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Gisborne Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2657, 12 November 1909, Page 4 (Supplement)

.bio through the Society and its nurses. '

—Food Not Everything.— It was extraordinary that many people could not see beyond the feeding question when dealing with the fate of babies. Nothing could be narrower than the outlook of those' who imagined that the needs of babies could be met) by merely Supplying them with the right kind of food. Of almost equal importance were outing and sunlight; cool, fresh-flowing air day and night; proper unrestrictive clothing; a sufficiency of warmth without excess; regular habits, especially in regard to sleeping, feeding, bathing, etc. —and in fact all those simple but essential requirements which are almost universally attainable, but which the- modern mother, unless specially guided, almost always fails to provide in one direction or another; The woman who- suckles her _ baby but neglects 'everything else is a more “unnatural” mother than she Who, failing in one respect, does her best to make up in other directions. —The Cruelty of Ignorance.— It was not a society, resumed Dr. King, for replacing the doctor in the home, but for enabling the doctor’s advice to be carried out. In the past it had been impossible for the doctor to ensure that the advice he gave in respect to the- feeding and the carq of the baby would bo followed in the home. Now he has no ground for anxiety on this score. This was assured by the Plunket nurses, and their aid was being largely invoked. It was not a society for protecting, infant life in the sense of safeguarding children against intentional cruelty or criminal acts. Another admirable society attended to those matters. The cruelty with which the Society was concerned was the cruelty of ignorance, which was infinitely more extensive and more disastrous than the deliberate cruelty of the criminal.

The Society’s outlook extended beyond the bailies, to such questions as the bringing up and education of girls with a view to the future responsibilities of parenthood. It took cognisance of the proper education, training, and care of the rising generation from this point of view, as well as the preparation of the expectant mother for maternity. It did all it could to ensure that she should be fitted for the proper bearing and nature of her child, and it spared no pains to put her on the right track in tlio simplest and most practical way.