothers. In the words of the report of the committee appointed by the Minister of Health Great Britain “the importance attached by the Committee to systematic and skilled ante-natal care as a means towards the reduction of maternal mortality can hardly be overestimated, and their opinion is supported by evidence given by witnesses of wide obstetric experience representing the great medical bodies who have appeared before them.” A MOTHERS ADVICE. The woman’s point of view’is well expressed in the following extract from a letter of a mother who refers to her sixth and seventh confinements who says “right from the start T attended the clinic attached to St. Helens Hospital and the benefit gained by so doing was wonderful and therein lies the secret. If our mothers would only care for themselves before baby conies —I mean normal care and of the body —they will not be so , nerve-racked during confinement and consequently nurse will not seem to be the “monster” she is painted. The advice at the clinip is for rich and poor alike and is free for the asking. The staff will tell tlve mother anything she is in doubt about.” ST. HELENS HOSPITALS. Mention might be made here for the need of prospective mothers who intend to lie confined under the care of St. Helens Hospitals either as inpatients to begin attending the antenatal elinic as early as possible in pregnancy, and to attend regularly. This is necessary not only as a safeguard to their health and as far as possible to ensure the best attendance during labour, but to ensure their being subsequently booked as patients of tbe institution. The ante-natal clinics at these Hospitals are available to any expectant mother whether she intends to he confined in these Hospitals or elsewhere.