Report of the proceedings of the National conference on infantile mortality : held in the Caxton hall, Westminster, on the 23rd, 24th, and 25th March 1908, president - Right Hon. John Burns.

  • National Conference on Infantile Mortality.
Date:
1908
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Report of the proceedings of the National conference on infantile mortality : held in the Caxton hall, Westminster, on the 23rd, 24th, and 25th March 1908, president - Right Hon. John Burns. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    notification of the babies at the earliest possible moment, and he had been almost scolded by the medical men of Glasgow because he would insist upon the Notification of Births Act being put in force. He urged delegates to get that Act adopted in their own localities as soon as possible. Don’t boggle about the miserable £%o or ^90 a year for a health visitor, who was paid that because she was a woman, whereas if it were a man who was appointed he would get £200. He urged the adoption of the Act because there was no time when a woman so much wanted sympathy and help as when she brought a baby into the world. He hoped the second Conference on Infantile Mortality would be as productive of as much good as the first Con- ference had been, and that they would receive fresh inspiration to get the question treated as a national question, as it ought, to be. Miss Alice ^Ravenhill, in replying to the discussion, said that during the two hours’ debate two points had forced themselves upon her. One was the great need for education on the whole of this matter. It had been a disappointment that the point of her paper had been left on one side. There had been no discussion as to the right education of the children, or of the means which could be taken to organise that education in order to prevent the results upon which nearly all the speakers had concentrated their energies. It was hoped that the opening meeting of the Conference would be devoted to underlying causes, leaving the treatment of results later. They must educate the whole community upon the biological relations of human life. For generations man had been a pinnacle; he had been thought to be immune from laws which were recognised as governing the plant and animal world. We had altered that view. Germany was setting an example. It was now the custom in Germany to send a notification to every father, before his boy left school, that a lecture would be given on the reproduction of life and the responsi- bilities associated with early manhood. The parent was asked if he would consent to his son attending the lecture, and he was invited to attend himself. Why could not the same kind of thing be done in this country ? She thanked the two or three speakers who had sup- ported her in the desire to see the education of girls in this matter, not only amongst the working classes, but also amongst the intelligent women. Remarks of the most highly educated women showed the value of a trained mind and a scientific attitude towards the whole subject. But it was impossible for the human mind to have a com- plete grasp of all subjects, and therefore we must have specialists, and while married women were rightly engaged in the practical care of their children, it remained for the unmarried women who had the time and ability to concentrate their attention on this question. Very much had been said about training the mother, but she would also urge the necessity of properly training the nurses of the children of the well-to-do. She knew of a sad case in which the health of a child of wealthy parents had been ruined in the first three weeks of its life by being dosed with whisky by a nurse. We must get