Maternal mortality : report of meeting held at Friends' House. Euston Road on November 15, 1932
1932-11 1932 1930s 36 pages them to complete their consideration and make up their minds as to what they are going to do. The Minister has indicated the line along which the Ministry sees advancement in dealing with Maternal Mortality, and there is one point in particular that I want to refer to be...
| Institution: | MCR - The Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick |
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| Language: | English English |
| Published: |
London : Maternal Mortality Committee,
November 1932
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/10796/B80BA606-5A2C-4CBE-B0DD-F994BBFE6078 http://hdl.handle.net/10796/9A94C147-2137-4F3C-BC3D-8AEAA4D91242 |
| Summary: | 1932-11
1932
1930s
36 pages
them to complete their consideration and make up their minds as to what they are going to do. The Minister has indicated the line along which the Ministry sees advancement in dealing with Maternal Mortality, and there is one point in particular that I want to refer to because it brings us to what I think is one of the most important factors brought out in the Interim Report and in the Final Report. It is the question of nutrition. The Local Authorities have power to provide milk and extra nourishment for expectant mothers, and according to the Report of this Maternal Mortality Committee, which all correspondents and the various bodies will have had, out of some 174 County Councils and Borough Councils whose reports have been analysed only 112 state that they provide milk and nourishment for expectant mothers. Now it does seem to me — and I want just to stress this point a little — it does seem to me that this question of nutrition gets us to the very root of the whole problem of Maternal Mortality. I am not talking as an expert. It may be, therefore, that while using the figures in this Report I am using them with far less responsibility and a great deal more freedom than the expert would feel himself or herself entitled to do, but reading through them and reading also through Dame Janet's report on the Excessive Rate of Maternal Mortality in certain areas, somehow my own common sense seems to tell me that one of the root problems, a basic question in the whole study, is this question of nutrition. I think, too, that the very valuable and suggestive comparisons that are contained in the Final Report of the Departmental Committee between the rate of Maternal Mortality in this country and the rate in Holland and Sweden and Denmark bear this point out, particularly when we compare the death-rate in Holland with the death-rate in Britain, because that gives the best basis of comparison, the statistics of the two countries being compiled in the most nearly comparable way. Comparing the lower death-rate in Holland with the death-rate here you have got two things, I think, to explain it — first, the training of the midwife and the training of the doctor seem to be more complete and comprehensive there than here, but, above all, it is stated that in Holland, as in Denmark and Sweden, the general health conditions of the people are better, and those conditions which give rise to pelvic deformities which are such a big factor in difficult confinements are absent to a much greater extent from the women in these countries. Therefore, I do feel very, very strongly that in this question of nutrition we have got to be very active, and we have to do a great deal of propaganda and educational work. The Minister has stated that the time factor is an important one. I think it is, and I think, therefore, that we must look ahead to reduce the Maternal Mortality rate in the next generation, and that we have to begin with the little girls who are at (14)
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| Physical Description: | TEXT |