www.qec.org.au

The Baby Health Centre Movement was begun in Victoria in June, 1917, towards the end of the First World War, by a small and enthusiastic group of women who were appalled at the apathy towards the loss of infant life in this State. We were tired of trying to convince everyone we met that the only way to reduce the terrible havoc of suffering and sickness amongst babies was by prevention – ‘keeping the well baby well’- in fact we were often, in the early days, criticised because we (1) refused to treat the sick, referring them to their own doctor and hospitals for treatment, and (2) did not agree with others who thought that death was nature’s way of providing for the survival of the fittest.

In 1934, it became a registered public hospital, which then evolved to become the Queen Elizabeth Centre in 1986. Over time nurse training moved out of hospitals to the higher education sector and the QEC’s focus began to shift towards children within high-risk profiles.

Dr Isabel Younger Ross OBE founder of the Victorian Baby Health Centre 1917 (Save the Babies: The Victorian Baby Health Centres; Association and the Queen Elizabeth Centre. The first 83 years: Cheryl D Crockett 2000)

1917-1928

Prior to 1917, despite the fact that almost eight per cent of infants died within a year of their birth, infant welfare services in Victoria were virtually non-existent. The chances of an infant surviving its first year decreased even further in poorer Melbourne suburbs where many families lived and worked in appalling conditions. Moreover, many mothers and surviving children experienced permanent disabilities which might have been addressed given adequate antenatal and postnatal attention. In England, America and New Zealand even before World War I, governments and medical personnel had accepted responsibility for improving infant welfare. In New South Wales, also, the state government had begun taking responsibility for combating high infant mortality rates. However, despite warnings about the dire consequence for the nation of a falling birth rate and a high infant mortality rate, especially at a time when heavy war losses were also decimating a generation of young men, the Victorian government continued to procrastinate about its responsibility for infant welfare.

The formation of the Infant Welfare Society in Victoria in 1917 was due largely to the efforts and persistence of one Melbourne woman, Dr Isabella (Isabel) Younger Ross, who had for some time expressed concern for the high mortality rate among infants in Victoria. Born in Warrnambool in 1887, prior to the war she had visited infant clinics and studied with Dr Eric Pritchard in the East End of London and with Dr Herman Bundesen in Chicago. Dr Younger Ross returned to Melbourne with her husband and young son and pursued her interest in infant welfare. She observed the work of district nurses to study the feasibility of adding baby clinic work to their nursing rounds. When this scheme was discouraged, Dr Younger Ross initiated tentative plans to combat the high loss of infant life in Victoria herself, frustrated by continuing official indecision and apathy. Described as a ‘sweet-natured woman with the kind of gentle persistence that never lets go’, she took matters into her own hands with the assistance of several enthusiastic members of the Committee of the Booroondara Kindergarten, Mrs Ethel M. Hemphill and Mrs J Fawcett. They opened the first baby clinic in the St Matthias Church Kindergarten in Richmond in June 1917.

The new Infant Welfare Society employed Sister Muriel Peck, who hd been visiting mothers for the Lady Talbot Society. Having graduated from the Melbourne Children’s Hospital with certificates in public nursing and with further experience of infant nursing gained in England, Sister Peck displayed a deep commitment and belief in infant welfare work and was to prove an impeccable choice for the new venture. Initially her work involved weighing babies and giving mothers practical advice on feeding and management. The Infant Welfare Society women guaranteed the salary of Sister Peck for three months and purchased a set of scales for three pounds, an amount which eclipsed the ordinary working man’s weekly wage at that time. Their funds were limited, however, and most of their other equipment had to be improved.

Sister peck worked at an ordinary wooden table in the very early days at the Richmond rooms, armed only with her notebook and scales. She converted used tomato sauce bottles into baby milk bottles for hygiene demonstrations. However, she encouraged breastfeeding wherever possible. Waiting mothers and their children sat on old fruit boxes which the Society covered with home-made cushions. The women also sewed curtains to make the bare rooms more homely.

Following the enthusiastic response of Richmond mothers to the first baby clinic, Mrs W Ramsay of the Melbourne City Kindergartens Committee requested that Sister Peck give advice one day each week to mothers at the Melbourne Kindergarten at the corner of Little Lonsdale Street and Exhibition Street and at the Bouverie Street Kindergarten in Carlton.

Dr Younger Ross was buoyed by the support of the blunt and forthright Mrs Ramsay and the industrious Mrs Hemphill. Their overwhelming concern for mothers and babies far outweighed the difficulties which they faced initiating contact with new mothers. The registration of births, for instance, was a haphazard process and proved an unreliable guide to the whereabouts of newborn infants. Many mothers were also reticent at first about seeking advice. Faced with the problems of having first to locate new mothers and then to encourage them to attend the clinics, the spirited and determined Infant Welfare Society women would search the streets for homes with young babies. A pram on the veranda or napkins on the clothes line was evidence enough to send the indomitable Sister Peck knocking on the front door. Mothers with children attending the kindergartens were encouraged to utilise the baby clinic services as well. While not all new mothers were convinced, many were grateful for the support and assisted by spreading the word.

Interest in the Infant Welfare Society’s activities rapidly increased. …..

(Excerpt from: Save the Babies: The Victorian Baby Health Centres; Association and the Queen Elizabeth Centre. The first 83 years: Cheryl D Crockett 2000)