I take a strong personal interest in the matter, and will state a case
that came under my notice, where a poor but respectable mother was
practically ill the whole time of pregnancy, gave birth to a healthy
baby, herself left very weak, and a month later taken to hospital,
as a last resource, from no particular disease whatever. The doctors
themselves could not give it a name. I myself should say that all
her strength and vitality went to the nourishment of the baby, and
she herself was left with scarce enough to live at all. I did all I
could. She had another little one, one year and ten months old, at the
time. I had him most of the time before her last illness, and entirely
during the time she was in hospital (about three months, I think).
This happened last year. The baby is now thirteen months old, and a
fine, healthy child. The mother is still weak and ailing at times,
certainly not fit to attend properly to her home duties and two small
children. She had, previously to the two living, two other children,
both still-born. In fact, I think both were dead some days previous to
birth. This was before I knew her. I am confident, if more help had
been forthcoming before and after confinement, she would and could have
been saved much suffering.
My own personal experience is small, having had only three and a half
years of married life. My one confinement and its results was enough
almost for a lifetime. I was not well for many days together the
whole time of pregnancy, suffering from sickness, faints, and severe
headaches the whole time. A long and severe confinement followed, and
a tedious recovery, and I can honestly say that, though it is over two
years ago, I can feel the effects of it still, though up till marriage
I did not know what illness was. My age was twenty-eight when baby was
born. Had I been a poor mother, struggling along on a bare living wage
as many are, I do not think I should have been alive now. But constant
care and a good, kind husband, and help with the heavy housework when
necessary (though I did practically all the work from day to day
myself), gave me a far better chance of life and recovery than many,
many of our poorer, though equally respectable members have. For they
have neither time nor the means, many of them, to take the necessary
care of themselves that they should do.
_One child._