Perhaps a better statement would be “I want to be Doris Gordon” for just one day. Whatever the case may be I can’t because she is long dead.

Wikipedia says shewas an obstetrician, general practitioner and women’s health reformer. in the 1930’s the press called her a “human dynamo” and pasted her copy about the establishment of an obstetrical society under the royal wedding.

I first learned of Gordon’s work in 2003 in fifth form history class when we studied women in the health system [1915–1985]. Dr Gordon was there with a photograph and her work for pain-free childbirth was discussed in depth. She pioneered “Twilight sleep” in this country — a method of pain relief in childbirth that has gone out of favour in much of the world because it essentially puts women out for the whole thing.

Though i was, in 2003, and still am to a lesser extent obsessed with obstetrics, I didn’t do my assignment on Dr Gordon. idid it on Sybil Maude — the founder of district nursing in New Zealand.

And there is perhaps more written about Nurse Maude than there is about Dr Gordon. She was one of the first lady doctors in New Zealand. There were 3 in her year at Otago but the other two both died in the influenza epidemic of 1918.

I admire strong women as I am a strong woman. And i feel that me and Dr Doris would’ve had a lot to talk about.