MATERNAL MORTALITY.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLIX, Issue 3888, 27 December 1928, Page 3

MATERNAL MORTALITY.

INCREASED EFFORTS BY DEPARTMENT. Auckland, December 26. “It should be clearly understood that there is to be acceleration of the Health Department’s efforts rather than any slackening off in the direction of reducing the maternal mortality rate in New Zealand/’ said the Minister of Health (Hon. A. J. Stallworthy), in an interview this morning. The Minister said that certain remarks made on Saturday morning when he received a deputation relating to accommodation at St. Helens Hospital appeared to have been misconstrued. “I fully realise that the rate of three deaths per thousand in New Zealand, pannot be regarded as the minimum,, arid on assuming office 1 had niy inind made up to leave nothing undone to accelerate the activities of the Health Department to reduce our Dominion lriaternal mortality rate substantially,” said Mr. Stallworthy. “My predecessor, Mr. J. A. Young, declared this year that the Department would not be satisfied until the rate had been brought down to three deaths per thousand births. I want people to understand that my objective will be even lower than that. There will be no relaxation of the efforts of the Department, and I think future statistics will reflect a policy of even more intensive concentration upon the reduction of the death rate than has been the case in the past.”