Women the World Over

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 108, 28 July 1927, Page 5

Women the World Over

ELECTED PRESIDENT A new portrait of Lady Maud Warrender, daughter of the eighth Earl of Shaftesbury and widow if Vice-Ad-

miral Sir George Warrender, who has been elected President of the Poetry Society of England, a body which includes both men and women in its membership. A DISTINGUISHED DOCTOR The “British Medical Journal” recently announced the death of Dr. Caroline Matthews. Having graduated at the Edinburgh Medical College for Women in 1903, she spent much of her professional life on the Continent, and for her services in connection with the Messina earthquake in 1908 she received King Victor Emanuel’s medal; in 1911 she was awarded the Italian Red Cross Medal and King Victor Emanuel’s Commemoration Medal. During the Balkan war of 1912-13 she acted as war correspondent to “The Sphere,” held the rank of surgeon in the Montenegrin Army, and was awarded the Order of Danilo. At the outbreak of the Great War Dr. Matthews joined the Serbian Army, and when it retreated she remained in charge of the military hospital at Uzsitsi, was taken prisoner by the Austrians and imprisoned in Belgrade. After the war she spent much time in travelling, chiefly in India. Her publications included “Hints by a Lady Doctor” and “Experiences of a Woman Doctor in Serbia.” Her life, though eventful, was not a long one—she was only 49 when she died. NOBEL PRIZE WINNER Sigrid IJndset, a.uthor of the great trilogy “Kristin Laurensdatter,” is the daughter of Ingvald Undset, one of the greatest historians Norway has had. Sigrid acted as his secretary and, according to “John o’London’s Weekly,” is was in his studio rather than in any college that she developed her marvellous historical acumen. When her father died she married a painter and for years had a difficult struggle, her first book, which depicted her hardships, meeting with little success. Her first success came with her book “Jenny,” published in 1911, since when she has reached the very high places in literature. She is a Nobel prizewinner and an authority on Mediaeval Norse, both history and language. A WINDFALL Some are born wealthy, but —when Mrs. Clara Sinclair, of Storrington, Sussex (Eng.), retired one night recently she was just an ordinary woman resident of the village, a church worker, well known to all the other villagers. When she awoke next day she was worth a quarter of a million. The fortune was left by an uncle who died intestate, and Mrs. Sinclair, his niece, happened to be the only person entitled to the estate. A ROYAL HORSEWOMAN Princess Juliana, heiress to the throne of Holland, is a really expert horsewoman. She has most simple tastes, and is very popular among her people, her eighteenth birthday a couple of months ago being the occasion for great celebrations throughout the land. IN CHINA One of the leading Chinese revolutionists is a woman, Miss Soueme Tcheng. Though only 32, she has held the position of president judge of the court of Shanghai for some time. She had a brilliant career at universities in Tokio and France, graduating doctor of laws in Paris. SHOE DESIGNING Though it is only two years since Miss Mary Bendelari started “Sandalari,” the fascinating shoe shop in the heart of fashionable Paris, at 364 Rue St. Honore, she has had wonderful success. The entrance to the quaint little shop is a cobbled courtyard, and the shop itself was once Mme. Pompadour’s stables. Fashionable Paris crowds into the tiny place, eager to witness the novelty of the shoe parades of Miss Bendelari’s mannequins. She is her own designer, and her shoes have achieved a remarkable reputation for elegance and ease.

OUR BABIES

By Hygeia. Published under the auspices of the Royal New Zealand Society for the Health of Women and Children (Plunket Society). “It is wiser to put up a fence at the top of a precipice than to maintain an ambulance at the bottom.”

CONSTIPATION IN OLDER CHILDREN. As we have been discussing the cause and cure of constipation in infants, this seems a suitable opportunity to refer to the simple, rational, curative treatment for constipation in older children. First of all, one must remember that the same rules hold good for the older child as for the baby—indeed, they apply right through life, as do all the great simple rules of healthy living. That is to say, the toddler, as well as the baby needs— Regular habits. Fresh air day and night, not coddling in stuffy rooms. Abundance of outdoor exercise. Freedom of movement, without the hampering and coddling effect of too much heavy clothing. The right food, and plenty of water to drink. HABIT A habit is a definite line of action carried out more or less involuntarily in response to certain stimuli. In other words, a certain set of circumstances may be used to produce a certain response or action. If circumstances and action are repeated regularly and persistently, the action finally becomes automatic, and involuntary—that is, it comes about without exercise of conscious thought or will power. This is why habit formation is so tremendously important in childhood, and why it behoves us to spare no pains in establishing good bodily habits from infancy. These are the ultimate foundations of all-round obedience. One need hardly say that the baby who has been trained from the earliest days to have a regular daily bowel movement is very unlikely to suffer from genuine or persistent constipation when he comes to be a “big boy.” Irregularity and neglect to cure constipation in the first year is the usual precursor of later trouble, and if the tendency is allowed to go on undirected through childhood the seeds of infinite trouble in later life may be sown. However, sometimes illness or other unavoidable circumstances break the good habits of early days, or for some reason the small child is or becomes constipated. Then is the time when it is worth while to concentrate all efforts on establishing habits of regularity once and for all. It is “never too late to mend” but the later bad habits are left unchecked, or good ones unformed, the harder it is to put things right. TRAINING THE TODDLER A low nursery chair, with a special seat, under which a chamber can be placed, is a very useful piece of equipment. It is a great mistake simply to seat the child, surround him with toys, and then leave him to amuse himself; the associations are all with play, and the business of emptying the bowels fills no place in his mind. Everything possible must be done to make him realise that this is work, not play time, and to associate all ideas with the function to be performed until the desired result is obtained. Then the child should be taken up immediately, and the line of thought definitely changed. Posture.—The position in which the child sits is important. The chair should be low enough to allow the feet to be planted firmly on the floor. The squatting position is best—it aids voluntary movement of the bowels, j principally by affording support to the abdominal muscles.

Time.—The main point is that the time should be the same day after day. Directly after breakfast is usually quite the best time, as it is least liable to irregularity and interruption. FRESH AIR, EXERCISE, ETC.

Over-clothing and coddling generally in warm, stuffy rooms, is very enfeeebling. Children should sleep in cool, airy rooms, and run about outdoors as much as can possibly be managed. The cool bath affords excellent stimulation, and can be taken with benefit by almost all children, provided care is taken to lower the temperature very gradually day by day, and to establish good circulation after the bath by thorough, brisk rubbing down and vigorous exercise. Abdominal massage, carried out sytematically and thoroughly, as described a week or two ago in connection with constipation in infants, is excellent to supplement the general exercise and stimulation of fresh air, sunshine, and healthy outdoor play. DIET The food should be plain and wholesome, and the meals regular, with no pieces and no milk between; only water, the more the better, or fruit juice, should be given between the three regular meals. The worst kind of diet is one consisting largely of soft mushy foods, white bread, biscuits, highly-refined starchy foods, etc., and lacking in fruit and vegetables. Too much milk may tend to cause constipation, and of course boiled milk is binding. Half to one pint of milk a day is enough for a normal child on a good mixed diet, and this should not be heated above 155 deg. Fahr., or more than scalded, except for some special reason. Laxative Foods.—Foods which leave a considerable amount of undigested residue tend to be laxative, because for several reasons these foods and this residue stimulate the action of the bowel. The following foods come in this category: Spinach, carrot, cauliflower, celery, lettuce, onion, etc., raw ripe fruits, especially apples; dried fruit such as prunes, dates, raisins, etc., wholemeal bread, coarse oatmeal, oatcake, etc. Stewed fruits and juices, especially prunes, are also good. Honey and treacle tend to be laxative, and may be given for a change sometimes.- Butter and good dripping are

good forms of fat. Too much cream may have a constipating tendency. A Warning.—Great care must be taken in first introducing these laxative foods. They may irritate the bowel and set up indigestion and diarrhoea if given in large amounts, or given too young, especially if the child does not masticate thoroughly, but tends to bolt his food.

All new foods should be given in small quantities at first, finely mashed or sieved, in the first half of the second year. The coarser vegetables, the stone fruits, figs, and raisins should be very cautiously introduced if they are given at all before the end of the second year. Stone fruit may be particularly upsetting and undesirable except for the stewed , juice. Even wholemeal bread and coarse oatmeal need to be introduced carefully, a little at a time, though these are usually quite safe early in the second year. The value of thorough chewing cannot be too strongly stressed. Foods reduced to a pulp by active little teeth very seldom disagree.

Water.—lt is often difficult to get children to take an adequate amount of water. It is a help to press it at suitable opportunities, say after a romp or on waking., when thirst is natural, and it may be given warm or cold, as preferred or favoured, with a little fruit juice. As in the case of infants, persistent or severe constipation in children is a serious condition, calling for medical advice. Purgative drugs are harmful, and castor oil should never be given for constipation. Although a simple aperient or enema may be necessary occasionally, these things take little part in the real cure of constipation. The measures on which we may safely pin our faith are: Regularity of habit. Good diet. Fresh aid and exercise. And, withal, much patience and perseverance.

Where it is necessary to use olive oil instead of powder for a baby’s tender skin a small machine oil-can is splendid to keep the oil in. There will then be no grease spots on the articles in baby’s toilet basket.

Paris has “fallen for” the little cap hat, close-fitting, as its name implies, and materialised in very fine light-weight felt. This chapeau is the essence of smartness, but is only for the small-featured. Sometimes it is quite plain, with the merest band of grosgrain ribbon round it, and little ear-pieces coming over the ears. Sometimes it is adorned with flat trimmings of soft plumage on either side; or, alternatively, small bunches of flowers. Loosely woven and rather shiny straw also materialises these up-to-date models. An increasingly evident revival in millinery is the eye veil. It does much to soften the type of hat just described. Jewellery modes change so rapidly these days that it is difficult to keep pace with them. But, sooner or later, all the old vogues are to be revived. We should hoard systematically in so far as our trinket boxes are concerned. For instance, the tremendous vogue of plain gold jewellery—when greatgrandmother's ornaments were quite at home in a new setting—is now on the wane, though it was only introduced in February. But our discarded beads are back again: Ivory • beads—long strings of them wound two or three times round the throat—are very well worn once more, with ivory bangles, decorated with a mandarin design—as en suites. Personally, however, I think beads should be w r orn solus. Matching “bits” tend to vulgarise them.-

Have a bunch of small pieces of paper hanging over the sink in the kitchen by means of a string. It saves ever so much work if greasy plates and knives are wiped with paper before washing up.