HHannie Pretoriusannie Pretorius, 14 March 2020
The first speaker in our new Memory Lane feature was Hannie Pretorius. In a short and witty talk, she shared her experiences as young nursing student and later as a maternity nurse. In those days, diagnoses were made without today's modern apparatus. They did, however, have a fetoscope horn to monitor the baby's heart beat.
The first training of midwives in the Transvaal took place in the Kruger House in Church Street, where President Kruger's granddaughter, Mrs. Elsie Broekhuizen, made the home available for elementary maternity training. Subsequently, the Association for Afrikaans Mothers was established in 1919 that led to the establishment of the Moedersbond (‘Mothers' Union’). She concluded her talk with the message that life is precious and the birth of every baby very special.
Listen to Hannie's story in her own voice. Thanks to Neels Niesing who made the video recording of the talk.