OUR BABIES.

Taihape Daily Times, 9 July 1918, Page 3

OUR BABIES.

ANNUAL MEETING OP THE NELSON BRANCH. MR. YOUNG’S ADDRESS One of the chief features of the annual meeting of the Nelson branch or the Society was an address by Mr. Young M.P., for Waikato, who journeyed all the way from Hamilton to be present on the occasion. Mr Young’s address was most comprehensive, and it was very gratifying to find a member of the Legislature so conservant with the ideals, aims, and obejcts of the Society and so keenly appreciative of the national and patriotic importance of its mission. In the course of his remarks Mr oYung brought forward some figures which should be of great interest to tho community. I am sure that our readers will find the following summary of the address, taken from the local newspaper, a stimulus to further effort in the cause of motherhood anc babyhood. Mr Young said that the motto of the Society was “Help the mothers and save the babies,” and that was the underlying principle of their whole work. He gave a brief sketch of the history of the Society from the time it was inaugurated 11 years ago through the efforts of Dr. Trucking, and ho paid a warm, tribute to the splendid body of women who, actuated by the loftiest ideals, were throughout the Dominion devoting themselves to promulgating knowledge regarding the sacred duties of motherhood and the nurture and health of infants After a reference to the fact that the health of the child is a matter for consideration, not only from the time of conception, saying that the child had a right to be well born, ho proceeded to show from the statistics given in the New Zealand Year Book that there was need of such a Society. STATISTICS

In 1916 there were born 28.509 children. and the total deaths were 10,596, roughly an 18,000 natural increase of population. No fewer than 1446 deaths were those of infants under 12 months of age, which exceeded the total of deaths between the ages of cne and 20 years. These were remarkable figures Through the courtesy of Mr Malcolm Fraser, the Government Statistician, he had received by wire the figures for 1917 which had not yet been published'. In 1917 the total births were 28,239 and the total of deaths 19,528 the deaths of infants under one year being 1360 compared with a total between the ages of one and SO 1169. This rate of in* a o'; mortality gave cause for varv gram thought. The Plunkct Society was the on y organisation working on practical, useful Iv.cs to solve the *juof how this rale could be lowered at.d valuable Iv* es saved. It was »ils r.to be imied tit at, taking the bi rei rate between I‘-. c 2the birth-rate .i 1 » ; .G 17 wis :on re--1886 as represti't! by the figure 100, sented by the figure 71. Do had scon by that morning’s paper th•«r the .Minister of Internal Affairs h:.d said that if the birth-rate had continued during the thirty years int?-veiling as high as the average for the five years 1882-86, the population would be 240/100 greater than it now is. The figures were astonishing. WHAT THE STATE IS DOING. Continuing, Mr Young said that the State was doing nothing at all on the lines which the Society, pursued, but the State was recognising the value of the Society’s work by subsidising it in connection with the expenditure on nurses’ salaries. He emphasised the fact that every penny of State subsidy was expended on those salaries, the Iba/ancb roqifirrd find the whole general expenditure coining from voluntary subscriptions, Infantile mortality, -he said., y kvas largely duo to the ignorance of parents, and the Society therefore largely existed to fight, ignorance. There was prejudice also to contend with ■ from people who should know better, but time was the euro for prejudice, j The particular objects of the Society ! , and practical methods adopted to secure them were detailed as published in the Society’s literature, and to these Mr. Young referred at some length.