Professor Norman Morris
9 Apr 2008
NAPS regrets the passing of an old friend
It was with regret that NAPS learned last month of the death of Professor Norman Morris, a long-time friend and Chairman of NAPS.
Professor Morris was an eminent obstetrician whose ideas revolutionised the way in which women were tended at childbirth. He encouraged the presence of husbands at the birth of their children, and he pioneered water births. Psychosomatic aspects of medicine were a major theme of his teaching. His influence spread throughout the world.
Professor Morris was introduced to NAPS in the early 1990's by Drs. Roxanna and Kenneth Chapman who were advisors to the Association.
Professor Morris and his wife Lucy were both on the NAPS Research and Education Committee which was instituted to further the understanding of PMS.
It was at Professor Morris's suggestion that the committee was divided into two, the Scientific Group and the Education Group, with Professor Morris chairing the former.
Ably assisted by Olive Ford, the then NAPS Research Officer, Professor Morris made it possible for the Association to launch a groundbreaking workshop in London in 1995. A large audience was addressed by a number of eminent practitioners and researchers: Mr. John Studd, Professor Shaughn O'Brien, Dr. Maurice Katz, Professor Alain Li Wan Po, Dr. Jane Usher, Dr. Graham Read, Professor George Fink and Mrs. Pam Warner. This immediately raised the profile of NAPS. Such was the success of this event and the interest that was generated, that a second workshop was organised in 1997. Once again Professor Morris was instrumental in attracting influential speakers: Professor John Lee, Dr. Fiona Blake, Professor Li Wan Po, Ms. Miriam Coelho de Souza, Ms. Gaynor Bussell, Professor David Horrobin and Dr. Marilyn Glenville. Both workshops were very important in promoting NAPS among health professionals and widening the scientific base of the charity's activity.
During a two year period, mid-1993 to mid-1995, Professor Morris also acted as NAPS Chairman and this role, in conjunction with his work on the Scientific Group, was of significant importance to the development of the Association.
We owe much to Professor Morris for his expertise, initiative, motivation and goodwill and also for his enduring sympathy for sufferers of premenstrual syndrome. His interest in promoting research was not simply scientific, it was driven by a strong sense of humanity.
