The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1931-05-08

citation OF America.)
land, it will be found that most TRACE
dies occur in women who were not un.
der medical supervision during the pc
Rod Of the child's development"
Perhaps the root Of the difficulty
states Carolyn Conant Van Blarcom,
in her book, "Obstetrical Nursing"
'lies in the fact that childbirth, as
well as the attendant suffering and
death, are SO familiar that they are
regarded as being normal incidents
in the ordinary course Of affairs. One
of the most dramatic of all human
events, the birth of new being, is &C
cepted casually, almost without con.
Germ, because it is so frequent-so
commonplace.
Moreover, we are all accustomed to
hearing stressed the fact that child
bearing is not disease, but is a nor
NAL physiological function. Not SO
generally, however, do we hear emph.
asis put upon the equally important
fact that there is extreme danger of
infection while these physiological
functions are In progress, and that
they must subject the entire organism
to such strain that there results a
dangerously narrow margin between
health and disease"
Here is the evidence that adequate
maternity care saves mothers lives,
Louis 1. Dublin, Phi. D., statistician
Of the Metropolitan Life Insurance
company. and an expert internationally
known, examined the records Of 4,728
mothers cared for by the Maternity
Center association over a period of six
city. He compared the results with
what happened to mothers in the same
section Of the city not receiving such
care. This showed that those in the
first group have about three times as
good chance to survive as the others.
'The result" says his report, "is in
dicative Of the saving of lives that
might be accomplished were every
mother to receive the benefit of ade-
quate maternity care. AS more than
10000 women in the United States ev-
cry year die from causes related to
maternity, this means that more than
10000 deaths are preventable. In adj
dition, 10000 of the 100000 babies who
now die in the first month of life,
would be saved. Infants, as well as
mothers, are protected by adequate
maternity care.
There is nothing peculiar to the
civilization of the United States to &C.
count for the fact that our maternal
death rate is more than twice that of
such countries as Denmark and the
Netherlands, where records are kept
as carefully as they are here. This
country's low position on the roster Of
nations Of the world is because there
is striking absence here Of trained
care for the great mass Of women in
moderate circumstances who have
children.
"We have allowed things to go on
with Indifference to the waste Of lives
of mothers and babies, assuming that
all was well, when decidedly it was
not. The situation cries to high heav-
en- for a remedy"
Adequate maternity care is the OBJ
servation, care and instruction by doc
tors and nurses of mothers from the
time the woman thinks she may be
pregnant until she is able to resume
her regular activities and to care for
her new baby, according to Hazel Cor
l. "a he
Center association.
Commenting on the work done BY
this organization which reduced the
death rate among mothers to % per
thousand live births as against 65 in
the country as whole, Miss COrbin
adds: Nurses urge each mother to
register as early as possible with the
private doctor or hospital physician
who will deliver her so he may direct
her care during pregnancy and know
all about her when it comes time for
the delivery and care of the baby
Each mother is helped to select, from
the facilities available, what is best
suited to her condition.
1.-THE nurses, working with the doc
tors and reporting to them each time
they see the mothers, visit each moth
er at regular intervals during preg-
nancy. They help the doctor or mid
wife during delivery and make regular
visits afterward and give, or teach
some responsible person to give, the
necessary care to mother and baby, as
we'll as see that the household is run
ming smoothly so the mother can rest
as long as necessary, and gradually,
as the doctor advises, resume her usu-
al activities and increased response
bilities.
"The aim of maternity care Is to
secure for every mother mental and
physical comfort during confinement"
tGa 1881. Western Newspspe Union)