PLUNKET SOCIETY'S WORK.

Taranaki Daily News, 1 June 1918, Page 6

PLUNKET SOCIETY'S WORK.

LECTURE BY MISS L. COOK. A lecture on the aims and objects of the Plunket movement was given by Miss L. Cook at the Soldiers' Club on Thursday evening- Miss Cook was formerly secretary of the Ohristchurch branch and latterly of the Marton branch of the society. There was a fair attendance. The Mayoress (Mrs. C. H* Burgess), president of the local branch of the Pfanket Society, presided, and introduced the speaker. Miss Cook outlined the growtili of Dr. Triiby Ring's 9cheme from the establishment of a single nurse at Dunedin 12 years ago up to the present time, when there were 38 nurses at work and 25 head branches, with more preparing to start. She said that the nurses' province was to help mothers and teach them all that goes to making good health for themselves and their children. The society's work continues until the child is of school age. The nurse's principal object was to inculcate in mothers the value of breast-feeding, not the use of humanised milk, as the general idea was. except when absolutely necessary for supplementary feeding. Other branches of their work were war against patent foods and the dummy, pre-natal care (and the importance of this could be seen from the fact that premature births accounted for over a third of our infant mortality), and the teaching of the necessity for fresh air, regularity, propeT clothing, safeguarding the tee till, no night feeding, etc. The result of the Plunket movement was a ! great decrease in infant mortality. Women, said Miss Cook, were supposed to know by instinct how to rear their children. Instinct provided mothers with affection, but it was albsurd to suppose that they would get accurate and scientific knowledge through instinct. Ordinary education taught girls nothing of their special task, and they to advice of all kinds without means of telling the good from the bad. This was why the services of Plunket nurses were free—they taught only what all should know. Objections to the Plunket system were nearly always the result of misunderstanding. Doctors were apt to think the nurse 3 interfered with their work. When it was understood that this was not the case and that the nurse was really a valuable aide-de-camp in their work, they had no warmer supporters than the doctors As to the objection that humanised milk was the only food used, although children had been reared successfully by other methods Miss Cook emphasised that there was only one real food—that which the Creator put there for the baby, and, where this was lacking, it must bo replaced by the nearest approach to ii iR quality, which was humanised milk. A third objection was that they were unnecessarily scientific. Science wa s simply knowledge as opposed to guesswork. The lecturer appealed to all those who realised the vital necessity of this work to become! memlbers and to contribute to he funds. On he moion of Mrs- Burgess, a heary vbte of thanks to Miss Oook for her interesting lecture was carried by acclamation.