OUR BABIES.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXV, Issue 96, 30 April 1913, Page 2

OUR BABIES.

(By Hygeia.) Published under the auspices ol the Society for the Health of Womea and Children. “It is wiser to put up a fence at the top of a precipice than to maintain an ambulance at the bottom.” LOWERING OF THE , INFANTILE DEATH RATE. Although the infantile death rate in New Zealand was one of the most favourable in the world, the founder of the Society for the Health of "Women and Children had long felt that it was too high, and eight years ago wrote stating that in this Dominion “a generally diffused knowledge and recognition of infant requirements and maetrnal duties would save to the community one life per diem, and would correspondingly increase the strength and vitality of the rest of the rising generation.” From time to time, after the Society had been working for some years, it was remarked that the deoth rate among infants had been steadily going down, and many of the Society’s friends wondered why no particular mention wag made of the fact; but it was thought that a considerable period should elapse before quoting statistics, because some grave epidemic is always liable to occur ,and this may raise tho death rate in a particular year. However, after five years’ work the figures were taken out, and the following is quoted from one of the speeches delivered at the annual meeting of the Dunedin Society in May last year:— \ The Society for the Health of Women and Children was founded just "five years ago. Taking the seven years from 1900 to 1907, the average death rate among children under one year in Dunedin and suburbs was 8 per cent. For the last five years the average has been 6) per cent.; for the last three years, 6 per cent; for the last two years, 5 per cent; and for the last year, 4 per cent. If the infantile death rate for the whole Dominion were simillarly reduced from Bper cent, to 4 per cent, it would mean a saving of nearly 900 lives every year; But that is not all. One must remember that reduction in the infantile death rate involves a reduction in the dpath rate among other children also. Indeed, looking ahead, it means ■ a lower death rate throughout the * whole community.

But the Society is less concerned in reducing the death rate than is Improving the health of the people. As a Health Society wq ' are more interested' in firmly establishing the all-round fitness of the 24,000 or 25,000 annual new arrivals who ,will live than we are in reducing the potential deaths from 2000 to 1000. However, the problems are practically identical, since,(the simple hygienic measures which tend to prevent death in babyhood are also the measures which lay the foundations of strong,, healthy minds in sound, enduring bodies for those who survive to bo our future mob and women. ■ l(n .

TABLE SHOWING HOW MANY CHILDREN DIE IN THE FIRSt YEAR. OF LIFE FOR EVERY HUNDRED BORN.

The above figures for Dunedin are reckoned to the end of April (the original close of the Dunedin Society’s year), not to the end of the official year. N.8.-—The reason for contrasting groups of years instead of giving merely individual years for Dunedin is to show the stable and sustained decline in the infantile death rate from 1907 onward. The fall would have appeared more striking had the four later periods been compared, not with the average of the preceding seven years, but only with the year 1907, when the death rate was 9-i per cent; but this contrast would have been misleading. Note the extreme range of infantile mortality from the death within a year of more than a quarter of the children bom in St. Petersburg and Moscow to the death of only one in 25 for Dunedin.

The figures are almost as- striking if taken for countries instead of cities. Thus the latest annual statistics available show that out of 1000 children born there died in the first year of life:— In Russia (about) ... ''... 250

In Germany and Austria (azout) 175 In Erlgland and Wales (for 1910) 117 In Norway (1908) ... ... 70 New Zealand (19TT) ... ... 58 Next to New Zealand, the Norwegian infantile death rate is the lowest in the world. Tf'bis is attributed to the fact that in Norway nearly all babies are suckled. The Registrar-general for the Dominion, referring to a comprehensive world-wide statistical table given in the latest Official Year Book for New Zealand, says: “This table, giving the

rates cf infantile mortality in various countries and cities, shows that, as regards tho preservation of infant life, far better conditions obtain in New Zealand than elsewhere.” \

Year. Per cent. St. Petersburg and Moscow ... 1910 28 Vienna ... 1910 * 17 Berlin ... 1910 15J Glasgow ... 1910 11 Paris ... 1910 12 London ... 1910 10£ Stockholm and Christiania ... ... 1910 Dunedi u—average for 7 years ... ... 1900-07 8 Dunedin —average for last 5 years . ... 1907-12 6i Dunedin —average for last 3 years ... 1909-12 6 Dunedin—average for last 2 years ... 1910-12 5 Dunedin —average for last year ... 1911-12 4