MATERNAL MORTALITY.

Shannon News, 24 April 1928, Page 3

MATERNAL MORTALITY.

“GIVE THE MOTHER A CHANCE.”

MR BONNEY’S ADVICE,

AT THE OTAGO WOMEN’S CLUB

DOMINION’S URGENT NEED,

(“Otago (Daily Times,” Friday, March 9.) • “Maternity is a natural thing, and because it is so, and because we haVe become accustomed to it through so, many generations, we expect everything to go right. As a matter of fact, Nature has provided very wonderfully for it, and in most cases things do go right. But Nature is more concerned with' the next generation than with this, and so most of her efforts arc spent on the child* nnd sometimes she lets the mother down.” These were some of the observations made by Mr Victor Bonney, the eminent English surgeon, to the Otago Women’s Club yesterday afternoon. He, went on to say that it was the doctor’s duty to see that the mother got a square deal. , At any time in the course of confinement he might be called on to interfere in the interests of mother or child, but the public did not realise that that interference, was in the nature of a surgical operation. “If an appendix is to be taken out,”, be said, “the patient goes to a hospital, and the doctor is given every chance to do his best, but when lie has to perform what is often a very much more difficult surgical operation,, he is given no chance at all. That is what the public should realise.-'lf we want to lower our maternity mortality we must recognise the doctor’s difficulties, and give him a chance. ‘ “In England, in connection with all our large hospitals we are building maternity hospitals. These perform three functions. First, they give the expectant mother adequate pre-natal care, and adequate care at the time of confinement, and also adequate . after care. At the same time they train the coming doctors in all the best that science can afford, and in addition they are centres for research in the problems, of maternity. “MedicineYs divided into three main parts —medicine, surgery and obstettrics. Jn your Medical School you have a professor of surgery and a professor of medicine, but no professor of obstatrics. You have no large maternity hospital attached to your general hospital. In other words, obstetrical work is not given a proper chance. You must realise that as it is the oldest branch, so is it the most, important, because with it is bound up the welfare of the race. Everyone must tako an interest in this, because it matters so much to every member of the community. ”