Evening star., 1942-10-28

SAPAS ASooSo QA1o 4O1luS dlC u.
Medical authorities agree that the
1VNS is the logical organization to
provide such service. It's record
over the 16-year period demonstrates
the ability of its nurses to perform
such an emergency. Mothers are
advised by them before birth, at
tended during birth, instructed on
maternal care after birth and Wis
lted periodically afterward.
Domestic Help a Factor,
Still another vital need in con-
nection with home deliveries and
early discharge from hospitals is
capable housekeepers. Doctors warn
that such plan cannot succeed
unless there is sufficient domestic
help at the home to assure proper
convalescence.
The most likely source of house.
keepers appears to be the training
project set up under the Works
Progress Administration and stilf In
existence on reduced scale. This,
too, has been proved by experience.
Records show that out of 377 re-
quests for housekeepers made to the
WPA by the District Health De-
partment in one year, 16 were for
maternity cases.
These housekeepers have been q
godsend," said DR.. Ella Oppenheim-
er, director of the Bureau of Ma
ternal and Child Welfare.
Still another relief ror the crowd
ed maternity wards is offered. DR..
Herbert P. Ramsey obstetrician
who has taken leading part in the
local fight for hospital expansion,
both in his former connection with
the HEALTH Security Administration
and as head of the Obstetrical
Board of the District Medical So
clety, pointed out that more beds
might be made available in hos
pltals by setting up maternity con-
valescent homes to which mothers
could be transferred with their ba-
bles four or five days after delivery.
DR.. Ramsey has in mind for one
OF these homes Villa Rosa, large
Massachusetts, avenue residence ac-
quired by the public school system.
He recalled that this first was pro-
posed last fall by District Medical
Society committee, OF which he was
member.
Hospital Expansion First.
But DR.. Ramsey's first advice on
the obstetrical ward situation is to
push the hospital construction pro-
gram and to encourage representa-
tlves of hospital boards, hospital
superintendents and the Graduate
Nurses Association to get together
and work out a definite working
schedule for nurses aides.
The shortage of hospital beds first
was foreseen by the Health Security
administration. Following this up,
the committee from the Medical
Society in its survey last fall found
that the District then was shy 200
obstetrical beds.
The following records on total
births in the District during the
last nine years indicate the increas-
ing gravity of the situation:
For 1884, 1859; for 1885, 11,217:
for 1886, 1880; for 1887, ~, ,805; for
1898, 49, ,401; for 1899, 14,431; for 1910,
15,711; for 1941, 1882; for the pc
riod of 1912 ending with the week
OF October 10, 1898. Since there
has been a phenomenal rise this
year since the first Pearl Harbor
babies began to arrive, some esti-
mates place the total for 1912 as
high as $1,000, which is virtually
double the number for 1894.
OF the 1882 children born In the
District last year, 1,444 were born
in homes and 1888 in institutions.
About a third Of these cases were
INDECENT and between 10 and rs per
cent were normal births.