The Manawatu Herald. SATURDAY, MARCH 21, 1908. SAVING THE BABIES.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXX, Issue 392, 21 March 1908, Page 2

The Manawatu Herald. SATURDAY, MARCH 21, 1908. SAVING THE BABIES.

Her Exceeeency Eady Peunket will be remembered by hundreds of people in this fair land long after she has departed from our shores, for her humanitarian efforts on behalf of the health of prospective mothers and the care of the babies. She has founded a Society for the protection of human life, which has for its objects; (i) To encourage mothers to nurse their children ; (2) to disseminate accurate information on matters affecting the health of mothers and children by means of lectures, pamphlets, correspondence, and otherwise; (3) to provide for preparation of humanised milk for issue to the public; (4) to provide and employ nurses ready at any time to give advice and instruction to mothers in the home or elsewhere, with a view to conserving the health and strength of the rising generation, and rendering both mother and offspring hardy and health-resistive to disease; (5) to promote legislative reform in matters pertaining to the health of women and children, and thereby in particular—(a) to ensure prompt registration of births, and (b) to ensure prevention of work inimical to health and vitality in factories, etc., on the part of women for given times, before and after child-birth, (c) to improve the provisions in the case of waifs and strays, and especially of children in licensed houses or boarded out, (d) removal of duty from sugar of milk, (e) members of the committee of this Society to have free access to Registrars’ records, (f) examination by a doctor before children are committed to licensed houses; (6.) to co-operate with any present or future organisations which are working for any of the foregoing or cognate objects, such as The

Sisters of the various Church organisations and religious orders, St, John's Ambulance Society, the Salvation Array, the Free Kindergarten, and the Society for the Protection of Women and Children; (7) to investigate the conditions under which waifs and strays are at present kept, especially during the first twelve months of life, and as far as possible to make provision for their proper care where they are found to be improperly housed or treated —(a) By getting them placed in suitable private houses under the care of women not dependent solely upon the fees received, (b) in cases where proper provision cannot be made as above indicated, to provide suitable accommodation and nursing at the Society’s expense. Her Excellency very truly pointed out to a public meeting of women at New Plymouth, on Wednesday, the necessity for a society of this nature, in view of the shocking waste of infant life and the deplorable amount of needless suffering which is appalling. “Nature meant mothers to feed their offspring,” said Her Excellency, “and the unique and wonderful food given to her belongs to her child. The ingredients, strength and temperature, is absolutely suited to the infant’s internal economy, and the woman who can, but won’t, nurse her own child robs it of its proper food —probably mars its constitution, and exposes it to debility convulsions, and diarrhoea —because she has to resort to bottle feeding, and in eight cases out of ten she has had no practical training on artificial foods or the modifying of cow’s milk, which is a science in itself.” We have previously mentioned the comparative high percentage of deaths of bottlefed infants over those who have been suckled. Some mothers, from physical reasons, are unable to nurse their own children, and they are faced with a problem of finding a substitute for mother’s milk. A medical man points out that 11 anything aside Irom breast-milk that is put into an infant’s stomach is a foreign substance, and the aim should be to obtain a food resembling as closely as possible human milk.” According to medical opinion, a modification of cow’s milk known as “humanised milk,” is the best substitute for babies, but even this is only second best. In Dunedin and Auckland dairy owners have installed up-to-date plants for preparing this milk, bottling it and sending it out to customers. Referring to this fact, her Excellency stated that the proprietors of these dairies have big hearts, and are satisfied wuth the knowledge that they are helping the mothers and children of New Zealand. Specially trained nurses will be distributed over the Dominion to give advice and assistance free to prospective mothers when called on so to do without distinction as to class. The society will rely upon a generous public, Government and municipal assistance to provide funds for carrying cut its gieat mission.